Part of my job is to provide training and coaching to our mainstream teachers as they develop lesson plans that include ELLs.
In this post I want to focus on the Iast one. I encourage our mainstream teachers to spend some time in my sheltered classes. I want them to, at the very least, observe the students learning in a safe/comfortable environment. At best, I want our mainstream teachers to interact with a lesson in a personal way with our ELL’s. The benefits of a teacher seeing a normally quiet, socially reclusive, or awkward student in a “safe” environment are many, but here are 3: 1.) Such an experience immediately changes the teacher’s understanding of a student’s language proficiency level. 2.) Watching me interact with the full confidence of the student’s academic ability increases the mainstream teacher’s awareness of scholastic capabilities. 3.) Finally, observing conversations in which I don’t understand a student linguistically (or they don’t understand me) allows another teacher to pick up comprehension techniques and maneuvers as I work with a student to achieve clear communication. Teachers observing other teachers is a cheap and easy way to accomplish professional development/training. Mainstream teachers observing a sheltered class may note:
Seeing an ELL in action within a safe environment can build confidence in the teacher as get to know the student and see techniques useful for ELLs. It also allows the student to achieve a new comfort level with another teacher.
1 Comment
10/12/2018 09:50:28 am
I am a teacher and I have been teaching for almost six years. I am a mainstream teacher and I want to learn how to develop lesson plans that include ELLs. I want to attend on one of your trainings and be knowledgeable on what to do and expect. I also want to experience visiting one of your sheltered classes and observe how the students interact in the classroom. I want to witness the techniques of teaching the students and how I can make them feel relaxed and comfortable once they entered my class.
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