My English learner (EL) says that she needs more time to practice math problems and learn. At times, class goes too quickly and she does not have time to ask questions.
To Act:
I am offering tutoring before school so that students can practice more examples or get help with specific problems.
First, I have let students know that I am available for tutoring in the morning. Most of the time students come with particular questions that they want answered. If I get a particularly driven student who is simply coming for extra practice, there are a lot of materials in the classroom I can use to present the materials in other ways. Additionally, I would like the student to explain to me the steps they will take to solve the problem. In Echevarria & Vogt’s Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners, the authors write that “learning can be enhanced when people interact with each other to clarify a confusing point” (54).
After about a week, I would like to reach out to students in class on a personal level letting them know that I think it would be beneficial to them if they came in for additional practice. I can discuss their personal goals for the class like what type of grade they would like to earn and explain to them how the extra time they put in can help them achieve that goal. I do not want to force students to come if they are not interested but I do want my class to succeed with whatever goals they have set for themselves. I understand that not all students will have the same goals for themselves as I would set for them.
Lastly, I would like parent involvement to be a part of my social justice plan. I can keep a personal record of who is attending and not and let about another week pass by. At this time, students will have had about two weeks to attend tutoring on their own decision. Instead of waiting for parents to contact me, I would like to get in touch with them to make sure they are aware of their son or daughter’s standing in the class and their options for improvement. By including parents in the action plan I hope that I can fill in any missing gaps in the students’ excuses for not getting help.
To Reflect Critically:
My action is doable because I am already at school early and have made the assumption that students know that they can come in for additional help. I will explicitly tell students about by willingness to help and approach students individually and privately to encourage them to attend. If students are not attending, I will write an e-mail or call parents to let them know about the tutoring. I want to be proactive to get the parents involved before they approach me to ask how the child can raise their grade. Echevarria & Vogt’s Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners, suggests that using supplementary materials will enhance meaning and clarify confusing concepts ( 33). Since I will have more time than a typical class period would allow, I can use hands-on manipulatives, additional pictures, graphs, or models to show different approaches to a concept. In addition, I can make the lesson personalized to the student to fit their personal interests. For example, if that student plays soccer I can use that knowledge to make the topic more engaging to them
Teacher Performance Expectations (TPE) for social justice expect teachers to aid in social reconstruction. Generally, ELs do not openly talk in class because they do not know how to formulate their questions and may be embarrassed. Learning academic content in second language can be very challenging due to the complicated vocabulary. When a child does not speak the primary language of a given country, they are often ostracized by other students because they do not fit in. In Collier’s article, “Acquiring a second language for school” she describes that the sociocultural process depends on many factors though such as self-esteem and anxiety (Collier 2). By allowing students to come in before school, they will not have to speak in front of so many people so they should feel less anxiety.
Furthermore, Diaz-Rico adds that, “the more learners talk, the more other people will talk to them. The more they converse, the more opportunity they have to initiate and expand topics, signal comprehension breakdowns, and try out new formulas and expressions (Diaz-Rico 66).”Part of this plan is that students have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the teacher. They can either be asking questions or be asked to explain their understanding to the teacher which will help both their listening and speaking skills.
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Reflection:
Teacher Performance Expectation 15 asks teacher candidate to identify issues of social justice and equity in the classroom. I have identified that an English Learner feels that she needs more individualized instruction time so that she can practice additional problems and have applied a strategy of offering tutoring to lead to a more equitable outcome for diverse students. Additionally, I will be aiding in social reconstruction by giving the students who come to tutoring more confidence to speak more in class and add to class discussions.
Picture taken from: http://teachingartistsguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/t4social-justice.jpg
Collier, V.P. (1995). Acquiring a second language for school. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
Diaz-Rico, L. and Weed, K. (2006). The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook: A Complete K-12 Reference Guide. 3rd Edition. Boston, MA. Pearson
Echevarria, Jana, MaryEllen Vogt, and Deborah J. Short. Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners The SIOP Model. 3rd ed. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2008. Print.
Multicultural Lesson Plan
I created this lesson with the intent of teaching dilations to a geometry class while giving students the opportunity to explore their culture.