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This course provides the opportunity for teacher candidates to design, to deliver, and to assess effective instruction. Emphasis will be placed on the use of multiple methodologies to inform instruction to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. A 60 hour field experience in an approved PK-12 school is required. 

 

English as a Second Language Learners

 

English language learners face a plethora of problems as they begin to acclimate to a new culture. ESL learners have challenges from linguistic and cultural differences. Educators must be empowered to deal with these challenges and assist students in not only learning a new language but the American culture and history as well. Educators must make every effort to reduce the "cognitive load" of the lessons they teach. Choose activities and assignments that allow students to draw on their prior knowledge and life experiences. Remember students will have to adjust to your classroom management style. Some students may not respond to your questions unless you ask them the question directly (Phi Delta Kappan, 2004).

 

Go to WIDA to learn more information about ESL students' academic language development, assessments and research about ESL learners

 

ESL Websites:

 

ESL Kids Stuff

EnglishMediaLab

NWCSD

 

Lesson plans:

NC Wise Owl

LearnNC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click pictures below to access PowerPoints.

 

 

 

 

Cooperative Learning

Effective Teachers

The effective teacher is one who is able to bring about intended learning outcomes. A number of studies have concluded that the single most important factor determining the quality of the education a child receives is the quality of the teacher.

 

Effective teachers must be fair, democratic, understanding, original, and confident.

 

General areas of teacher competence incldue the following:

  1. Command of theoretical knowledge about learning and human behavior.

  2. Display of attitudes that foster learning and genuine human relationships.

  3. Command of knowledge in the subject matter to be taught.

  4. Repertoire of teaching skills that facilitate student learning.

 

 

There are also four domains of teaching responsibility: 1) planning and preparation; 2) the classroom environment; 3) instruction; and 4) professional responsibilities.

 

 

 

Cooperative Learning is an effective method for all types of students, including academically gifted, mainstream students and English language learners (ELLs) because it promotes learning and fosters respect among diverse groups of students. Peers learn to depend on each other in a positive way for a variety of learning tasks.

 

Students typically work in teams of four. Students are often assigned roles: recorder, time keeper, leader, and presenter.

 

Role playing, jigsaw, interactive cases, and team games are just a few examples of cooperative learning.

 

Other strategies include: round robin, roundtable, writearound, tea party, and numbered heads together. 

 

  1. Round Robin

    Present a category (such as "Names of Birds") for discussion. Have students take turns going around the group and naming items that fit the category.

  2. Roundtable

    Present a category (such as words that begin with "r"). Have students take turns writing one word at a time.

  3. Writearound

    For creative writing, give a sentence starter (for example: If you give a baby a cookie, he's going to ask for...). Ask all students in each team to finish that sentence. Then, they pass their paper to the right, read the one they received, and add a sentence to that one. After a few rounds, four great stories or summaries emerge. Give children time to add a conclusion and edit their favorite one to share with the class.

  4. Numbered Heads Together

    Ask students to number off in their teams from one to four. Announce a question and a time limit. Students put their heads together to come up with an answer. Call a number and ask all students with that number to stand and answer the question. Recognize correct responses and elaborate through rich discussions.

  5. Team Jigsaw

    Assign each student in a team one fourth of a page to read from any text (for example, a science text), or one fourth of a topic to investigate or memorize. Each student completes his or her assignment and then teaches the others or helps to put together a team product by contributing a piece of the puzzle.

  6. Tea Party

    Students form two concentric circles or two lines facing each other. You ask a question (on any content) and students discuss the answer with the student facing them. After one minute, the outside circle or one line moves to the right so that students have new partners. Then, pose a second question for them to discuss. Continue with four or more questions. For a little variation, students can write questions on cards to review for a test through this "Tea Party" method.

 

 

 

 

 

Click on picture.

 

 

 

 

More information about cooperative learning on page 3.

My Favorite Teacher

 

Who was your favorite teacher? Write a brief reflection about why this person was your favorite teacher. Describe his or her classroom and personality.

 

 

Help your ESL learners to.........

After viewing the PowerPoints, write a summary describing the benefits of using the SIOP model in your lessons. Use Google to learn more about SIOP.

More information about Effective Teachers on page 4. 

Suggested Literature: 

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