Teaching ELL chapter 10 June 3, 2010

Teaching ELL and students from different cultures always seems that much more daunting after reading books such as these.  They usually make me feel like I am failing my ELL students.  We as teachers have a lot of responsibilities to our students.  On top of these everyday responsibilities we have the obligation to take the extra steps to help our ELL students succeed.  Of the responsibilities we have to our ELL students, the most difficult for me to consider is the involvement of the families.  One part of the chapter that interested me was the table outlining some of the cultural differences between families born in the US and those of ELL students.  The first difference, competitive for US born vs. cooperative for foreign born, was an interesting one.  I think we are a competitive culture here in the US.  My students always compare grades when we pass back assignments.  We have been doing a lot of cooperative work in our classroom over the course of the year.  I am not sure how effective it has been for our ELL students.  I’m not sure those new to the language have been able to get the most out of the group and pair interactions.  They are not always able to understand their fellow students and the non-ELL students don’t always know what to do or say when the ELL students can’t understand them.  I think the interaction is good for them, though.  It may not seem like it sometimes but the ELL students are listening and picking up little bits here and there. I will continue to use group work in my classes.  Not matter the level of language proficiency, the ability to work with others is a vital skill for all students and hearing other students speak the language is great practice for learning.

Another point I found interesting was the possible reluctance of ELL families to interact with teachers and school.  This can be due to perceptions that schools do not want the parents interactions or by a lack of trust of figures of authority.  No matter the reasons families are reluctant to contact school, I should work towards creating a comfortable  and welcoming environment where the parents of ELL students can feel free to communicate with me.  I think the idea of being proactive in communication with home instead of reactive is a great one.  It is also one of those things that has been difficult for me during my internship and will probably be difficult during my first year teaching as I try to get settled into my role as a teacher and getting my act together.  Giving positive feedback is something I want to do more of as my career matures.  While they may not act like it, students and parents appreciate hearing positive feedback.

Planning around a disruptive week May 31, 2010

It was a difficult week in terms of planning due to Eckstein taking the MSP test.  For some reason, the way the schedule turned out, we had 1st,2nd, and 3rd periods one more day than we had 4th, 5th, and 6th periods.  Luckily we still had some presentations that didn’t get finished in first and second periods that allowed us to make use of the time.  The rest of the periods were used as review of the moon phases and eclipses.  It is difficult to try to plan around disrupted week schedules.  To add to the scheduling difficulties the band was allowed to schedule a  field trip for one of the days.  This means that every student who goes on the field trip will have to make up the test on Monday.  Situations like these make planning difficult.  They also highlight the need for well thought out plans and the need for alternative plans.  This has been a weakness for me not only throughout this internship but in my life.  I have always been someone who lives a bit spontaneously.  I have found myself on several occasions this year trying to be spontaneous in my lesson planning.  As one might expect these lessons didn’t always go so well.  It feels bad to have a bad lesson and even worse when the lesson is bad due to your lack of planning.  i have gotten much better in my lesson planning as the year has progressed.  Not just the lesson for the next day but for subsequent lessons.

Model Students May 8, 2010

Throughout the year we have had our students use modeling to help see and learn various concepts.  During the Earthquake unit the students used their bodies to model the movement of P and S waves as they moved through the Earth.  Currently in our space unit the students have had the opportunity to do quite a bit of modeling.  The planets and stars are fascinating topics, but we can’t bring them into our classrooms and we can’t see them moving enough in one day to for it to be effective for a lesson.  We can, however, model the movements of the planets and stars.  That is what we have been working on for the past few lessons.  After a brief intro reviewing the movements of the Earth and moon through space we gave the students these two task cards: task card 1 and task card 2.  The students then worked in their groups to come up with a way to model the answers to the task card questions.  Each groups needed to model the answer for me in order to get credit for the activity.  I know I enjoyed the activity and I believe the students enjoyed it also.  The modeling required students to apply higher level learning in understanding, applying, and then creating the modeling scenario.  Students had some props to work with but I highly encouraged them to get out of their seats and use their bodies as the models.  Several groups took me up on that offer.  The questions on the task cards required some deeper thought than just how the moon and Earth move in relation to each other.  Especially task card one which asked if the same side of the moon always face the Earth, does the moon rotate on it’s axis.  Towards the end of class I asked each student to write and draw what they learned that day during the modeling activity on a sheet of paper and turn it in for me to look at.  I believe a lesson like this is so much better than a simple lecture or video.  This got the students up and moving.  It got them working on answering questions rather than simply listening and taking notes.

Long Term Projects May 2, 2010

Our science students were assigned long term science experiments around mid February. This year the projects had to be science experiments, not just science projects as in the past.  This was decided due to the requirements of students to know and identify experimental components on the MSP.

This week has been presentations of those experiments.   Those who were on top of things and prepared volunteered to present early in the week.  Those less prepared tried to put their presentations off till later in the week.  This has led to a distinct downward trend in presentation quality.  We have had several well done projects including a home made calorimeter and the effectiveness of different types of detergents on stains.

Many students are learning that theses were more than just assignments that were due in 2 months.  After the presentations are finished this week I think it will be a god opportunity to look back on their progress reports and allow the students to evaluate how honest they were on the progress reports.  In addition I think it will be a good opportunity to reinforce the idea that the projects are not only about science but about personal responsibility and accountability.  In most cases the quality of the experiments were directly proportional to the amount of effort put into them.  As these eighth graders go to high school next year they should be held to higher and higher standards in regards to quality of work and responsibility.  For many it could be a rude awakening.  I have seen some of the students change and mature over the course of the year while others have changed little.  It makes me feel good to see those who have matured while I worry a little for those who have made little progress in their maturity and responsibility.

Teaching ELL: Teaching Strategies April 15, 2010

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 in the Curtin book dealt with teaching strategies for ELL students.  An important aspect of the strategies covered is that the variety of strategies suggested are no different than those recommended in well run classrooms without ELL students.  Visual aids, demonstrations, graphic organizers, interactive and cooperative learning, are all strategies and tools that should be present in every successful classroom.  I have been trying to integrate as many of these strategies and tools into my classroom as possible.  In both science and math the students spend a majority of their time engaged in cooperative group work.  I feel like it has been successful for the most part.  With the exception of a couple of students, the levels of student discussion on topic has been good.  A recent activity had the students acting out the motions of the Earth-moon-Sun system with certain questions in mind.  It was great to hear students planning their demonstrations and to hear some “ohhhs”  when someone saw something they didn’t before.

The reading provided some useful resources that I think could help me in the future.  The planning chart on pages 74-75 (Curtin 2009) provides a good outline to think about.  Often time my plans are simply written out in a way that I think may work.  The book says I should expect to plan 2-3 times the amount of time the lesson will take. (Curtin 2009)  this is a daunting task.  In this case I am glad to be a middle school teacher with only 2 subjects to plan for.  I know I need to work on my planning.  I have learned that just understanding the content I am trying to teach doesn’t automatically allow me to make my students understand it.  I am really trying to work on guiding the students to understanding rather than simply telling them the information, which is not learning at all.

I think the concept of learning English by learning subject content is an excellent one.  For myself, and perhaps anyone who has tried to learn some of a language for a foreign trip, sitting at home and trying to memorize vocabulary and random sentences doesn’t really work.  The words and phrases that are learned without context have only so much use. ELL students learning the language in pull out classes don’t develop the scientific or mathematical vocabulary needed to be successful in normal classrooms.  So even when they reach a point where their language skills are good, they are starting for behind other students in scientific or mathematical knowledge and skills.

As for my teaching, I am luck to have an ELL co-teacher in my math class for support.  We try to use several of the strategies covered in the the Curtin book.  Lots of group work with think-pair-shares and mini jig-sawing.  We have gotten them up on several occasions to act out graphs or geometric shapes.  I try to read directions or introductions aloud as students follow along and I try to keep the word wall up to date.  Even with our efforts, some of the ELL students are having trouble keeping up.  We have to keep the pace of the class up because we have many high level students also.  This is an issue in many classes and not just with ELL students and one I have a lot more to learn about.

Curtin, Ellen M.  (2009) Practical Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners.  Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

EDU 6139 Teaching ELL April 7, 2010

The first three chapters of the Curtin book dealt with the history of ELL and stages of english language acquisition and initial teacher considerations when dealing with ELL students.  There are lots of topics included in these chapters.  The hot topic in chapter one is No Child Let Behind.  We’ve all have our own opinions and have heard the opinions of others about NCLB.  From what I have heard, I have few good thoughts about NCLB.  One of the few good things I have heard of is the disaggregation of student data making schools accountable for all students not just certain groups.  There seem to be more downsides than up.  The expectation of 100% success, while naively noble, is impossible, and to hold a teacher up to that standard is ridiculous.   Standards are left up to states and can vary from state to state.  My understanding of the Washington standards is that they are ceiling instead of minimum requirements.  Instead of expecting students to reach a minimum level of proficiency we are expecting students to reach nearly honors level in their grade to be deemed successful.  The last thing of NCLB is the tenets.  The consequences listed in Tenet one seem to have some problems.  Holding teachers accountable is good.  It doesn’t seem to hold the students or the parents accountable.  It seems that a great teacher at a poor performing school is at a distinct disadvantage.  The tenet states that teachers “contributing” to student failure are to be replaced.  (Curtin 2009)  What incentive do teachers have to take jobs at poor performing schools when they can be fired for not bringing students thatthey, or perhaps no one, could bring up to standard.

I have been experiencing ELL first hand.  The eighth grade math class I am teaching is an ELL inclusion class.  We have 6 ELL students (which I know isn’t a lot in some schools).  I have seen the challenge of trying to teach these students.  The greatest challenge to me seems to be the expectation that they be taught at grade level.  The students are placed based on their age but only one is within one year grade performance wise.  I know two of the students read at a 1st grade level.  On page 41 the Curtin text states that the reading level of classroom texts may need to be adjusted, but content must be similar.  (Curtin 2009)  Perhaps this is referring to language arts classes because I am curious where I am going to find an 8th grade level math book written for 1st, 4th, or even 6th grade readers.  I am lucky, in that the class is designated as an inclusion class so it is co taught with an ELL specialist teacher.  I think the curriculum we use is tougher for ELL students.  we are teaching the Connected Math curriculum which focuses a lot on student led activities, group work, and reflections.  A math teacher I know of has experienced success with her ELL students by going back to older text books and learning with numbers, formulas, equations, and repetition.  It may not be the “new way” of doing things but often ELL students can do 2x=10 but may not understand “Mark has 10 Widgets and wants to give them as presents to 2 buddies, how many widgets does Mark need to put in each gift box?”

I am grateful for the ELL teacher in the class.  I have a hard time seeing how we could get anything done with the ELL students without her.  We do a lot of group work and the groups are expected to help each other.  Many of the students do a good job with this but there is only so much they can be expected to do.  There are deadlines for assignments that they have to meet also and we can’t expect them to miss a deadline and a possible learning opportunity while trying to help another student.   One of us can spend the entire class helping a few of the ELL students while the other splits time with ELL and other groups questions.  A great concern is pacing of the class.  I know we are going too fast for the ELL students.  The ELL teacher even takes extra time with them during other periods of the day to work on their math, but they are often behind and missing work is a big problem.  I feel we have to be fair to the other students also.  We are already a couple of weeks behind other 8th grade classes.  Slowing the pace down to accommodate the ELL students penalizes the non-ELL students.  We make accommodations on exams and give them as much help as we can during class.  It is a topic that I feel I definitely struggle with.

Philosophy of Learners March 19, 2010

Educational Philosophy

Erik Sanders

25 February 2010

EDU 6132

Students as Learners

The job of a teacher is a pretty unique one.  Parents and guardians send their children off to school 180 days a year for 12 or more years with the assumption their children are coming home everyday smarter and wiser.  At the same time teachers are asked to take dozens of individual students and lead them all towards meeting the state or local learning goals.  In order to accomplish this we need to first understand how students learn.

The book “How People Learn” gives three principles for understanding how people learn.

Principle 1. Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works.  If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom. Learners need to connect what they know with what they need to learn

Principle 2.  To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application.  Students need to learn facts and ideas and need to be able to relate and organize them conceptually.

Principle 3.  A metacognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.  Learners benefit from reflecting on their learning goals and progress. (Donovan, Bransford, & Pellegrino, 1999)

These are powerful guidelines for teachers of all age groups and subject areas to keep in mind when dealing with their students.

In addition to understanding how students learn there needs to be understanding of the students themselves.  As a current middle school teacher, I am experiencing students at an interesting time in their lives.  Many middle school students are just entering or are well into puberty.  Puberty is a volatile time in children’s lives.  Hormonal changes are causing physical maturation.  These physical developments can be a great distraction in school, particularly for boys who often have much more interesting things to pay attention to than the lab or worksheet in front of them.  In addition to the physical changes are the psychological changes that are often associated with puberty.  Charles Nelson, director of the Center for Neural development at the university of Minnesota stated during an interview on “Frontline” (2005) explains the brain changes in the frontal cortex appear to increases dramatically during puberty.  The frontal cortex is associated with emotions giving rise to the possible source of adolescents having erratic mood swings and out bursts and trouble focusing.  Another source states …despite cognitive improvements, adolescents appear to be more prone to erratic and emotionally influenced behavior which can lead to periodic disregard for the risks and consequences. (Dahl, 2004)  During this time of brain development and emotional roller coasters students are trying to establish and maintain social and self images.  It is pretty easy to see how mixing lowered emotional self control and potentially fragile self images can lead to plenty of social and psychological stress.  With this in mind it is a good time to mention safety.

Students need a safe place to learn.  Bullying can be a problem in schools.  A student is being bullied or victimized when he/she is exposed repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students. (Olweus, 1993)  How can we expect students come into class ready to engage and learn when they are dreading the upcoming lunch, recess, or class break?  At the same time the changing of the adolescent brains can make them especially susceptible to psychological bullying which can be devastating to students with emerging or fragile self images.

Students have different cultural and socio-economical backgrounds that I need to be aware of.  Different cultures have different family values and can place different values on education.  At the same time not all students have access to resources.  Although home internet connections are common these days, they aren’t free.  Families who struggle to make ends meet are not going to be able to provide their children with luxuries such as internet or maybe even basic school supplies.  I need to make sure my lessons are accessible to everyone no matter their social or economic standing.

In addition to cultural and socioeconomic differences students have learning differences.  Not all students learn the same way.  This is great for the school culture and life in general.  What would the world be like if everyone was the same?  On the flip side, it makes things more difficult for me the teacher.  How much easier would teaching be if all the students were at the same level, learned the same way, and behaved to same?  Alas, they don’t.  Some students are more advanced than others.  Some students learn well by reading others by listening, others by hand on activities.  We as teachers have to try to find ways of reaching all of these students.  Through differentiation I can try to use strategies that will allow my students of all levels reach the learning goals.  Carolan and Guinn offer 4 strategies for differentiation in the classroom:

Offering personalized scaffolding.

Using flexible means to reach defined ends.

Mining subject-area expertise.

Creating a caring classroom in which differences are seen as assets. (Carolan & Guinn, 2004)

These are just four strategies available to me as a teacher for the differentiation of my classroom.  The type of strategy used will, of course, depend on the demographics of the class.

It is my responsibility to help student meet state learning goals. Often students ask why they are learning something.  “Why do I need to know about plate tectonics?  When am I ever going use balancing chemical equations?  How is the history of Europe going to help me in the future?”  At its most basic level their argument is probably correct.  What do we really need to know in life?  Most people get by just fine in life simply knowing how to read, write and do simple math.  The goal of the state and us as teachers is develop students capable of achieving beyond minimum skills.  We seek to develop students with skills that will allow them to take any path they choose once we are finished with them.

I believe students benefit from a reflective teacher.  As teachers we have quite a bit of freedom in our jobs.  The state mandates what is to be taught in schools but we, as teachers, are left to ourselves on how to teach the material.  As a future first year teacher I know I am going to make mistakes.  The school I end up teaching in will be different from my student teaching school.  The staff will be different, the resources will be different, and most importantly the student population will be different.  What works this year may not work so well in the next school I am in.  “Reflection serves as a foundation for continuous learning…It is a complex process that requires high levels of conscious thought and commitments to change practice based on new understandings (York-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, & Montie, 2006).   By being a reflective teacher I will know when a given lesson is a success or needs improvement.  Through this process I should be able to improve my lessons and teaching style as my career progresses thus improving students’ school and class experiences.

Students benefit from an organized and well managed classroom.  The first days of school are very important for setting the tone for an entire school year. (Emmer, Evertson, & Anderson, 1980)  The first few days should be spent setting classroom norms and procedures that will be held for the entire year.  Student discipline problems were reported as the most stressful factors of the school environment by 63% of over 5000 teachers from Canada and America. (Brouwers & Tomic, 2000)  I have stressed over classroom management myself.  I am at a higher performing school now but I worry about my first year teaching and what kind of school I might end up at. I don’t want to be a statistic on a study like to one cited above.

In the end I have to remember that students are individuals.  They each come with their own strengths, weaknesses, personalities, interests, histories, and problems.  It is amazing sometimes to think about the mechanics of teaching.  We are put in charge of classes of 25-30 something students and expected to look after them, control them, and teach them all at the same time.  My goal is to do my best with what I know and what I have and hopefully by the end of the year the students will have learned something and I will still be sane.

References

Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2000). A longitudinal study of teacher burnout and perceived self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and Teacher Education , 239-253.

Carolan, J., & Guinn, A. (2004, February). Differentiation: Lessons from a Master Teacher. Educational Leadership , pp. 44-47.

Dahl, R. E. (2004). Adolescent Brain Development: a Period of Vulnerabilities and Opportunities. Annals New York Academy of Science, (p. 3). New York.

Donovan, S. M., Bransford, J. D., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. Washington D.C.: NAtional Academy Press.

Emmer, E. T., Evertson, C. M., & Anderson, L. M. (1980). Effective Classroom Management at the Beginning of the School Year. Elemetary School Journal , 219-231.

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School What we know and what we can do. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.

York-Barr, J., Sommers, W. A., Ghere, G. S., & Montie, J. (2006). Reflective Practice to Improve Schools. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

Student Motivation March 2, 2010

Wouldn’t it be nice if all students came to class and really wanted to learn the concepts you were covering that day?  Students would hang on my every word as I led them through fascinating discussions and involved labs.   Unfortunately this isn’t always the case.  As hard as it is to believe not every student is interested in science.  Figuring out how to motivate  students in subjects they are not interested in is a real challenge.  For me as a student, motivation was a bit difficult.  I loved playing sports so I loved school for that reason.  As for classes, I liked science but not really much else.  I thought school was pretty easy and I found out I could get by pretty successfully with little effort.  This definitely set me up with some poor study habits later.

I am definitely at a loss at times how to motivate students in class.  It would be nice for students not to be motivated by grades alone but actual interest.  I try to make my lessons as interesting as possible, I know it is easier to pay attention to lessons that have punch, or as John Medina puts it, lessons that have hooks that will bring students attention back.  I understand that this is the first time I have taught the curriculum so I don’t have all the little additions and modifications that a teacher with a couple of years of experience with the lessons will have.

Exceptional Learners February 21, 2010

I actually have 4 students with a form of autism.  They are all diagnosed with Asperger’s which is now just classified as autism to the dismay of those with Asperger’s.  It is interesting how different they all are.  Two of them are “high functioning” meaning they do very well in class and with school work.  Issues only arise with these two in some social interactions and some organizational problems.  Another student has some severe social interaction problems.  It is strange to see this student interact with her friends out in the hall but as soon as she gets into the classroom she shuts down completely.  The student, Ms. Anex, and the IA came to the agreement that she (the student) could be called upon for answers and if she didn’t want to respond she simply needed to shake her head no.  We haven’t had a lot of luck with that but she has done it a few times.  It is also difficult to get her to do any work and we will often get responses on classwork or quizzes of “I don’t know, I’m too stupid”.  The last student is more than just autism, his IEP lists ADD and bi-polar also.  He has an IA with him during class which makes things better.  His main goal is to make it through classes with out having “blow-outs” (storming out of class) and to participate as much as possible.  He does pretty well all things considered.  He has hard times in groups because he doesn’t always understand the concepts of sharing and playing of roles.  He often accuses others of being mean if they don’t let him do everything.  It has been interesting having these students in my classes.  I think I have a good relationship with 2 of them.  I am going to talk to the female students language arts teacher after break.  This teacher says she can get the student to participate in class.  I am curious how she does it.  I know the student likes to read so that is probably part of it.

For the most part our goals are to try to treat them as normal as possible.  They have 4 more years of school after I am through with them and then they are spit out into the real world which isn’t full of IEPs, IAs, and caring teachers and probably won’t be nearly as accommodating.  I worry about them.

Cognitive Development 2 February 7, 2010

Much of this weeks reading dealt with the information processing part of cognitive development.  Long and short term memory is an important part of information processing.  It is important to ask ourselves as teachers, what is the best way to get our students to learn and remember the information we expose them to.  One way that was brought up by several people  in the blackboard discussion for our class was repetition.  Presenting or reminding students of topics over the course of a unit make it more likely that students will transfer that info from short-term memory to long-term memory.  I gavve the example of names of people I have met for the first time.  I often find myself forgetting their name when I hear it just once.  If I make myself repeat it or put it into some kind of context then I am much more likely to remember it.  That brings us to the other important strategy for helping students remember that isn’t always under our control.  Student interest.  We can’t always control students interest in lessons we present.  We can however work to vary our presentation and try our best to generate interest.  I know I remember things I am interested in much better than those I am not.  Interest seems to make it more likely for us to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory.