All posts by Kaitlin M Flynn

Building Self Esteem + Open Communication = SUCCESS

Urban Adolescents, , , ,

“Youth in this study did not independently create critical opportunities to challenge traditional teaching practices and to combat stereotypes about urban youth in science. They relied on situations in which they had choice, space to express voice, one-on-one dialogue with a teacher, and after-school support. When presented with such resources, they actively took hold of these opportunities to deepen their knowledge and engage in physics in ways that furthered nontraditional pedagogical practices and contradicted stereotypes of minority students. These findings align with existing research, which suggests that youth develop deeper levels of understanding in the context of student-centered instruction.”

(Trigwell, Prosser, & Waterhourse, 1999) (Cited in Basu reading)

This bit stood out to me not in the specific context of this study, but as a commentary on adolescents and people on the whole. Continue reading Building Self Esteem + Open Communication = SUCCESS →

#TUMBLRLIFE (Media Review)

Urban Adolescents, , ,

Tumblr takes up an embarrassing amount of my time. Honestly. I cannot remember the number of times I’ve “gone to bed early” on a weeknight then ended up on my computer reblogging all night. Not good. But potentially, in an educational context, this social media platform could be extremely helpful. Because Tumblr is not only a social media, but a creative and intellectual one. On Tumblr, each user has a blog, but the most notable point of this website is that information on the blog is in large part sourced from other pages. Users reblog content from other Tumblr users, and in this way the site becomes a global network. There are many, many types of blogs; from aesthetic to humor, social justice to fandom pages. Continue reading #TUMBLRLIFE (Media Review) →

Teaching Empathy and Grand Questions

Creating Classroom Community, Culturally, Linguistically, and Socioeconomically Diverse Adolescents in Urban Contexts: Framing the Conversation

 

“Texts that are connected to ‘real and imagined material and social worlds’ (Gee, 2001, p. 716) include the type that many readers have always found appealing: powerfully engaging narratives. Engaging with a compelling narrative is what Morrison (1994) called “radical, creating us at the very moment it is being created” (p. 27). Readers can thus be transformed by their encounters with a story in ways that can alter habits of thinking or living. Consequently, a narrative in the form of a graphic novel can potentially influence students’ lives. Reading these powerful narratives gives students a sense of ownership over these texts through their intellectual and emotional engagement with them.” (from Chun, 2009)

This segment stood out to me in that it touched on two crucial elements especially evident in socially conscious graphic novels. These books elevate students’ understanding of the larger world, as well as engaging them in connecting stories to their own lives. Continue reading Teaching Empathy and Grand Questions →

Middle School IS NOT EASY

Urban Adolescents

“I think every middle school teacher should know, or try to understand, the social whirlwind of statuses that forms and so quickly hardens with every student in their place. What may seem, to a teacher, a classroom full of students peacefully working, may be exactly the opposite to a student. It becomes a room full of pitfalls, danger signs, and safe havens situated carefully in familiar territory. Every student, throughout the day, moves cautiously on “safe” paths from room to room. They will not read in another level’s territory. They will not mix; everyone knows their place. Only a teacher or a student from a higher level will cause them to mix.” (From Brown & Knowles, 2007)

I believe this passage is an absolutely perfect description of social life in early adolescence. One of the major reasons for this is that, within the reading, this is a quote from an eighth grade girl; a young person who is currently going through these things and seems to be quite perceptive and mature. This passage is especially informative as it does acknowledge the wide range of social experiences middle school students have.
No matter how well adjusted or popular a child is, these years between childhood and the teenaged years are incredibly hard. In middle school, I was a weird, awkward little girl with angsty “emo kid” friends just as uncertain as I was and nothing to keep me busy but looking forward to high school. My sister was the stereotypical “popular cheerleader.” But both of us really did not like middle school, for surprisingly similar reasons. This is so important for teachers, especially middle school teachers, to understand; naturally students are much less likely to be outwardly unkind to each other in front of an authority figure. It may not always be easy to see what pressure is placed on students socially, and ever harder to understand why and how. But understanding this is perhaps the best step towards connecting with and helping young adolescents socially. Middle school was a long time ago for us, but as a teacher I will try to remember that this period in my life was, as it is for many students, not only very difficult but the first time I began to form my adult identity. And I had to do this (as we all do) in the extremely stressful social atmosphere of middle school. To put it bluntly, we need to be very careful not to be fooled by how social life appears to be for young adolescents, because kids this age are ridiculously complex.

The Pain of Seeing the Big Picture

Adolescent Brain, Biological & Cognitive Development in Adolescence, Urban Adolescents

“One of the most powerful growth processes during this stage is the development of metacognition, or the ability to reflect on one’s thoughts. Caine and Caine (1994) describe metacognition as ‘thinking about the way we think, feel and act’ (160). When a seventh grader doesn’t understand something, he or she can suddenly think about not understanding. Such thinking may not lead to understanding and may in fact lead to frustration. Indeed, many of the frustrations middle school students experience may result from this new reflective thought–this thinking about thinking. They may even worry about why they are thinking about their thinking.” (Brown, Knowles 2007)

This passage is one that not only is useful in many different areas of teaching, but also can be applied in a much broader sense to the question of what exactly it means to grow up. In a sense, the idea of metacognition strikes me as perhaps the most important cognitive element that marks the transition from childhood to something much closer to adulthood (closer, certainly not the same). Metacognition, as I understand it, is essentially the capacity for higher thinking which develops in early adolescence. This is the kind of thought that can be, like the reading indicates, used in an academic or logic driven way. However, it is just as if not more important in its emotional and philosophical implications. Metacognition is what allows teens to wonder, sometimes painfully, what life holds for them. It allows one to reflect on who they are, and question whether they are headed in the right direction. Together with physical maturation and the accompanying awkwardness, I believe the development of metacognition in young adolescents is the cause of so much angst and frustration characteristic to the teenage years.