To be honest, in my research, I haven't found one particular person who is well known for their research in EL's and learning math. I haven't seen a name repeated or see many articles from one individual. I could argue, that Hattie is someone who's research will support EL students in math, but his research was not specifically focused on supporting just one group of students, it was more on how we can support all students. The one consistent theme that I have found in my research, is that interaction and direct teaching of the academic vocabulary is the KEY! Now the question is, how do we teach the vocabulary in an interactive, interesting, and innovative way so that students remember those big and confusing sounding math words? There are so many strategies with teaching vocabulary, that teachers need to play around with different ideas and strategies so that they can see what works best for them in their classroom, in their school, and for their students. I work at two very different school sites, and what will work for one school site, isn't necessarily what will work for another. Also, teachers need to be willing to try different strategies to find the one that works best for them. That means they need to be willing to be vulnerable to try new and different strategies. Also, schools can look at where vocabulary is revisited. Why does it only have to be in the math class? Why can't a teachers in an ELD class spend time focusing on, reviewing, and providing experiences with the vocabulary from a core class? Why can't we extend our language learning from our core classes into our ELD classes?
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Darling-Hammond shares keys ideas on how we can shift and adjust our current education system to create more equity for all students. Her key focuses are:
Throughout the country there are students who do not speak English as their first language. When they enter school they are already at a disadvantage because they are having the learn a second language, and learn the academic content in the second language as well. This makes it difficult for the students to perform proficiently in math throughout their school career. Each year, as their English language grows, their English only classmates are accessing much more of the math curriculum. As a result, the English Learners fall behind and struggle to catch up. This problem occurs at a national level in many states. There are some states, such as California, where there is a larger percentage of students who are English Language Learners. The performance gap is evident in California. Here in Napa, there is a significant percentage of students who are English Language Learners. Teachers are constantly looking for ways to support the English Language Learners to help them achieve at grade level throughout their academic career. In the research articles I am seeing a common theme of emphasis on language in Mathematics and really being intentional with how language is introduced, reviewed, and used in a math classroom.
Since I began teaching in 2005, so much has changed. What was considered technologically savvy then, is now outdated. In a society where the speed at which technology is changing faster than what we can keep up with, how do we as educators stay relevant, knowledgeable, and a practitioner of these new and exciting technological advances? After reading about the advances of technology in the classroom and the 4cs I feel inspired and intimidated all at the same time. I am not a huge technology savvy person. When I was a kid we had a computer, but I didn't use it much. I found I had a short attention span when it came to digital entertainment. So my natural ability with technology isn't natural, I have to really focus and choose to learn what I need to learn to remain relevant. However, as I have spent countless hours learning how to use new tools, I get excited about the possibilities at our fingertips as teachers. There is so much we can expose our students to that was inaccessible before. This is where my excitement lies. I used to joke that "technology and I don't get along," but now I feel more empowered than ever. I CAN do this, and technology and I have become better friends. In the classroom and at school sites I can continue to learn and play with these new tools that are presented to us all the time. This way I will be able to experience what is available to us as educators. In addition, we as educators need to let the students teach us as well. It is OK to learn along with them. Some of the best lessons have been when my students and myself are learning together. They get to teach me, the teacher, about what is possible. This empowers them and also demonstrates that we can all be lifelong learners. It is amazing what our students can teach us. They are growing up in a world that is surrounded with technology, and they have so much knowledge to share. (I learned how to rotate a computer screen this past year. Middle Schoolers think this is hilarious). We as teachers need to continue to go to trainings, ask questions, remain inquisitive, and be willing to be vulnerable to stay aflot in this technological whirlwind.
I know what I want the focus of my question to be; coaching teachers to help support EL learners in math. I just don't know how exactly I am going to word this question and how I will specifically focus my coaching. I am still working on what I will specifically do. I need to do some more research about what I am going to specifically focus on as my strategy for teachers to use in the classroom. I need to make sure that my strategy is something that teachers can easily implement into their classrooms, that won't take up too much time, or is too much of a burden. I want to link math and the language demands for an EL Learner. Is creating an awareness of this idea through coaching enough? Teaching a PD on this topic is a great way for be to begin. As you can see, my thoughts are bouncing around, but I know they will soon come together.
After this week, it has given me ideas and inspiration to help me encourage and get teachers to think outside of our "traditional" box. I work at two different sites with two amazing staffs who are open to new ideas and classroom structures if it means that more learning would be occurring. Teachers can get stuck in the same structures of teaching year after year. I'm hoping that I can bring some new ideas that may inspire teachers to try something new, and adjust it to fit the teacher and the structure of the school site. As an academic specialist, it is part of my job to support and coach other teachers at the school site. By being exposed to new and innovative ways of teaching and structuring a classroom, I will have the ability to bring these ideas to teachers to use in their own classrooms. This will allow me to have more of an impact on students, since these ideas will be able to be in more than just one classroom. I am hopefully that these new and innovative ideas will be just the thing that the schools need to increase student engagement and success.
A. The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn, review, test, and interact with the material. Students are working through their lessons on their own. Teachers record their lessons, post them, post the practice for each lesson, and have a quick quiz to test how students are learning the material. Since each student is at a different place in their learning, each student is doing something different each day in class. This is part of the brilliance of this way of teaching. Students can learn at their own pace. B. You know the students are learning because you can hear and see their progression through the material. Students are talking and helping each other with the work. They are helping and supporting each other while they work on their days work. Also, the teacher can track a students progress through what videos they have completed online and what what quizzes a student has passed. The teacher can also see what learning is happening since he/she is able to walk around the classroom, answer questions, and help clear up any points of confusion for a student. C. The teacher was able to walk around the room and help students with any questions or confusions. The teacher is able to participate and take on various roles within one class period since students are working at their own pace and are at different places in the unit. The great part about this method is that the teacher does not have to spend time lecturing in front of the classroom. Since the students are working at their own pace, the teacher is then freed up to help and answer any questions that students may have. Since the teacher has already created the necessary videos for the students to watch for each lesson, the teacher is more available to work with students on an individual basis. This structure is completely different then a "traditional" classroom. The students are all at different places in the lesson. The teacher is not spending classroom time lecturing. This structure allows for more flow and allows students to work at a pace that works for them. D. I could potentially use this type of classroom structure at my school. It would take a commitment from teachers to have the videos, lessons, and mini-quizzes ready for a variety of lessons and units, since all students will work at a different pace. I would need to show teachers the benefits of this, "flipped", classroom structure. It would take time and planning, but may be the needed change to flip our current teaching strategies to increase our students learning in one school year. Link to video: https://www.edutopia.org/video/student-centered-model-blended-learning Since I am not in the classroom this school year, my essential question is going to focus on a whole school site. I would like to put my focus on English Language Learners and what can be done across a whole school to help support their learning and extend their educational growth in ALL subjects. I have chose to focus on this group of individuals because they are a group, that as a whole, are academically not performing as strongly as their English only peers. This is going to help point me to my driving question. I will need to know what systems are already put into place by the school to support this group of students. I will need to know how these systems are being used and how much success the school has seen throughout the years using these systems. I have completed a capstone on teaching Math to EL students and I have read many books and discussed with peers on how to support EL learners, so I feel strong about my knowledge of how to support EL learners in a classroom. However, I haven't looked at how to make a positive change within a whole school system for EL learners. What can I do as an Academic Specialist to support all EL learners in ALL subjects? My scope is now larger than just my own classroom, so my knowledge and view needs to adjust as well. I plan to look into how I can support and coach teachers to ensure that they are putting the necessary systems into their own classrooms to support all of our EL learners. Maybe this leads me to my first draft of my driving question: What systems can be put into place at a middle school to best support our EL learners in all subjects? Again, this is my first draft. I know it will change as I explore this more, but this is where I am beginning.
This year I find myself in a new position in our districts schools, I am an Academic Specialist. My job is to support and coach teachers throughout the school year. Until now all school sites had a full time Academic Specialist, but this year due to budget cuts Academic Specialists are split between two sites. So I am not only in a new position, but I am at two different middle school sites. I am deep into learning about the culture of each school and getting to know the teachers who make up each school. I am truly enjoying getting to know each school, how they work, and the teachers and personal who make up each site.
My passion with teaching, is to help individuals push themselves to be and do the best they can. My passion started with students, but has evolved into helping teachers be their best so they can best support their students. I am so excited about having a position that officially gives me the time and platform to support teachers to grown and be their best. I will see where this new position and focus takes me this year. |
AuthorKathy Martin is an educator in Napa, Ca. She has taught all ages, K-8, in her past 14 years of teaching. She looks forward to exploring more about the world of education. Archives
October 2019
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