Module 5 - Journal of Connections to My Professional Community

MODULE 5 JOURNAL 

March 10th, 2022 - Brainstorming for my post 

When thinking about what to post about in my PLC - BC TESOL - Teachers of English Language Learners I wanted to pose an open ended question so that I would get as much activity as possible. 

Some areas that I have felt like I had questions about or needed more support are: 

• Making pull out groups during Covid 
• How to get shy ELLs to speak more and interact with their peers and teachers
• Most effective instruction strategies 
• Fostering independence with reluctant learners 

Majid’s reminder about keeping things short and sweet to promote more engagement is something I am keeping in the back of my mind when crafting my post. 

I also mentioned that I was hoping to demonstrate some leadership within my PLC by 

sharing an ELL specific resource on the BCTF webpage. 

March 11th, 2022  - Posting in my PLC

I wrote the post below and intentionally mentioned student centred philosophies, as the learning of each ELL student is so individualized and unique. Every ELL student has a different background, story, understanding of English, and some are also trying to adjust to a brand new culture and societal norms. Since I work with ELL students that are K- grade 5 that all have different skills and knowledge, I am hoping that members of the group will provide insight on the most effective strategies they have used across grade levels. I tried to not mention any instruction strategies that I use, in hopes to provide an open-ended prompt that will promote discussion. 

Hi there, 

I am a graduate student at Queen’s university and have been learning about the importance of student centred philosophies particularly in the ELL context. As a first time elementary ELL teacher, I tend to use backwards mapping to assess where my ELL students are currently and build on their skills through in class support, and small group or one-on-one pull out. I know that keeping content individualized and using a variety of activities helps keep students engaged, though I am wondering what are the most effective instruction strategies you have used to help your ELL students progress?   

I am appreciative of any feedback, thanks! 

March 12th, 2022 - Reflecting on Learner-Centred Philosophies & Student Engagement  

While waiting for group members to respond to my post I thought that I would go back through my OneDrive files to determine what would be an open-ended, accessible, ELL friendly lesson that I could post on the BCTF website to demonstrate some leadership and provide some instruction ideas for teachers in BC. 

While looking through lessons I have already created and used, I wanted to highlight some of the topics we have covered throughout this course to ensure my instruction practices reflect what I have learned. Some topics that stood out to me are the importance of student choice, open-ended inquiry opportunities, and self reflection to enhance assessment. 

Since English language learners all have such different access points to the curriculum, I wanted a student-centred lesson that focused on the “needs and concerns of individuals” and celebrated differences. As Schiro mentioned, learner-centred classrooms help create “enjoyable places where people develop naturally according to their own innate natures” (Schiro, pg. 5) 

The lesson I selected has been a hit for all of my students in the past, ELLs included, and I’ve used it as a get to know you project during term one. I had previously created the Celebrate Me Planning sheet and refer to some student power point examples when introducing the project. When I’ve used this project in the past, student engagement has been high, as students are eager to share facts about themselves and find similarities and differences with their classmates. 

Watching  “A Teacher’s POV: Starting Inquiry based learning in the classroom” and “Power of Student Voice to Enhance Teacher Practice” videos in module 3, emphasized the importance of letting students explore how they learn best by giving them open-ended, creative prompts and allowing them to experiment and problem solve along the way. The videos also highlighted that having projects on display throughout the school helped students feel proud of their work and made them more eager to explain their work to others, which resulted in more confident student speakers.

For this specific project, I have used it as a way to teach Powerpoint basics to grade 3s and 4s, though allowing students to present their project in a way that works for them (posters, movies, comics etc.) increases motivation and relevancy, as they feel like they are in more in control of their learning. If students want to explore imovie or make a poster, teachers can model adaptability by helping their students problem solve and adjust their plan as they develop their presentation. 

I included adaptations and extensions if you would like to view the lesson here: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SHKsowuXig0vzglBhj5Tm-Z4NEVyJScEHA6dp1iguFY/edit?usp=sharing

March 13th, 2022 - Reflecting on Assessment 

After reflecting on the assessment strategies deeper, I decided to add a self assessment rubric to the resource I am uploading to the BCTF to be “transparent so students can learn to evaluate their own work in the same way their teachers would” (Shepard, pg. 11) Having peers assess others’ presentations through stars and wishes is a great way to balance positive and constructive feedback to “maintain motivation and self esteem” (11) without overwhelming students with commentary.

I uploaded this 4 point rubric along with my lesson resources and tried to use student language so that they could critically evaluate themselves after presenting their final Celebrate Me Project. I didn't mention this on my BCTF post as I didn't have student permission to post it there, though I would use a student powerpoint example and have the students "grade it" as a class before beginning the project to ensure they understand the expectations.

Since posting my original question on my PLC, I had received a few replies, which I decided to respond to in hopes to promote further discussion and resource sharing. I should note that this is a BC specific PLC and many schools are on Spring Break currently, so low traffic could potentially correlate with teachers on vacation and taking a much needed break from educational content. 

 March 14th, 2022 - Checking Responses on my original post 

Below are screen shots of responses to my original post in my PLC, BC TESOL - Teachers of English Language Learners. You can click on the images to zoom in. 

I am trying to limit my screen time so I would check back in the evenings to see if anyone else had responded. I do like how Facebook allows you to see how many people in the group have "Seen" your post so you can gauge how many people are active in the group. Currently, 73 people in the group have seen it and I will continue checking responses over the next few days. 

Below are screen shots of my responses to those that responded to my original post. 

I had heard of using games and engaging prompts to promote discussion and longer oral responses among ELLs but it was great to get some more ideas like using the "What's around the room" idea that one teacher suggested. 

Another group member highlighted the flexible nature of teaching ELLs and emphasized cross curricular opportunities through Art, LA, Science and Socials while still developing oral, listening, reading and writing skills. I am going to try to implement more cross curricular opportunities with my small groups as I have tended to start with a review game then dive right into a phonics or writing activity. Giving them more choice and changing up the structure of my small groups will hopefully keep students more engaged and eager to try to build on their English skills.  

March 15th, 2022 - Uploading Resource to BCTF's library 

Today I finalized my Celebrate Me lesson and uploaded to the BCTF's resource library. It was a straight forward process with several prompts asking about the overview of the resource, intended grade level, topics covered, and finally, uploading the resource. When uploading my document there was no preview option, so I did not realize that the screen shot of the self assessment rubric would end up being poor quality. That was the only minor issue I had with the uploading process itself. It took a few hours for it to upload to the website and I was able to search "Celebrate Me" and it popped up once I was logged into the BCTF website. 

Below are some screen shots of the process of uploading my lesson to the BCTF website.

After uploading my resource, this window popped up informing me that I would get a complimentary PSA membership. The email I received mentioned "

"If you are a BCTF member and this is the first resource you have uploaded, you are eligible to receive a complimentary PSA membership. Forward a copy of this email to psa-coordinator@bctf.ca and ask for a "complimentary PSA form" 

 I will need to follow through with this final step which isn't a huge effort on my part. I do think it's great that they are trying to get more teachers to share resources by enticing them with complimentary PSA memberships.  

March 16th, 2022 - Encouraging more discussion 

After a few days of waiting for more responses on my original post asking about successful instruction strategies, I decided to make a visual for ELL teachers to refer to and share it with my PLC in hopes to spark more discussion. Below is the screenshot of the visual I made on canvas. As you can see, I highlighted the curricular philosophies, instruction, assessment, and planning strategies in an ELL specific context to share some of my learning from this course.

I find that I am more likely to engage with a visual than a long paragraph, so hopefully there will be some people who connect with this format instead. 

Here is the screenshot of my second post on my PLC:

Sadly I did not receive any comments on my visual post. 

March 17th, 2022 - Reflecting on my PSA experiences 

After contributing to the BCTF's resource library I realized that there is no place for comments from any other teachers who might use it. There is a download option or share to Facebook or Twitter. I found that this doesn't really promote discussion between teachers about their resources but does give educators an idea of how other BC teachers are teaching specific topics or themes. I will definitely be referring to the BCTF's resources more now that I know how easy the website is to navigate. I am also more inclined to post more resources now that I know how easy the process is. 

In terms of my interactions with the BC TESOL - Teachers of English Language Learners Facebook page, I have made a pros and cons list to clearly articulate my experiences. 

Pros: 

• quick access to the group, was able to post within 24hrs 
• BC ELL teacher specific group (teachers who have joined the BC TESOL PSA are guided to the FB group) 
• quick way to share resources or pose a question
• posts are moderated by group Admin members
• FB sent a notification when there was activity on my post  

Cons: 

• engagement is unpredictable 
• only BC teachers (not as diverse of a PSA population) 
• Like buttons give people the option to just "like" and not necessarily contribute
• Most BC teachers are currently on Spring Break (motivation to respond to work related content is low) 

All in all I was happy that multiple people engaged with my initial post despite only receiving a handful of written responses. The people who did respond provided me with some validation  since they were using some similar instruction strategies that I use already. Some suggestions also pushed me to reflect on my teaching practice and reevaluate how to maximize my small group pull out interactions best.  

In conclusion, this PLC has allowed me to adapt my learning and teaching practices through the interchanges I've experienced with other group members and I look forward to implementing others' advice and resources to help increase student achievement. 

Sources 

     Schiro, M. S. (2013).  Introduction to the curriculum ideologies.  In M. S. Schiro, Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns (2nd ed., pp. 1-13). Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage.

    Shepard, L. A. (2000). The role of assessment in a learning culture. Educational Researcher, 29(7), 4-14. doi:10.3102/0013189X029007004

    

    A Teacher's P.O.V. on Starting Inquiry-based Learning in the Classroom. 

• http://vimeo.com/85470752
• The Power of Student Voice to Enhance Teacher Practice. 
  https://vimeo.com/61528845
•