Chapter 3 questions:
1. Think about the stakeholders in your school community. After you identify them, think of the individuals/teams you have collaborated with and share ways that you have supported them to better understand that collaboration and co-teaching benefits all ELLs.
2. On p. 42, Simplicio (2007) is quoted, "millenial students are better informed, more technologically savvy, and worldlier, they are also more diverse, more demanding, needier, and harder to teach than any other students in the past". What do you believe Simplicio means by this statement? How could this understanding help you create more collaborative relationships with your school community?
3. Please review Figure 3.1 (p. 46). How can we work together to have our school community understand that every ELL child "has a story" (p. 45)?
4. How can the role and responsibilities of the general education teachers change as they collaborate with ESL Resource and Technology Specialists in the school?
Chapter 3 Book Study
ReplyDeleteAs the book mentions, all of our stakeholders are the same: teachers, students, admin, parents, really anyone who is affected by what happens inside our schools. Collaborating and co-teaching I believe has had the biggest impact on the students because as the book mentions, it minimizes disruptions throughout their day and helps build a stronger class community. For example, in one class I coteach in, we have rotating small groups so each group gets 30 minutes of small group teacher work time. It has helped optimize student productivity and problem-solving because there is guidance if necessary and students know they are being held accountable for their work.
I think Simplicio means that schools can no longer operate under the assumption that one size fits all for teaching - with the example as the teacher in front of the class writing on the board and all students are taking notes. This does not meet the diverse needs of the students. What the students need is more individualized instruction that meets them where they are and celebrates their accomplishments - not what they do not know.
We can work together to share that every student has a story by bringing their stories up when we have meetings about particular students - whether it is data or problem-solving meetings. Also, we can ask the students to incorporate their stories and culture into their work - so not only do they have ownership over their work but they know that their voices and experiences matter within school.
They can change because they are no longer solely responsible for instruction within their classroom. Sure they have to surrender a little bit of the control, but they also have less of a burden they have to carry as a general education teacher. - All teachers take responsibility for the successes and opportunities for growth within the classroom.
Let's discuss the point you made about surrendering control and systems we should put in place to make this become a positive step toward collaboration and co-teaching.
DeleteMichelle's Post-
ReplyDelete1.
As Christine mentioned, our stakeholders are all those affected by what happens inside our schools (all school staff, admin, students, parents, the community). Collaboration is key to supporting our ELLs as well as ALL of our students. I feel as the years go on, more teachers are aware of our ELL population and better strategies to best meet their needs. We have had sheltered meetings at Scott to help teachers have a support systems to ask questions, share ideas/strategies/information, and collaborate based on current needs. We have had more positive admin support and interest, which has greatly impacted our teachers, students, and overall building atmosphere. There has been a huge leap of reaching out to parents and the community resulting in more parent involvement as well as a welcoming environment to build on collaboration in that aspect as well. As teachers, I feel the more we collaborate and co teach, the more we not only help our students success more but learn and grow ourselves. We all have our different areas of expertise and experiences that we can use to share and create more overall success. For example, when I co teach with a classroom teacher, they have the extensive curriculum knowledge for their grade. With so many curriculum and standards changes and add-ons these days they are the experts in what they teach need to teach. I can then come in and give my ELL expertise for us to join forces and create engaging lessons and supportive learning environments for all our students. It really boils down to trust, sharing/collaborating, positive relationships, and a willingness to loosen the reigns a little and share responsibility/control.
2.
I agree with Christine. Simplicio is saying that teaching is not a one size fits all system. Living in the technology age we are in, we are seeing more than ever how important it is to engage all students and create lessons to meet their needs. This may vary class to class, year to year, etc, because we always have a different and unique set of students to work with. We need to try to appeal to their learning styles and current best practices to help meet their needs to become successful. This being said, it is crucial to communicate with teachers. Especially to pass on information about students so we do not always start at square one. Yes, students can change or have different relationships with certain teachers, but to have some kind of background on some things that may or may not work for certain students can be very helpful. Or even to discuss what happened last year etc to build upon and continue for the next. We have so many wonderful resources in our district, why not utilize them more. For example, we have the TLC’s that I see in more and more classrooms every week helping incorporate more technology into classrooms. There is ESL coaching, collaborating, and PD going on with teachers not to mention with LSDs. We cannot be afraid to collaborate and try new things or ask for help or clarification. It is part of the wonderful and ever changing job of a teacher.
Let's focus on your statement about resources in the district and utilizing them more. Will you have some solid examples for us to discuss tomorrow? It's great to hear these ideas right from our teachers.
DeleteMichelle Continued:
ReplyDelete3.
I feel that sometimes teachers need to be more understanding of ELL students (or even all students in general) and think about life in their shoes for a day. Everyone, adult and child, has a story. Is unique in someway. Maybe we need to think about our own stories and reflect back on our lives and past situations. Every story is different. No matter where you came from (country, neighborhood, etc,) your story is still unique to you. We need to ensure compassion and understanding of these stories. Let students share them, feel welcomed and valued.
I know it has been mentioned in the past, but maybe having more a family history page on each student in their orange folder or a file, would be helpful to teachers. We usually get bits and pieces but even to get information directly from the parents or even student can be very enlightening. There are so many pieces to the puzzle that make us who we are, some in our control, others not. We need to take all of that into consideration when working with our students and even families for that matter.
4.
Again, similarly to some points from above, collaboration is key to teaching and growing. We can take our personal expertise and experience to share with others to help students become more successful as well as gain personal/professional growth and knowledge overall by learning from/with each other. Hopefully the gen ed teachers would also feel more supported with a sense of shared responsibility of the students and school. Teaching is an overwhelming profession. We try, but honestly cannot single handedly do it all. It is a team effort, and the collaboration with gen ed teachers, ESL teachers, TLCs, LSDs, etc, all lend a hand in creating a supportive and successful environment for all.
What could we do to sensitize teachers to the struggles and challenges that our ELLs face on a daily basis? Let's brainstorm some ideas and plan for next steps.
Delete1. I have spent much of my time collaborating with general education teachers, TAs and Administrators. Because this is my first year, we are definitely just barely starting to scratch the surface of collaboration and coteaching, but I feel that we are moving in the right direction and everyone is very supportive of the process.
ReplyDelete2. We definitely have more tools at our disposal to teach our students, but our classrooms get more and more diverse as time goes on. As a kid, I remember that there were maybe 1-2 Latino students in my classes and there certainly was no discussion of any other languages they may have spoken. Students with any kind of linguistic diversity were the exception, where they’re not the norm in many schools. I also feel that technology has allowed us to learn about places many of us may never see, but it also provides the instant gratification to know the answer to a question with a few clicks of the mouse. This inherently changes us and our students as we expect information to be available much more readily.
3. This reminds me a lot of our work with Teresa Young and Cristina Sanchez-Lopez on the 7 Factors. I think we’ve gotten much better at our school at looking at the bigger picture of a student and not just their test scores and, at this point, it’s just a matter of continuing to have those conversations about students with all the stakeholders.
4. I feel like the more we collaborate, the more we learn from each other. So, a general education teacher who collaborates with a Technology Specialist may gradually become a “technology specialist” themselves in whatever area they’ve been collaborating. For example, several teachers have worked on the Breakout EDU boxes with Dana. Little by little, those teachers are able to share their new knowledge with other teachers and spread the strategies. The same can be true for teachers who collaborate with ESL resource teachers. They can share some of the strategies they’ve tried with other teachers who may benefit.
I agree with you that we are looking at the bigger picture when referring to students than a test score or assessment score.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAnyone who is invested in a child's education are stakeholders: teachers, admin, parents, and the community. Co-teaching is a model that emphasizes collaboration and communication among all members of a team to meet the needs of all students. The benefits of co-teaching is to come together with classroom teacher for a common purpose, typically to meet a wide range of learners more effectively. As stated in the chapter fewer interruptions, more time to meet with students. Being my first year of co-teaching I feel that by collaborating with the classroom teacher we are becoming more knowledgeable on how to incorporate our expertise during lesson planning to meet all types of learners in our classroom. I feel that the Roy community is leading a positive direction of collaboration and co-teaching.
I agree with Christine. Simplicio is saying that teaching is not a one size fits all system. I reflect back when I came to Chicago and attend school as being one size fits all. Teachers were not trained to provide best practices to meet the learning style of multilingual students. All students had the same book and the same assignment to complete. Lessons were not differentiated to meet the needs of the student. The education system has progressed with many resources, technology, well trained teachers, ESL, LSD, TL's that provide best practices for all students to make learning more meaningful.
I think that when we consider our ELLs and instruction, some teachers stick to the mindset that they should be on the same page as peers. This creates frustration for bilingual and ESL Resource teachers as they try to impart understanding to monolingual teachers that this is not realistic. They must understand that ELLs are learning language and content simultaneously. Let's talk about this point during our discussion.
Delete1. Stakeholders include all school staff, students, parents, community. The monolingual teachers I work with value co-teaching because they don't want their students missing core instruction. I also try to take some of load off the teachers I co-teach with by leading lessons, grading assessments, and preparing materials for both of us. I point out frequently to the teachers that the students are benefiting from receiving the same content as their peers and that it's good for both teachers to be in the same room so that we're aware of what the other teacher is doing with the students. I also attend parent-teacher conferences in the fall so that I can inform parents of the services their child is receiving and to assure them that they are not missing core instruction because I am in the classroom providing guidance to their child. Whenever possible, I advocate for Language Enriched Pupils in conversations with teachers and staff by sharing some of the assets the students bring to school and their back stories so we can understand and empathize with whatever the student is doing in school. For example, if a teacher shares with me their frustration about a particular student not doing homework and their unsuccessful attempts to reach the parent, I might share with the teacher what I know about their home life to understand perhaps why homework is not completed. Other times when I hear staff voicing frustrations about parents not volunteering at school I might point out that it could be a form of respect that parents trust what the teachers are doing and do their part by sending their child to school ready to learn.
ReplyDelete2. I think Simplicio meant that students range in their knowledge of technology know-how, language assets, interpersonal skills, and cultural competency. Some students who are used to using a lot of technology at home might have a hard time sitting and listening to a teacher talk and sustain their attention. Many students come with language assets in multiple languages that are hard to gauge by our current assessments. Some students have not left their communities and others have traveled outside the US. Getting to know students and their families can be a way to figure out the full picture of students beyond test scores.
3. Professional development on cultural competency can help staff understand that every student has a story. There are some people that are just more emphatic than others. Some people have a very hard time understanding students who come from backgrounds different than their own. I think the more diverse staff we have at school can help staff get to know people different from themselves and appreciate each students' background.
4. The role of general education teachers can become more collaborative as they share the duties of the classroom with language and technology specialists. Instead of the monolingual teacher closing their door and doing their own thing their own way, they will plan with the specialists, share the responsibility of preparing and leading lessons, and grading, share expertise in language and content. Teaching will be more of a collaboration rather than solitary activity.
Christy, what do you think needs to happen at your school so that all teachers plan with teachers who are providing resources in the building? This is a really powerful observation!
Delete1. Anyone who is involved in our students’ education are key stakeholders in the school's community; teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, administrators, and parents. Collaboration and co-teaching strategies benefit all students including ELLs. I have had the opportunity to work in different capacities with different teachers. Sometimes we plan units and projects together to utilize best practices and co-teaching strategies. Other times I am asked to come in to do a lesson without planning. I am even asked questions via email or in person and the teacher plans/executes the lesson themself. I have found that the most successful lessons are when we plan together and co-teach. The students demonstrate more of an understanding of the concepts and when the unit is over the teacher feels empowered to continue using the strategies.
ReplyDelete2. Our students are diverse in many ways including ethnicity, language spoken, socioeconomics status as well as learning styles and life experiences. As teachers, we need to take all of these factors into account when planning for our students. When we collaborate with each other we can differentiate and adapt assessments and instruction to the needs of the students. It is important that our teachers utilize each others’ expertise to widen the pool of instructional strategies and resources in order to reach all of our students.
3. Every child brings unique experiences and challenges to the classroom. It is important that our school community understand that every ELL child has a story. Figure 3.1 is a great map of how to start that conversation with each other. If we ask key questions, we will get to know each child’s background.
4. When the general education teacher collaborates with a ESL Resource Teacher or a Technology Specialist they are benefiting all of the students in their classroom. The students get instruction from two diverse adults. This alleviates the burden on the general education teacher to be an expert in all areas. Both partners work together to differentiate instruction and share resources. The general teacher also has another teacher to discuss individual students with who has also worked with them in the same subject area. These conversations can be incredibly powerful and change change the way we approach teaching with our students.
3. Gathering information about our ELL students will help our school community to understand the student's needs, and address challenges that may arise, but also provides an opportunity to create a welcoming classroom environment. Staff training in second language acquisition can help staff understand how ELL students acquire language.
ReplyDelete4.When the general education teacher collaborates with ESL Resource Teacher they both have the opportunity to share their expertise. The ESL teacher shares her expertise in second language acquisition and both work together to differentiate instructions. Technology Specialist share unique technology strategies that teacher can incorporate on their daily lesson plans.
1. The stakeholders in our school is everyone involved in our students' education: administration, teachers, and parents. Ways that I have collaborated with teachers that I work with are by having our planning days and actually being able to share ideas and learn from each other to plan our instrruction. I have also shared articles and even ideas from this book study, like the actual different co-teaching models in Chapter 4.
ReplyDelete2. I think Simplicio means that because millennials are used to having information/things readily available - we need to be able to also quickly adapt to their needs/inquiries. This could help us create more collaborative relationships with our school community because it is so easy to reach out within the community by sending an email, by skyping, etc.
3. I think this is a great figure to help illustrate important questions/information we should know and understand to best serve our students. Maybe we can implement some type of a "welcoming interview" to help gather this information? just a thought.
4. The role and responsibilities of the general education teacher change as they collaborate with ESL/Tech because they collaborate and share ideas together to best plan for the students' needs. This collaboration is powerful and best for the students - it becomes a group effort!
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