Unit 7 Teach to your audience

I remember as a beginning teacher taking a course on classroom management. The professor referred to the work of Jacob Kounin. Kounin claimed that the difference between teachers who have strong behaviour management and those who don't, begins with how they prevent misbehaviour in the first place.
A term that stuck with me for all this time is one he refers to as 'with-it-ness'. A description of that teacher who intuitively knows what to put in place before the class starts and how to adjust her style throughout a lesson. I tell new teachers to 'know their audience and to teach to their audience'. What do I mean by that? Learn to read your class and analyze why the behaviour is occurring. Is the lesson too long, too easy, too difficult...do I have students sitting beside each other who don't make the best choices together, is the configuration of my room adding to a problematic situation?
In my observations there are teachers who have this intuitive gift, they can scan a room and determine what needs to be done to fix a situation. Then there are those who it doesn't come naturally to but who can learn it. They listen to their colleagues who offer suggestions about what works best with a group and start planning from that point. There are others who don't get it, they blame the students or parents, worse yet they choose to ignore the situation, chaos ensues and everyone just has a bad year. Despite what might be out there, those scenarios are few and far between and hopefully there is a mentor or coach who can counsel that person to a new profession!
The key is not relying on one method for every class, I reiterate, you need to read your audience and adjust your teaching to the needs of the class.


Here is a link to an article on the Kounin Model.

Jacob Kounin

 

Unit 6 Lessons learned

Preparing lessons is challenging, but also exciting. The chance to help students to learn something new, to develop their skills or to impact their education is what makes teaching such a worthwhile career. It is important though not to be complacent. Teaching is not about creating a bank of lessons that you pull out every time you teach that topic.
 It is important for teachers to reflect on the lesson after it is taught. Making notes on the lesson for changes that you would make or for what worked especially well, will help in the planning for the next lesson. Each class is unique, one size does not fit all, so it is important that as you prepare the lesson that you know who your students are so that you can meet their needs.
Lesson planning is not only about knowing who your students are. You must also know your content and your learning targets. Check out the curriculum prior to beginning your preparation. You might think it is important for students to have a specific skill, and it is fine to introduce that to them, however, ensure that your assessment reflects what the outcomes are for the lesson and be sure to keep the curriculum or CLB in mind. Assessments need to be based on what is actually in the curriculum, not what you believe a student should know.  Remember to let your students know what the outcomes for the lesson are so that everyone has the goals in sight.
Enjoy the planning, knowing that this lesson might be the one that helps your students turn the corner on their learning journey.

Here are some questions that I would use as I begin my lesson planning:

1. What level are my students at?
2. What are my main objectives (terminal) and my supporting objectives for the lesson?
3. What activating strategy will I use to engage students in the task?
4. How can I build variety into my lesson? 
5. How much time do I need to allocate to each task?
6. What materials and resources will I require for the lesson?
7. Do I have a good balance of teacher and student talk in the lesson?
8. How can I differentiate for students who may not be able to complete the lesson as planned?
9. How will I measure the students' learning (formative and summative)?
10. What extra-class activity will I assign?


Just starting the lesson planning journey? Here's an article to help get you started.

How to write a lesson plan 

Unit 5 Theories into practice

There are five theories that I have incorporated in some capacity in my teaching. I definitely have an eclectic approach and feel that is best for students-as they don't all learn and respond to the same teaching methodology. There does need to be some continuity for lessons or activities though so that students don't see this as a bunch of random teaching methods with no connections.
I have included some links to videos that demonstrate or explain the methods.

Community Language Learning: 

No man or woman is an island. We need to be able to provide support and strength to our fellow learners. I think one of the biggest bonuses of this approach is that there is always an opportunity for students to demonstrate their talents/knowledge, each one becoming an expert at one point. So many of our students have been respected professionals in their home countries, they come to Canada and begin again from the bottom. By building a community and allowing the students to direct the flow of the learning we are respecting their input and giving them some control on their language acquisition.

 

Community language learning-explanation

 

Direct Method: 

I think there is a lot of validity to this approach. There are many components of our first language acquisition that can be applied to our L2. The idea of using everyday vocabulary and not correcting every error makes learning the language more meaningful and enjoyable which means the student will be a more effective learner.

 

Direct method-definition

 

Suggestopedia: 

I have to admit I thought at first this idea was way out there. Then I saw it in action with the teacher and it intrigued me. I have long known the importance music can play in lowering the anxiety in a classroom, as well as the calm voice and aesthetically pleasing environment-all factors that create a safe learning environment. However, I have never put everything together as it is suggested in this method. I wouldn't use this approach all the time but I'd like to see its impact in the classroom. A word of caution with this, there was a post by a teacher who was removed from her teaching position for using this method, you might want to check with your administrator before using this approach.

 

Sample suggestopedia class

Baroque music to study by 

 

Task Based Language Teaching: 

I think anytime students can work towards an authentic task they are more engaged in the learning. They take control of their learning, identifying their language needs as they complete the task. My observation is that students rely less on the teacher, when completing the task, to guide the learning than they do on fellow students. They tend to ask their classmates questions and only seek out the teacher when clarification is needed.

    

Task based language teaching demonstration

 

Total Physical Response: 

Students seem to really enjoy this opportunity to move around and explore their learning in a multi-modality approach. Thinking and doing at the same time is harder than one would think. I heard an actress explain once that she had to do a role as a research doctor. She first learned her lines but then learned her lines doing the actions, it was a different process. I like the idea of acting out some of the vocabulary and phrases students need to learn. Doing is definitely learning. This youtube video gives an excellent example of TPR storytelling, I can see myself using this strategy.

 

  TPR storytelling 

Resources:

American English. (1990). Language Teaching Methods.

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed. revised).

Chong, C.S. (2012). A Trip Down the Memory Lane of Methodology.

Unit 4 Beyond stickers and empty praise

There are few educational debates as lively as extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation. If you subscribe to Skinner's theory it is our nature to be conditioned to have a stimuli-response behaviour. If we give our students rewards they will accomplish the task. Alfie Kohn on the other hand maintains that this doesn't work and that we need to create a safe environment for learners where they take risks and learn from mistakes, rather than using coercive strategies (like reinforcement) to help them meet their goals. It is hard to argue with that theory, as learners do learn best when they are in a safe and supportive learning environment, but is that enough?

I think, like most theories, the truth lies somewhere in between. Many of our students are motivated to achieve a goal and it can often have high emotion tied to it such as getting a professional job, providing for their family, or attaining a degree. Sometimes their investment in learning is not  about obtaining knowledge and a new set of skills, they have a need to be part of a community, to fit in with those around them and this drives them to succeed in class. (Brown, p. 101) Both of these situations have a strong link to intrinsic motivation. Tied in with that though is the belief that positive feedback that learners perceive as a boost to their feelings of competence and self-determination has an effect on intrinsic motivation. (Dornyei, 2009) Who doesn't get an inner glow when our teacher recognizes our efforts and growth? The key to tying that positive reinforcement into intrinsic motivation is  providing genuine positive and prescriptive feedback, based on the performance of our students. Even though we may be motivated to complete a task or learn a new language, it always inspires us to push forward, when we receive validation for our efforts and accomplishments. In fact isn't it true that in our darkest hours, when our goals seem insurmountable we reach back for those moments to inspire us to keep going?

Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation 

Unit 3 Grammar...It's not enough to know it sounds right

One of the most difficult tasks of teaching grammar, I think, is knowing the grammar rule yourself. Often we use  a form of speech just because it sounds right. As a teacher I would definitely need to have resources on hand so that when my students have a question I can look up the explanation and provide them with a reasonable and correct response. I do like the idea of repeating a phrase back to a student or modelling the behaviour rather than calling specific attention and having students repeat the correct phrase to me numerous times.
Using dialogues and conversations is a real-life opportunity for students to have the opportunity to hear and demonstrate their understanding of the grammar rules.

Unit 2 Why get to know the learner?

In Unit 2 the emphasis was placed on getting to know your learner. In the past, teachers might have tended to focus only on curriculum and a one-size fits all approach to their students when planning lessons. This is certainly the easiest way to teach but not the most effective.
In recent years there has been more of a movement to build relationships with students, this isn't about going out for coffee with your students or inviting them over for dinner! It is about a balance between knowing about who they are as a person and who they are as learners.

Developing a repertoire of icebreakers or getting to know you activities is a good start to finding out more about the learners in your class. It can be in the form of a bingo activity (e.g. likes swimming, plays an instrument, brown eyes), a walk and talk worksheet (complete the sheet by finding colleagues who match the question e.g. has a dog) or a short questionnaire (see sample below). Teachers can use the information to have authentic conversations with students that are more specific to who they are as a person. That connection helps to create a safe and inclusive learning environment that draws students together, creating a community of learners.

Teachers also need to know who their students are as learners and this is done through a variety of diagnostic, formative and summative assessments using conversations, observations and products to determine the students strengths and challenges. By observing students a teacher can determine if a student is a visual, auditory or tactile learner. All this data helps a teacher create the best plans for her students.

I think we've discovered in education that unless you get to know who your students are as people and learners they will not be successful learners and you will not be a successful teacher.

 Getting to know you task

 

 

 

 

Unit 1 Who am I?

I am a teacher. 

Even though my job description is school administrator I will forever be a teacher. As I embark on this new learning journey I expect to learn new techniques or strategies to use with an adult learner that are unfamiliar to me, but I look forward to that. I am excited to apply the knowledge that I have gained through my experience with K-12 students to the new learning I will discover about adult students.
One of the biggest changes for me is that I anticipate that these students (generally) want to be in the class. They are learning a new language because they might have a job prospect or simply need to be able to conduct everyday life tasks in their new country. My teaching will be more task oriented and rather than being curriculum based it will be needs based. The main strategies that I use will be similar: variety of ways to teach and have students demonstrate learning, complete timely feedback and revise my lessons based on my class assessment.
Regardless of the age of the students I work with I will continue to work hard to inspire, encourage and celebrate with them as they embark on their learning journey.

Teaching adults

Video: how to teach adults

Peterson, Deb. (2019, May 23). 5 Principles for the Teacher of Adults. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/principles-for-the-teacher-of-adults-31638