https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt The struggle was/is real! en-us 2018-10-25 22:26:39 UTC 2024-10-15 00:58:54 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Balance.png tayl1004 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/297853064 When I took a class on assessment for ESL , there was an article that really stuck to me by Kate Menken. I attached the link to it on here and feel free to skim through. The main takeaway of this article includes the pressure of mandates during the NCLB era and how schools and ELLs were punished for failing to meet accountability through standardized tests. One of the main examples int he article talks about the Regents exam which was used as an high school exit exam for honors students and were also given to ELLs who were categorized as SLIFEs (students with limited or informal education). I challenged the accountability mandate as a systematic injustices placed politically in order to push out immigrants from coming in to the US after 9/11. Although times have changed, I continuously look for challenges of taking assessments for my students whether that involves giving them an exam that mainstream students are required to take or the instructor failing to modify it for them to meet their needs. I have observed a situation at my current practicum placement of how zero prepping and poor coordination can lead to degrading  consequences for our students' test taking experience. No one benefited from it and it caused our students to copy off each other's work. I finally spoke up and asked if myself and my mentor teacher can know what to expect in science class directly from the content  teacher beforehand during prep hour. At first, a Co-Teaching graphic organizer was offered to the content teacher but they refused to fill it out and said it was unnecessary. Slowly over the course of the semester, the content teacher has opened up to collaborating together with my mentor teacher and it has been really effective. I was given opportunities to sit down and modify quizzes and test materials for our ELLs and the results have been astounding! I understand this article was published about a decade ago but as I have seen in my practicum, I wonder if you all had to face this situation? How do you productively communicate & collaborate with co-teachers or content teachers and other staff?]]> 2018-10-29 02:26:28 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/297853064 tayl1004 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/297853383 Attached is a glimpse of a science test for my 6th grade Level 2 ELLs. My mentor teacher and I will work on the test together this week and once it is modified, I will upload the final product and an update to how students did on the test.]]> 2018-10-29 02:28:49 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/297853383 laue0148 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/298130049 I think it is very important to modify materials for ELLs in content classes. It amazes me the amount of push back content teachers will give when asked to do this. One teacher last year said she couldn't believe she was supposed to edit class notes for Level 1 ELs. I told her that the modifications are usually great to use with Special Ed students as well and she shouldn't look at it as work for only 3 students. It always frustrates me when teachers react this way because if these accommodations were on an IEP for a Special Ed student, they would not act that way. ]]> 2018-10-29 16:41:25 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/298130049 laue0148 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/298132373 I usually would modify tests as well Jee. Usually in math and science test or notes. I would take out additional information in math questions that only confused the students. I would also try to highlight words that were important to the question. We always read the tests orally to EL students at my school as well because sometimes hearing the questions is helpful with understanding it. One thing some teachers do well in my school is allowing differentiate for assessments. They will say: "Please describe the process any way you can. Draw pictures, write sentences, use a graphic organizer." By allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge in any way they can, students are able to focus on the content and not how they are answering the question. My EL students would draw pictures and not have to worry about their English skills when answering which helped a lot!]]> 2018-10-29 16:45:13 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/298132373 laue0148 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/298133028 One slight annoyance that also comes from modifying tests is when teachers put it on you. They say "your kids need this." Yes they are my students but they are also yours. We need to both put the effort in to make sure they succeed and referring to them as "our kids" can be a great first step to building that relationship. ]]> 2018-10-29 16:46:15 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/298133028 tayl1004 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/300810698 Thank you for responding right away! I agree with the slight annoyance on how general educators may feel that ELLs are only "my students" instead of incorporating them and making them inclusive to the mainstream classroom. This semester in my practicum, I have seen a gradual change the content teacher was making slowly but it did progress a bit more than he was willing to in the beginning. I saw that willing to collaborate or plan ahead was not seen as a imminent need for our students until their test results came out negatively. 
One thing I really found helpful reading from your post is about allowing students to convey their answers in different modes such as drawing to help alleviate the stress of taking a content exam in their target language. We did a similar thing with my students where we had a lab and my students had to  brainstorm different designs for a catapult. My mentor teacher and I took images of different catapult designs as evidence for the content teacher that we physically brainstormed in tactile manner by using our materials to create different designs. But that doesn't mean we ignored trying to write out ideas on paper- we encouraged our students to try and write their output on paper before trying a different option to complete the lab. 
You mentioned pushback from general educators and I have experienced the same last year when the biology teacher said, "I don't know how to modify the lesson materials and I feel bad but it's either I teach 5 ELLs specifically and ignore 30 mainstream kids or teach as many students as I can possible which are those 30 mainstream kids so only 5 students (the ELLs) suffer. It made me realize the lack of support the teacher had and it comes to the point where she has to outweigh her options and go for what seems like the best or logical choice. I also had issues on modifying the vocabulary quizzes in this teacher's class last year for biology and I had to help my 7th grade ELLs make flashcards with their respective L1 as they were Level 1 and newcomers. I think something just is not working and there is a bigger underlying issue when it comes to making the mainstream classroom an inclusive place where ELLs are not looked upon as "others". ]]> 2018-11-06 03:36:37 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/300810698 tayl1004 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/300814145 Here is another catapult my students created for their Lab]]> 2018-11-06 04:05:53 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/300814145 laue0148 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/301101971 It's crazy to read that the science teacher actually said she had to choose between 5 ELLs or 30 Mainstream! I get it, but wow! There are major issues with that! I always get frustrated because no one would ever say that about Special Ed students so why are ELLs different? 

I am in a school that has ELLs for the first time EVER this year. It's going to be interesting to see the pushback and growing pains this school and it's EL program have. 

]]> 2018-11-06 17:09:16 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/301101971 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/301893272 2018-11-08 04:37:31 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/301893272 kelse064 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302337775 Hey ladies - 

For some reason I don't have the ability to respond directly to your posts... I'm probably missing something, but I can't figure it out so I will post all of my thoughts here. 

Jee- Like usual, I can completely imagine where you are coming from because you are supporting students in the environment that I worked full-time last year. As the interpreter I was expected to do the work that you are doing right now, and it was incredibly frustrating. 

As Becca mentions, it's unfortunately a much bigger/underlying issue than just modifying tests. *sigh* 

I'm also in agreement with Becca in that when I was in the interpreter role last year I did a ton of collaboration with Special Education teachers because many of the modifications that work for Special education students also work well for ELLs (specifically new comers with very little English).  

I have worked as a general classroom teacher (long term substitute positions) before, so I definitely understand that there is never enough time and there is always more you want to do, but this kind of issue NEEDS to be a priority. 

When I was planning lessons (and exams) for groups, I always designed the plans to work for my lowest level of learners and then found ways to incorporate opportunities for my higher level students to go deeper. This is best practice. 





]]> 2018-11-08 21:15:19 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302337775 kelse064 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302340034 When I start to dig into this issue deeper, I get frustrated because I think that the bigger issue (in my experience/from what I have seen) is in the curriculum. 

In the past schools purchased curriculum and teachers followed it, but now there are so many incredible resources online, that textbooks are wildly outdated. 

With that I find that any teacher who is GENUINELY ENGAGING students is creating their own curriculum based on current events and relevant information to students and their communities. This often means that every teacher is spending absurd amounts of time building curriculum, which I would image wasn't as common in the past (when the internet wasn't as fast/widely accessible). 

In that I feel like teachers are each individually recreating the wheel, and there is no good way to share resources. I know a lot of teachers that purchase materials from sites like "teachers pay teachers" and often times those are great, properly scaffolded, resources, but it shouldn't be the teacher's responsibility (financially) to do that! 

Schools and districts should have positions in place to do that kind of thing, and/or provide a teacher with a "flex budged" to do it on their own if that is the only option. 

I guess i just get really frustrated because the time it takes to create a TRULY appropriate, engaging, scaffolded lesson that is accessible is a lot. It is not a "quick" process. That being said there needs to be a way to make the materials that have been created more accessible, or work in paid time for teachers to do some of this planning (maybe in the summer)? 

]]> 2018-11-08 21:21:32 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302340034 kelse064 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302342195 The last thought I have on this is with regards then to grading and standards because whenever class materials are modified the issue of "fairness" arises. 

Northeast Middle (where Jee is doing her practicum and where I worked last year) is trying to shift to a more "standards based grading system" so students will be graded on a scale of 1-8 (for example) where 6 would be "Meets Minimum requirements." This is interesting because it leaves a lot of objectivity in the grading procedure. 

It requires students to go above and beyond the required expectations in order to earn an "A" or 8.  

And, what is "above and beyond" for an ELL student is really different than what is "above and beyond for a general ed student... and then parents get crabby and the word "fairness" starts flying... 

I personally like the idea of standards based grading because it innately addresses differentiation, and as Alice mentioned in her post, it makes learning more of a "process" because the summative evaluations are not exams, they are products which require more of a process. 

I also struggle with the subjectivity. I like having cut and dry/objective standards so that when parents come in I can very clearly articulate the "why" behind my grades. 

I don't know if you guys have any thoughts about this, or if you've seen something else work better?

Sorry Jee, I kind of went off on my own little tangent over here. NCLB obviously sucks, but I think there are a LOT of things, (that included) that suck for ELL learners. GRRRRR to broken systems... *sigh*

 ]]> 2018-11-08 21:26:57 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302342195 tayl1004 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302357856 "For a fair selection everybody has to take the same exam: Please climb that tree."]]> 2018-11-08 22:21:18 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302357856 zheng873 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302426174 As a world language teacher, I have had two ELLs in my Chinese class. It was my first time realize that how important it is to modify assessments for ELLs. My students are from Mexico, their first language is Spanish. Because I am not a native English speaker either,   my homework and test description are often written not as clear as other teachers. I hadn't realize that until I found that my ELLs didn't finish the homework because they can not get access to the website I told them orally for the wrong spelling. I suddenly realized that they are learning the third language by second language which makes the learning progress much challenging. 
Besides that, me myself, is a typical example of ELLs. Even though I have learned English since the elementary school, and I have been living and studying US for two years, my English comprehension cannot reach native level. It takes me more time to read papers and understand lectures. Hence, I agree with Jee and Becca's practices that modifying assessments in content class for ELLs. Also, I think this process should combine both content teacher and ELL teacher's contribution. ]]> 2018-11-09 04:53:29 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302426174 tayl1004 https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302810813 Thank you to everyone for contributing to the discussion. I really enjoyed reading about what is going on in your schools with your students and discussing different underlying issues that may contribute to assessment, standards, curriculum,  and instruction. As teachers, we have the ability to adjust different aspects to help uplift our students learning opportunities even though it comes at a cost. I did promise to have an update on the 6th grade benchmark test for science from the middle school. My mentor teacher and I provided testing accommodations for ELLs who were at Level 2 on the WIDA scale by completely allowing them to leave the mainstream classroom and go to a quieter classroom downstairs. Before we started the test, we had the students list the steps of the Engineering Design Process on a big white board to use as a reference during the test. We allowed the students to review the vocabulary terms on Quizlet while my mentor teacher and I each took one student at a time to read the questions out loud to them. We simplified the questions that were too difficult to understand and used a translator app to help them understand the questions. After we finished testing all of the students, my mentor teacher said to me, "This test is just too difficult for our students. There's got to be another way!" Even for us as teachers, it's always a learning process to figure out how to navigate issues that comes up to surface. I hope our discussion gave us a better insight on those issues beneath the surface.]]> 2018-11-10 01:23:14 UTC https://padlet.com/tayl1004/7je6z9ue6hgt/wish/302810813