Unit 9 post

I’m not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I used to live in Florida. I moved there shortly after finishing college when there were lots of teaching jobs available. My family had a condo near Tampa and that is where I settled in. I taught there for 10 years in Hillsborough County. When I saw an article show up on my alerts about Tampa schools I had to click on it. That article was titled; Tampa’s Just Elementary rebrands itself as a STEM academy. Florida gives their schools a “grade” and this school was given an F. This means the school was very high needs and many of the surrounding families choiced out of Just to go to another school with a higher rating. Many of these students were English Learners. Charlie Dittmar, an outreach instructor from the Museum of Science and Industry, wanted to change that. 

“So he began what he called a “reverse marketing campaign” to bring students — and their parents —back to the school by advertising the rebranded Riverwalk STEM Academy @ Just Elementary.”

One way they are doing this is to incorporate more technology into their schools including STEM initiatives — science, technology, engineering and math — from coding mice to robotics. STEM learning is principal to many new technologies and jobs in the workplace, it is especially important that schools learn how to connect students with this material earlier, and in a more meaningful way. They introduced many changes including coding mice, lego EV3 robots, 3D printers, 106 new desktops, 30 new laptops, new furniture and painting the outside of the school. The school also offers engineering and robotics clubs that meet after school. The inclusion of hands-on activities will result in the higher success of all students, including ELs. These technology changes have helped Just move their school grade up from an F to a B.

One of the teachers, Desiree Whitter, said it best “It’s not that they can’t learn, but that they haven’t been exposed to a lot of things. And now they’re being exposed.”

Check out the original post here.

Unit 8 post

After searching for an article that interested me, I found, As the use of in-class #EdTech increases Flipped Classrooms are on the rise, by Demetrius Harrison. I have heard the term flipped classrooms often, but have never had any experience with them. I felt it was time to learn more so I continued on with the article. Although this article didn’t go into detail about how a flipped classroom runs, it did talk a lot about the benefits to chatbots. If you are wondering what a chatbot is, as was I, I have some background information for you. Chatbots are tools that simulate conversation to provide assistance and learning.  Think voice assistants (such as Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Microsoft Cortana) or via messaging apps (like Facebook Messenger or WeChat). They went on to list some of the benefits and I have to say I am intrigued!

Some quick stats about in-class chatbot use:

By reviewing material repeatedly over time, students are better able to remember what they've learned.

Software algorithms can predict when you'll start to forget what you've learned - catering to spaced interval learning.

AI can score papers with 92% accuracy in comparison to human graders, freeing time for teachers.

Learners who receive feedback immediately show greater improvement than those who get delayed feedback.

Chatbots can track student performance and adjust the curriculum to better meet their individual needs.

Freeing up time! Immediate feedback! Yes please!

At the top of the list is that chatbots are able to assess each pupil’s knowledge, learning ability and style and then devise a curriculum especially tailored to them. Acting as a guide, the chatbot can adapt the work and course to suit the pupils’ ability. With many English Learners on different levels than the majority of their classmates, this sounds like a tool that will benefit them greatly. There also seems to be a lot of visual support along with the verbal support, giving them a more personalized learning learning experience. 

So, although by then end of the article I am still slightly confused by how exactly this is used in the classroom and what that looks like, I want to find out more!

Check out the article here.

Unit 7 post

This article I read this week discusses the multiple languages that some schools on Texas. It was titled: Area schools work to meet needs of nonnative English-speakers by Kelsey Thompson.  Currently there are 92 languages other than English being spoken in Round Rock ISD. The district predicts that this number will continue to rise. When a child enters the district they are required to complete a home language survey which evaluates the student’s proficiency in English. After getting these results, the students are put into either a dual-language program or an ESL program. So far it sounds like they have an effective system in place. The problems arise because of the many languages. One issue is that the bilingual programs are only offered in Spanish, so the school district cannot provide bilingual programs in other languages but there are no teachers available to teach it. This leads into the other problem… a lack of qualifies teachers. There is only a limited number of bilingual teachers, and with all the surrounding areas all having the same needs, the school district are competing for the same applicants. 

Read more about the article Here/.

Unit 6 post

This week something popped up in my google alerts that peaked my interest titled Speaking Mam in MAGA country: Immigration, education and the teenage boy in the middle. Imagine my surprise when I started reading about the very town I work and live in. It was an article all about Chambersburg, PA and how the local schools struggle to meet student’s needs. Although it doesn’t paint my town as a perfect or picturesque place to live in, it shows the very real struggle many students have when moving to a new country.

It begins by telling us the story of Fredy Garcia who is in 11^th grade and who is in danger of dropping out of school. It goes through why his family and he had to flee their country and the struggles they face now. He is not making adequate progress, falling behind the other students and no longer enjoying school. “Sometimes, the teachers explain things and I don’t understand. When I ask something, all the students laugh and joke,” the sophomore said. (Doesn’t that just break your heart!)

They also discussed the growing number of students we have in the ESL program. While this number has doubled, only one addition ESL teacher has been added. The Chambersburg Area School District’s biggest challenge, said Superintendent Dion Betts, is “adjusting more quickly to the people who are coming.”

One part of the article, which brings me great pride, is the local Agape English ministry at our church. It is run by Sue Marshall, a retired literacy coach for the school district. This program started out being available to locals who want to learn English and has grown into teaching individuals to read as well.

Although it’s a bit lengthy the article is a great read and I highly recommend. Learn more about Fredy and our hometown of Chambersburg here. There's even an audio that goes along with the article for easy listening. 

Unit 5 Post

This week I came across an amazing article by Emily Monaco. It is all about teaching math to ELs. It focuses in on how Mathematics and Language acquisition can be taught at the same time in the same class. The teacher just needs to be educated on how to do that.  Two quotes that caught my attention were:

“In fact, if you have the tools you need to succeed, teaching math and ESL together can be an incredibly rewarding experience, both for you and for your students.”

                                AND

“The idea of teaching both ESL and math at the same time might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, many experts agree that teaching another subject is a great way to enhance ESL teaching.”

Yes! You can teach your students the language while also learning the content! Yes! It can be a rewarding experience! Some of the biggest growth I see in my math classes can be from ESL students. And really, as a teacher, what is more rewarding than seeing your students grow.

This article is broken down into teaching math to beginner ESLs, intermediate ESLs, and advanced ESLs. The suggestions for teaching beginner ELs are:

.  Begin with teaching your students the mathematical vocabulary they will need.

.  Once your students have the words that they need, you can begin presenting basic math problems to them. 4+2=6

·        .  Reinforce some of the new skills they have been taught with games and activities. The article suggests Zip, Zap, Zop. Bungabaloo (This online math game) and Math Bingo (Math BINGO).

.

There are more suggestions for intermediate ELs and advanced ELs in the article here.

Unit 4 Post

One article that showed up in my Google Alerts was an article titled Math Instruction for English Language Learners, by Kristina Robertson. As a math instructor I have found there is not too much information on teaching math to ESL students, so this peaked my interest right away! There was a lot of useful information in this article. It discusses the importance of language acquisition, building background knowledge, increasing student language production, and explicitly teaching academic language. 

At the end of the article it discussed ways you can use technology in your math classroom. One tip that I found interesting was: Look for interactive games that offer students a chance to practice their mathematical skills. She tells us about a Nintendo DS game called Brain Age. The game provides excellent mathematical training for numbers and tracks results, showing student improvement over time. I would never had thought to use Nintendo in my instruction, but I know the students would love it. Whenever I tell them they are playing a game, their faces light up. I could only imagine what their faces would look like if I told them they would be playing Nintendo. 

It also shared a great website called Vital NY (Video Teaching and Learning for NYS Educators) on Teachers' Domain offers an online library of free media resources from the best in public television. It was created by PBS Channels 13 and 21. It seems like a great resource for teachers. I did a simple search of "Make a Ten" and chose second grade. It came up with over 700 results. These results included videos, interactive games, lesson plans, and much more. Looking forward to using this in the future!

Click here to view the original article