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 What was considered technologically savvy then, is now outdated.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.
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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.
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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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