Nancy Nelson's Theory

Questions Prior to Exploring Text:

- How are reading, writing, and speaking intersecting in the classroom?

- How can Rosenblatt's and Gee's theories be used to create a diverse and motivated classroom?

- What are strategies that will help me to cultivate a successful discourse in the classroom?

Questions Generated by the author/speaker:

- How do you make reading interesting for students individually?  

- How do you cultivate and maintain interest?

- Will culturally relevant material increase student interest in this classroom? Can that interest be translated to other subject areas?

Benefits of/ Reflection on this Content:

    In the presentation Nelson shared there were two concepts from Emig that were really interesting and allowed me to think about the classroom discourse in a different way in conjunction with both Rosenblatt and Gee's theories.

Janet Emig explained how students interact with text, she explained:

"reading and listening are skills that RE-CREATE...writing and speaking are skills that CREATE"

    This distinction between these skills also show how they are related to the Rosenblatt and Gee theories. In terms of the Rosenblatt Theory, we can understand that students will experience linguistic transactions that will be interpreted (reading and listening) and then used to make new meaning through the use of writing and discussion.

    In terms of Gee's Theory on discourse we can see that every student will have an identity kit that is comprised with their schema. How they speak, interpret information, their values, how they act, etc. So then in the context of Nelson's theory, we can assume that the discourses that Gee proposes is then being influenced by the strategies and discourses that students experience in our classrooms.

"Discourse, whether it be written, oral, small group, or full class, helps students to create meaning from their transaction with the text." 

    This is such a prevalent piece of Nelson's ideas about classroom discourse. Perspective is important to growing and expanding knowledge about any given text. Creating a classroom that is vulnerable and honest allows for more in depth discussion of texts.

    Throughout this text Nelson is asking "What happens to student learning, motivation, and engagement with text when students are allowed to engage in meaningful spoken and written discourse?" This piece of information is so integral, the spoken and written discourse makes me immediately think about collaboration and discussion. Relating this idea to Nelson's stance on honesty and vulnerability it is easy to see how creating relationships, from either student to teacher or student to student benefits the learning discord in the classroom.

    One of the most poignant pieces of information Nelson discusses is the role of dominant voices and discourses that are going to be present in the classroom, whether that be gender, race, privilege, etc. Being aware of tools (socratic seminar, open-ended questions, facilitated small group discussion, etc) will help to encourage students to participate in discussion.

-  Using Nelson's strategies/ideas in the art discipline?  

  Understanding students' and letting my students get to know me is beneficial to the classroom discourse. Using what I learn about my students and their individual schemas will help me to create lessons that will support them and introduce new information that is culturally and socially relevant to help them expand and challenge their existing knowledge on art and the world. Creating this level of comfort in the classroom will allow students to explore themselves and the world through art.

How can I use (C.)R.A.F.T. in Art Education?

The (C.)R.A.F.T. strategy is a great way to being analyzing artworks. It allows students to being understanding the context of the work and interpret the artwork and role of the artist. Playing off of the different takeaways from Nelson's ideas and strategies I think that the (C.)R.A.F.T. strategy is a great way to discuss an artwork in class, using this as a guide for a whole class or small group discussion, can allow students to listen and explore different perspectives on art.