With a heterogeneous class of 25 learners ranging in English language proficiency, native language ability, and learning preferences, I find myself challenged year after year. How do I most effectively meet the varying needs of individual students when they’re so vast and different? Through student questionnaires, I gathered information that shows a learning preference that ranges from independent learning with teacher scaffold, partners, triad, small group, and even whole group. This coupled with the assistance of technology, it adds a whole new layer to the learning preference.
As an ELL educator, the acquisition and use of home language play a major role in proficiency of English oral language development. The Developmental Bilingual program model has allowed me the opportunity to conduct a study in the last two years. Before the Developmental Bilingual Model, Providence School District used the Transitional program model where students exited upon meeting the EXIT criteria. With this outdated Transitional model in place, I could not follow student progress, so it was mere speculation. Under the updated Developmental model, however, I am able to follow student progress because students who meet the EXIT criteria remain in the program for the remainder of their elementary school career. Through the study conducted, I could see parallels between English oral language performance and testing performance. Since English language proficiency is an indicator of students’ achievement as it relates to testing because there needs to be an understanding of language to make meaning.
This current year, according to the WIDA ACCESS literature score, the upcoming academic class of 2018-2019 is as follows: three students are ‘Entering,’ three is ‘Emerging,’ nine is ‘Developing,’ seven are ‘Expanding,’ one is ‘Bridging,’ and two are ‘Reaching.’ The two ‘Reaching’ have met the criteria for EXIT. What does all this teacher terminology mean? It means I have beginner, intermediate and advanced English proficient students. Because of my experience and study conducted, it will mean I have to find a relationship between their oral language and learning with interactive approaches that encourage more student talk and less teacher talk. As Wesch would suggest, learning happens in the absence of a teacher, for it then that the learner pursues which great passion the questions that are meaningful and relevant in their own lives.
The use of technology, Google Classroom will allow to more effectively meet the needs of the students. As one educator trying to meet the needs of 25 students simultaneously, technology will allow me to do just that without sacrificing most students for some students or teaching to the middle. It will allow me to simultaneously diversify the lesson scaffolding individual students’ needs at their pace. Although students enter the program in Kindergarten and sometimes Pre-K, while having access to the similar educational experiences, the outcomes vary. I can assign the work online providing scaffolds that range from pictorial and graphic representations to more specialized application options. Also, the use of technology allows for students to take responsibility for their learning, where teacher acts as a facilitator. Students assume the role of the expert, where the information needed is at their fingertips, using this information they have to teach. In the process of teaching, they are learning. “Teaching to learn and learning to teach” I believe empowers students by giving them a voice and helps them to feel that they too have much to contribute. The learning is not the sole responsibility of the teacher, but a joint collaboration between student to student and teacher to student. As Sugata Mitra, from school in the Cloud had stated, it is a self-organized learning environment, S.O.L.E. The differentiation of the same lesson adapts the range of items the learner is expected to complete. The level of support will vary depending on which games students will choose to play if the audio along with the visual will help the learner. The difficulty will be adapted to how they choose to teach the word to the class. The roles students work in will be dependent within their collaborative groups.
I like to think of my classroom as a platform where I encourage the students to develop their identities through leadership opportunities. The student-leaders develop quite naturally as some students embrace the idea to take the lead while others cautiously observe as I did when I was young. I observe their individual personalities and encourage all students to improve their actual and perceived needs through sharing stories. I let the students share their personal narratives in written form that are later published by Student Treasures. I believe everyone has a story to tell and through storytelling, we can find common threads and realize our strengths and find healing.
....I believe in the power of empowering students.
My task as a digital immigrant, in conventional speed it to pick-up into twitch speed to engage the natives. To do so according to Prensky, I must learn the language and the culture of technology. This use of technology is a gradual transition from technocrat, to techno-traditionalist. I will be using technology proficiently to accomplish a traditional task. It a step moving towards a techno-constructivist where hopefully, technology will change my approach to teaching and learning. In this approach, students work with teachers to gain a deeper understanding of the material. Ultimately, the goal would be to move towards students creating and producing their own content not just consuming it through media.
As a result, the media literacy class has inspired me to use the tool of technology to take my beliefs and philosophy about teaching and learning to another level. As the presentation, Pecha Kucha will demonstrate the growth process undertaken from digital immigrant to learning about digital natives has been a journey. Before this class, I would not have conceptualized simultaneously meeting all students' needs as a single educator. I would find myself saying, " I am one teacher and there's 24 of you. This is why I need leaders in my class." With technology, the possibilities are endless. I can have student leaders and still meet the varying needs of students. It allows me to think outside the box. The sky is the limit with what could be done with technology and our environment will thank us for it.
