Reaction to Dr. Moje (2008) article and podcast

First(and perhaps unrelated) is that Dr. Moje is clearly a constructivist, with her statements that students enter the classroom with prior knowledge, and that knowledge is a socially constructed phenomenon. Her approach attempts to teach literary skills across disciplines in ways that are authentic to a particular subject area, while at the same time allowing for the transfer of these skills to other contexts. This “metadiscursive” approach to literacy across the curriculum also reminds me of David Berliner’s concept of cognitive apprenticeship, where teachers make explicit connections to the learning processes of experts. If it could be done in a convincing way at a school, this approach would indeed provide a consistent, powerful tool for students to transfer literate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. I am interested in learning how these concepts apply to my content area, but suspect that the answer to that may lie in the “situatedness” of my own classroom.

About Me

My name is Brian Schneckenburger. I am married, and I live in Parkville, MD with my wife, two dogs, two cats and a sister-in-law. I am a native of the Rochester, NY area. In my spare time, I like reading, watching baseball (I am a huge New York Yankees fan), and travelling (my current favorite place is New Orleans, LA).
I am an instrumental music teacher in the Baltimore City Public Schools, where I have taught for the previous three years. I am in my twelfth year of public school teaching, having taught for five years in New York State, and three in Arizona before moving to Maryland. I have also taught as an adjunct for six years in the Music Departments of Plattsburgh State University (NY), St. Lawrence University (NY), and currently at The Community College of Baltimore County at Essex.
I possess Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, and am currently in my third year as a doctoral student at The University of Maryland, College Park, where I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction/ Music Education. I also possess an Advanced Professional Certificate in Maryland, and Permanent Teaching Certification in New York. My main instrument is the trumpet, and I recently recorded several excerpts to be used on an upcoming movie trailer and video game.
For this class (which I am taking to renew certification in the State of Maryland), I expect to learn practical techniques that will enable me to integrate aspects of reading effectively into my curriculum and practices as an instrumental music teacher.