I have recently added a page titled "Research Papers." I am currently working on two teaching certifications and with all the research I have done and am sure to continue doing I wanted to share my findings. I hope the papers and their references offer interesting and engaging topics. Happy New Year!
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Article: Using “I Will” Cards and Social Coaches to Improve Social Behaviors in Students with Asperger Syndrome
Author: Amanda Boutot Summary: Boutot’s article discusses a strategy called “I will” cards to support the learning and practicing of ideal social behaviours for Asperger Syndrome (AS) students and their use of self-talk and social coaches. The article starts by presenting four strategies, which have been supportive to AS students; social stories, social scripts, power card strategy and cognitive behaviour modification (CBM). Boutot presents that because AS students have strong vocabulary and memory skills with creative and sincere traits the “I will” cards support students’ weaknesses, for example, repetitive behaviour or impulsivity, while engaging their strengths (2009). The aim of the cards is to have AS students begin to prompt themselves to change behaviour without others telling or guiding them. “I will” cards are closely connected to the CBM strategy and incorporate elements of all four original strategies outlined at the beginning of the article. Similar to CBM “I will” cards use a strategy known as self-talk to act as “mantras” (Boutot, 2009, p. 278) to guild students feelings and behaviours. The cards show a situation, which has been written from the AS student’s perspective; for example, “When I have something to say in class, I will raise my hand” (Boutot, 2009, p. 278). The cards are both a reminder for students and act as visual prompts during a situation that might be challenging or upsetting (Boutot, 2009). Boutot continues by outlining five planning steps for developing “I will” cards, which include; identifying the areas of behaviour needed to be worked on, creating self-talk and “I will” statements, making cards with scripts, teaching the student to use the cards and finally creating time each day for students to work with a social coach to review the cards (2009). The social coach’s role is further outlined with an example dialogue for review. Social coaches are one or two trusted adults the student can work with twice daily to review cards and their use. Boutot states that all those working with the student need to be aware of the “I will” cards and support the student to use them through the day. For example, a classroom teacher can ask a student to review their cards instead of telling them to raise their hand (Boutot, 2009). The article concludes with added considerations for use, including the conjoined use of a behaviour contract along with the cards, and ensuring that parents and guardians of the AS student are part of the decision to use “I will” cards and their process. Implications for classroom teaching: As a classroom teacher I can see “I will” cards being very supportive to AS students, other students in the class and the teacher’s ability to support the AS student make behaviour choices which are supportive to their growth. Knowing the student has a system and is working to self manage their behaviour is very supportive to the classroom teacher, because the cards act as a tool for the student to use to make choices and they are also a tool the teacher can use to support the student in making those choices. For instance, Boutot gave an example of a teacher directing the student to look at their cards to know to put their hand up, this is a direct and simply way to address a behaviour. I believe “I will” cards provide AS students with self-regulation strategies and in turn that supports their classroom teacher and their own learning greatly. Reference Boutot, E. Amanda. (2009). Using “I Will” cards and social coaches to improve social behaviors in students with Asperger Syndrome. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44:276, 276-281. DIO: 10.1177/1053451208330899. Unit Plan: Once Upon a Time: Demonstrating Social Responsibility Through Storytelling Lesson Subject: English, ESL and other Language Arts Grade Level: Middle School (Gr. 6-9) As a follow up to my post about Aida Walqui’s article Scaffolding Instruction for English Language Learners: A Conceptual Framework I have provided a sample unit plan where I have focused on including scaffolded instruction and considered both Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory and Zone of Proximal Development. In this unit plan I am asking students to create their own stories and work at a high English level, however I have provided structure to support them reach this level. I have considered learners and placed the expectations of the final culminating assignment within a zone of proximal development where the task requires students to reach beyond their current level towards what they are capable of achieving. The lesson has been created with a lot of structure and a lot of space for flexibility. In class working time has been planned for, to provide the teacher and peer tutors (if available) time to actively support the learning process. The unit has been designed with explicit and scaffold instruction. Students’ learning will take place through the active use of the English language in a creative and natural way.
Article Title: Scaffolding Instruction for English Language Learners: A Conceptual Framework Author: Aida Walqui Journal: The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Vol. 9, No.2, 2006 Web Link: http://www.educacion.gob.es/exterior/centros/losangeles/es/series/201003-Scaffolding-Walqui.pdf Aida Walqui’s article Scaffolding Instruction for English Language Learners: A Conceptual Framework, was written primarily for secondary ELLs, however can be adapted to elementary teaching. Walqui’s thesis states that ELLs can both learn content and succeed with high-level academic work when the teacher knows how to support them (p. 159). The article focuses on the use of scaffolding and how to build students’ confidence to be successful with high level and challenging work. Scaffolding provides built in supports as students progress through the work (p. 177). The article’s key points include; encouraging the use of many scaffolds, telling students the reasoning for scaffolds, identifying that ELLs may need more tasks than native English speakers to achieve learning and although, it may take longer to scaffold and less content is being taught, the results show students have a better foundation and depth to their learning (p.178). Walqui says that teachers need to know what they teach and use many scaffolds, as well as, have teacher training for teaching ELL (p. 177-178). Included in the research is a look at Sociocultural Theory (SCT) originated by Lev Vygotsky. SCT states that learning needs to come before the development of the learning, and in turn challenge learners to be working ahead of their level (p. 161). As part of SCT, Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is discussed where effective learning takes place between where the level the learner is at and what their ability for development is (p. 162). Vygotsky’s research is used as a way to support scaffolding and the rigorous structuring that goes into planning, and is used to present that students can complete challenging work when structures are in place that keep the learning a ahead of their level, yet within the ZPD. The article details scaffolding and includes types of scaffolding to use with ELLs and examples. Scaffolding steps included in the article are; modeling, bridging, contextualizing, scheme building, re-presenting text and developing metacognition. In my own classroom practice I have used scaffolding quiet successfully and agreed with the research in Walqui’s article. I liked how useful the information was and how it was written in a way that supports those, who already scaffold, to enhance their practice. Three points specifically provided me with a clearer understanding of scaffolding and ideas on further developing my classroom practice. First the concept of using scaffolding as ‘confidence’ building, was something I naturally understood scaffolding to do, but did not consciously think about in my planning. By consciously thinking about confidence building in my scaffolding planning I think my lessons will become more tightly planned and provide an even clearer focus and keep my students a step ahead of their level. Secondly, to become transparent in my reasoning for using scaffolding with my students, to explain to them the process and why I am having them do what I am doing. I found at the end of last year when I introduced my peer tutors it was a very supportive to have them explain my reasoning for lessons and activities. I can see how providing my rational/objective to my students could help them as they work through assignments. Often times when I have been the learner, I would have liked to know the reasoning behind a task. Walqui’s writing has affected how I view my students, and to respect their potential desires to know the reason behind my planning. Finally, Walqui’s article has confirmed for me a concept I have believed, yet not had research to back my opinion. I have always felt it is better to take the time and really learn a concept through structured-scaffold-learning so that students build a solid foundation and have a greater depth to their learning, apposed to focusing heavily on content for the sake of content. Content knowledge can be picked up, but structured learning and having a solid foundation is the key to success and what they take with them for their whole lives as they encounter many different forms of content. I have recently been working to update my Reading List under the Classroom page. The updated reading list includes books I have come across for students with varied reading levels and mostly in their early to mid teens. There are currently three levels listed; early language learners, intermediate language leaners and advanced to fluent language leaners. The books listed have come from those I have built into class libraries, come across because of popular reviews, or are just some of my personal favourites. I've aimed to make the list a collection of popular books, apposed to a lengthy list of random selections. Please feel free to post other titles here or email suggestions you think might be good to add to the list. *Coming soon I will share some Graphic Novel/Story titles. Have you ever wonder how to correctly pronounce a foreign name or had your students tell you that you said something wrong? I have! Teaching ESL, and especially in China, I have often come across names, locations and non-translated words I have no idea how to say aloud. Recently while making podcast recordings for my class I came across a handy site called howjsay.com. Just read the short directions on the homepage and you are set to go. When I first used the site I typed in the name of an ancient Chinese explorer and found the site useful for being able to hear how the name should sound. Fingers crossed my students think I said it correctly! This past summer I took course work on ESL instruction. In the course we discussed the difference between deductive and inductive instruction methods. Deductive refers to a more teacher-centered approach to instruction, where inductive instruction is a more student-centered approach. For a clearer understanding of these methods visit Dr. Bilash’s page titled Inductive and Deductive Instruction on the University of Alberta’s website. Dr. Bilash has written a very nice description of the two methods along with a clear explanation of “noticing” as if connects with inductive instruction. Although I do believe there are times for both deductive and inductive instruction, I do fall more often into an inductive and very student-centered approach to my teaching, and especially for grammar instruction. The lesson I have attached below is an example of an inductive approach to grammar instruction. I thought the lesson was a fun activity and wanted to share it here for others to use. I created this lesson with my middle school Chinese students in mind. I used an inductive approach where I have students ‘notice’ the grammar for the simple past tense and then do activities using the grammar point. I chose the inductive approach because, although I like this approach for teaching new grammar concepts, I would likely use this lesson as a review to a grammar point and want students practicing the rule. I also like the inductive approach because is has students discover, or ‘notice’ what the grammar point is through the learning process.
In ESL/ELL instruction Readers Theatre is a strategy that comes up often. Whenever I have looked at Readers Theatre I have often found the lessons or units to be overly detailed and wanted to find a way to simplify the concept. As well, I wanted to ensure my students were gaining practice with the four language skills; reading, writing, listening and speaking. So, I did some research online and came across several Readers Theatre ideas, and a few things I might like to try. The lesson below is a loose planning of a Readers Theatre lesson and not specific to any script. I hope it can support you in your lesson planning and maybe simplify the concept of Readers Theatre for you. Included in the lesson plan are several suggested modifications and accommodations for the range of learners in any given class.
Among the many activities and lessons I developed for my grade eights this year the most exciting was building a classroom library. Since I am teaching in China, building a classroom library took a little more pre-planning and creativity to organize than if I had an English bookstore in my city. Prior to the winter holiday I met with my students’ parents and proposed my plan to build a class library. With my parents’ support and financial contributes I was able to buy over 170 books while on holiday in Vancouver, Canada. Getting the books back to China was a balancing act of weight distribution in my returning suite cases. It all worked out however and I was able to make the books fit with out paying for extra weight!
The finished library was divided into three learning levels with a wide range of topics to fit the diverse levels and interests of the class. The library includes reading levels for early English language learners, intermediate and advanced to fluent readers. The library consists of fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels and several reference books such as, dictionaries and thesauruses, which were purchased in China. For the remaindered of the year I conducted silent reading time in class where I did mini lessons about effective reading and reading for thinking purposes. I was very happy with the results of the library and look forward to using the books again next year with my students as they enter grade nine. In the last month of this school year I introduced peer tutors into both my classes. In China I have two different groups of grade eight students who are all Chinese students, born in China and whose first language is Chinese. I am their main grade eight English teacher and will be teaching the same group of students next year for grade nine. I introduced peer tutors into the end of grade eight because in grade nine students write a government exam called the Zhongkao for entrance into high school, and I wanted to establish more support and collaborative learning into the classroom. In China, mandatory government funded education ends in grade nine. Students who do not score high enough on the Zhongkao will not be accepted into a high school and will not be eligible for university. The Zhongkao determines if students leave school, filter into the trades, or are accepted into a high school with the potential to enter university. In my classes I have roughly 2-3 very strong students, and in one class, have two who are very close to fluent and could easily assimilate into a Canadian grade nine classroom. At the opposite end however, I have students who are very low where basic communication is a challenge. Taking into consideration the variety of levels within my classes and the desire to build more collaboration and unity I chose to introduce peer tutors. Near the end of the year I developed a review of the term’s language lessons in conjunction with a short novel study, which was to be completed over six days. Before starting I provided a training session for my peer tutors and then introduced them into the classes to support with the final novel study review. Overall I had great success with my peer tutors and I was very pleased with the results from students they worked one-on-one with. Having the peer tutors supporting others in class allowed me to focus my efforts on individual students who require more time and direct support from me. My peer tutors also felt more useful in class and liked the leadership challenge. As successful and rewarding the experience of peer tutors was; I do recognize some possible challenges with the concept. Below are some possible challenges and some suggestions from my experience: • It can be challenging to encourage students to collaborate and support one another. For my students in china, and I suspect many groups of other English Language Learners (ELLs) who come from a different education system, they are not used to the idea of group work and supporting one another for the benefit of all. In China students are used to the lecture style of teaching and because the school system is highly competitive-only the top scoring Zhongkao students are accepted to high school-there is a hesitation to collaborate. Building a sense of community into the classroom prior to introducing peer tutors can greatly support a successful introduction of their role. • A secondary challenge that can arise from the above point is the selection process of who your peer tutors will be. Their fluency with English is an important component, yet their potential for leadership, providers of support and ability to keep confidentiality when working with others are important factors to consider. In my experience, I’ve found many of these skills can be taught, however the peer tutors also need to agree to the terms and be willing to learn. • After the selection and introduction of the peer tutors, some students in the class who have good/very strong English skills may feel left out because they were not asked to be peer tutors. A possible rotation of peer tutors could be a way to alleviate this possible challenge, and something I might do next year. • Other students’ comfort level with the notion of peers supporting them may be a potential challenge for long-term continuation. However, I think in the end if there is enough structure and strategic planning students will come to embrace the additional support and view the peer tutors as an extension of the teacher. • Effective role modeling by peer tutors is something that needs to be learned and as a result the teacher needs to be aware to support peer tutors on how to do this. For example, they are leaders in the class and students will be watching them. If peer tutors are not doing their work, taking initiative, or on task other students will not see the need to do these things. The peers tutors need to have clear instructions given to them, and they need to be encouraged to communicate with the teacher if they are finished and needing something to do. • There is a balance to consider of when to use peer tutors and when to have them be learners in the class. Having peer tutors as supports in the classroom helps provoke their own learning by reinforcing what they know and becoming aware of gaps in their own proficiency. In the long term the teacher needs to take into consideration when to engage peer tutors in their support roles and when to allow them to be learners. Lesson Notes: Introducing peer tutors at the end of this year has been something I really wanted to try and has become what I have enjoyed most all year. I had a very positive experience with my peer tutors and will be continue their roles next year. |
Ms. Kolshuk's BlogWelcome to my blog where I post about my teaching practice, ideas, findings and discuss topics of an educational nature. Please feel free to comment and/or email with any topic suggestions.
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