Cooperative Learning

After viewing the video that accompanied our course text 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners, I was impressed with the Cooperative Learning strategy. I use Cooperative Learning whenever possible, and was pleased to see it presented by another teacher. It gave me the idea of using silence at the beginning of a group activity and then progressing to allow verbal communication. I believe this could show students the importance of collaboration. I also gained the idea of using job cards during our class discussion. When using job cards each student is given a job such as explaining the task, speaker, recorder, and etc.

CREDE Standards For Effective Teaching

1. Students and teachers working together.
2. Developing literacy and language skills across the curriculum.
3. Connecting schools to students lives.
4. Engaging students with challenging lessons.
5. Emphasizing dialogue over lecture.

Dr. Roland Tharp, from The Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE), presented five researched based standards shown above that teachers should implement into their classroom instruction to meet the needs of English Language Learners.

I read an article entitled Delicate Balance by Jon Nordmeyer earlier this week. Nordmeyer (2008) stated, “ESL teachers are essential in helping ELLs to face the twin challenges of achieving in content areas and developing academic English proficiency. Teachers, administrators, and policy makers are beginning to realize, however, that ESL specialists cannot do this job alone and that everyone's roles and responsibilities must shift.” As teachers, our goal should be to provide engaging and challenging educational opportunities for all students. CREDE strategies can help us become effective educators to meet the diverse needs of our students.

CREDE Standards Implemented

CREDE standards help teachers meet the culturally responsive needs of their students. They are guidelines for effective teaching. In the course text by Herrell and Jordan (2008), 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners, there are several CREDE standards that I normally strive to implement on a daily basis. These standards are: Predictable Routines and Signals, Language Framework Planning, Peer Tutoring, and Multimedia Presentations. When special projects are assigned such as newsletters and brochures; I use the CREDE standards Cooperative Learning and Integrated Curriculum Projects. All of the above strategies meet one or all five of the CREDE standards that help improve student learning and achievement.

Cultural Responsiveness

As I viewed the DVD program Culturally Responsive Teaching, I noticed that Dr. Eugene Garcia stated that all teachers have a theory about how they approach education, and this theory plays a role in how they teach. I believe that all students can learn regardless of their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. These diverse students need someone to believe in them, to challenge them, and to hold them to high expectations. I have been thinking about how culturally responsive my teaching is in relation to Dr. Garcia’s 5 Rs. I believe that I effectively practice the following culturally responsive approaches: respect, responsible, and reasonable. However, I could improve on learning to become more responsive and resourceful. Dr. Garcia stated in the DVD segment, Culturally Responsive Teaching, that diversity should be perceived as a resource and to let kids use their native language to communicate (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007). I never thought about how important it is for kids to use their native languages until Dr. Garcia emphasized the importance of it. The next time I have ELLs in my classes, I will strive to implement all of Dr. Garcia’s 5Rs.

Adjustments Using CREDE Standards

This week I taught a lesson in Desktop Publishing focusing on learning how to use mail merge in Microsoft Word to create address labels. We discussed vocabulary terms relating to mail merge and I demonstrated the process using my Interactive Board and projector. After the lesson demonstration, students were assigned to create their own address label. Peer tutoring was used to help students who were struggling with the process. After assessing this lesson, I scanned through our course text, 50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners, to find a strategy that would have made this lesson more effective for my students. I found the Reporting Back approach. It would have been an excellent follow up activity to reinforce the lesson. In this approach students would use vocabulary and explain the mail merge steps they used to create address labels.

Dr. Eugene Garcia's "5Rs and 1T"

Five R's

Respect--Children see themselves as others see them.
Responsive--Understanding the roots of children.
Responsible--Assessing how students are engaged.
Resourceful--Diversity perceived as a resource.
Reasonable--Doing what is right even if you don't know what to do.

T

Theory--the way teachers approach education of children and their notations about how to educate them.