A better lesson could be prepared if more time was given. However, the peer teaching is rewarding as I’ve learnt how to brainstorm warmers that scaffold learners and prepare them for the main task.   For instance using images and collaborative vocabulary, these methods activate students’ schemata and help them to establish meaning in the task that fosters active engagement. Sometimes, instant changes have to be made ( especially for online teaching, the internet could be unstable, and sometimes students may not know how to manage their devices or use zoom functions/ access links etc) in this case, alternatives and backup plans have to be made in order to minimise the time wasted.

An obvious positive takeaway is the word bush tucker garden. It is interesting to deconstruct the word into three major parts and explain it to students individually, it also enhances my personal understanding of words used authentically in Australia. Not only did I acquire a new word but also understood Australia better in a cultural aspect. 

I will brainstorm more warmers next time. Warmers are important in establishing students’ understanding of the background context, it is also used to activate their schemata so that they could relate the unfamiliar context and connect it with their personal experience as much as possible. Jigsaw note taking and listening can also be used to create information gap. Student’s curiosity will be raised if an interesting information gap is provided for them to solve. If the topic isn’t initially interesting itself, students would lose interest in the main task very easily.

The PT was short but I’ve learnt something from my peers. It is good to receive feedback from different people. I think the feedback session is very constructive and practical, which could directly reflect our teaching habits/ areas for improvement etc. The workload of the PT wasn’t hard to handle, the only thing that required more preparation time was perhaps the authentic text itself. Since we are from Hong Kong and we’re not entirely familiar with the context, it took me and Karithy a while to consider if we should focus on grammar/writing tips or introducing the Australian context. In the end, we've decided to incorporate the Australian context into the Hong Kong curriculum instead.

2. What are you proud of
Karithy and I collaborated well and we enjoyed working together as a team. I am proud that the class was really engaged and attentive. The way how the interacted and participated during the lesson showed that the lesson was easy to follow and clear enough to understand. The appropriate use of visuals have enhanced the interactivity and complexity of the lesson. It has made the lesson more dynamic, thus it has successfully motivated students to learn.

3. What might you adapt
Karithy and I tend to over-plan the lesson, as a result we couldn't go through the word wall game - which serves as  consolidation of knowledge. Although it is better to over-plan than to under-plan, we could reconsider the task sequences, e.g. perhaps the matching activity could be assigned less time so that the class could play the wordwall game as well. if time doesn't allow, we could think of backup plans, for example whether or not some class activities could be changed into take-home activities for students' consolidation of knowledge learnt in class.

4.What questions remain?

How can distance learning/ online learning raise the level of participation of students or engage students throughout the whole lesson?
How can interactivity/ student-centred learning be balanced or achieved via online learning?

The three people I met are Yukari, Katie and Rodigo. 

Yukari has taught students English in Japan. The class size is similar to those in Hong Kong, therefore classroom management and student behaviour is crucial. A major challenge for Yukari was that some students could catch up pretty well in class while some were lagging behind. The English proficiency gap between students is hard to bridge. However, Yukari managed to use a certain amount of Japanese in class as a way to engage weaker students. Yukari's method reflects the importance of learner diversity. It echoes Hong Kong's large-scale classes, very often, teachers need to incorporate a certain amount of cantonese in their classes. Teachers should always be flexible when it comes to handling students with different level of language proficiency.

Katie is currently teaching adults English in Australia. She shared with us her feeling and experience of teaching adults VS teaching kids at school. Apparently, different tones and attitudes have to be used when approaching different age groups. For instance, appropriate child language/ paralinguistic should be demonstrated when teaching younger students. While a more easy-going tone can be adopted when speaking to adults.

Rodigo showed us a photo of one the lesson he has taught. He had a lot of fun and he was pretty popular in his lessons. In order to make his lessons more interactive, he incorporated different activities/games. This way, he could retain his students' curiosity and motivation to learn. Incorporating games and competition is a good way to raise one's interest in learning.

- The lesson was smooth and well-prepared. It was impressive to conduct four tasks in the 20 minutes time. The topic was relevant to the students, and I like the the visual aids used in the lesson, including the PPT and the postcards:) 

GROW: 

-For the phrasal verb activity, it was engaging, yet students may need more scaffolding when matching the phrasal verbs and the definition. For instance, some verbal clues or context that gives students hints. 

- A bit more follow-up questions could consolidate Ss' understanding instead of giving away answers directly. The phrasal verb activity seemed a but rushed, so more time could be allocated to that part so as to deepen Ss' comprehension.

- More introduction and guidance can be provided for the jigsaw reading part.

-The phrasal verb part might require more scaffolding. You could also go through the phrasal verbs in the text with the students after the matching activity for further consolidation.

- Difficult for students to interact through chatbox in an online classroom and maybe more parts for phrasal verb section :)

I think the peer teaching this time was more challenging than the first peer teaching. The reason is because we have considered a lot of communicative functions and we tried to balance them in the lesson as much as possible. First of all, we encountered a lot of technical constraints, e.g. not able to use breakout rooms/ unstable network etc. Another challenge is that we had to adapt the textbook using SARA. We cannot adapt the entire chapter as this would alter its original content, on the other hand, we had to consider how to execute the content via zoom, these reasons have made the peer teaching more challenging. Overall speaking, I believe the task we designed is more feasible for a face-to-face class. 

Overall speaking, interactive games are included and grammar components are embedded, so the communicative function is pretty balanced. Different visuals are also included and the input of the lesson is suitable, the output is not too demanding 

Riddle is a good transition that provides young learners a brain break in between main tasks.

We can introduce the scenario of Jacky visiting Japan before the start of the postcard activity. Or tell them that they will receive two postcards written by Jacky from Tokyo to his friend Chris. Vocabulary can be added under the picture to provide meaning. Next time, perhaps reaction functions can be used and students may even participate by sharing their own screens. This enhances the interactivity and participation of students. Also, as reflected by our peers, clearer instructions should be given for instance the amount of time given. Teachers also tried to engage students by calling them names to make it more interactive. The speaking part - can add another option for students who have never been to a trip before, for instance a local trip ( in Hong Kong).  After the matching part, the meaning of the words can be asked again in the postcard and the sentences can be interpreted.

Definition of an activity is something that learners do that involves them using or working with language to achieve some specific outcome. The outcome may reflect a real-world outcome ( e.g. role playing buying a train ticket or it may purely be for the purpose of learning ( fill in the gaps and find present perfect)

Focus on Form:
Consider: Ss see the written form then say the sentence OR ss say the sentence with the teacher then see the written form. Pros/cons?

Teacher Language:
Do you understand/Is it clear?  What are our alternatives?

Grow:

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour

A Robin Red breast in a Cage 

Puts all Heaven in a Rage 

A Dove house filld with Doves & Pigeons 

Shudders Hell thr' all its regions 

A dog starvd at his Masters Gate 

Predicts the ruin of the State 

A Horse misusd upon the Road 

Calls to Heaven for Human blood 

Each outcry of the hunted Hare 

A fibre from the Brain does tear 

A Skylark wounded in the wing 

A Cherubim does cease to sing 

The Game Cock clipd & armd for fight 

Does the Rising Sun affright 

Every Wolfs & Lions howl 

Raises from Hell a Human Soul 

The wild deer, wandring here & there 

Keeps the Human Soul from Care 

The Lamb misusd breeds Public Strife 

And yet forgives the Butchers knife 

The Bat that flits at close of Eve 

Has left the Brain that wont Believe

The Owl that calls upon the Night 

Speaks the Unbelievers fright

He who shall hurt the little Wren 

Shall never be belovd by Men 

He who the Ox to wrath has movd 

Shall never be by Woman lovd

The wanton Boy that kills the Fly 

Shall feel the Spiders enmity 

He who torments the Chafers Sprite 

Weaves a Bower in endless Night 

The Catterpiller on the Leaf 

Repeats to thee thy Mothers grief 

Kill not the Moth nor Butterfly 

For the Last Judgment draweth nigh 

He who shall train the Horse to War 

Shall never pass the Polar Bar 

The Beggars Dog & Widows Cat 

Feed them & thou wilt grow fat 

The Gnat that sings his Summers Song 

Poison gets from Slanders tongue 

The poison of the Snake & Newt 

Is the sweat of Envys Foot 

The poison of the Honey Bee 

Is the Artists Jealousy

The Princes Robes & Beggars Rags 

Are Toadstools on the Misers Bags 

A Truth thats told with bad intent 

Beats all the Lies you can invent 

It is right it should be so 

Man was made for Joy & Woe 

And when this we rightly know 

Thro the World we safely go 

Joy & Woe are woven fine 

A Clothing for the soul divine 

Under every grief & pine 

Runs a joy with silken twine 

The Babe is more than swadling Bands

Throughout all these Human Lands 

Tools were made & Born were hands 

Every Farmer Understands

Every Tear from Every Eye 

Becomes a Babe in Eternity 

This is caught by Females bright 

And returnd to its own delight 

The Bleat the Bark Bellow & Roar 

Are Waves that Beat on Heavens Shore 

The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath 

Writes Revenge in realms of Death 

The Beggars Rags fluttering in Air

Does to Rags the Heavens tear 

The Soldier armd with Sword & Gun 

Palsied strikes the Summers Sun

The poor Mans Farthing is worth more 

Than all the Gold on Africs Shore

One Mite wrung from the Labrers hands 

Shall buy & sell the Misers Lands 

Or if protected from on high 

Does that whole Nation sell & buy 

He who mocks the Infants Faith 

Shall be mockd in Age & Death 

He who shall teach the Child to Doubt 

The rotting Grave shall neer get out 

He who respects the Infants faith 

Triumphs over Hell & Death 

The Childs Toys & the Old Mans Reasons 

Are the Fruits of the Two seasons 

The Questioner who sits so sly 

Shall never know how to Reply 

He who replies to words of Doubt 

Doth put the Light of Knowledge out 

The Strongest Poison ever known 

Came from Caesars Laurel Crown 

Nought can Deform the Human Race 

Like to the Armours iron brace 

When Gold & Gems adorn the Plow 

To peaceful Arts shall Envy Bow 

A Riddle or the Crickets Cry 

Is to Doubt a fit Reply 

The Emmets Inch & Eagles Mile 

Make Lame Philosophy to smile 

He who Doubts from what he sees 

Will neer Believe do what you Please 

If the Sun & Moon should Doubt 

Theyd immediately Go out 

To be in a Passion you Good may Do 

But no Good if a Passion is in you 

The Whore & Gambler by the State 

Licencd build that Nations Fate 

The Harlots cry from Street to Street 

Shall weave Old Englands winding Sheet 

The Winners Shout the Losers Curse 

Dance before dead Englands Hearse 

Every Night & every Morn 

Some to Misery are Born 

Every Morn and every Night 

Some are Born to sweet delight 

Some are Born to sweet delight 

Some are Born to Endless Night 

We are led to Believe a Lie 

When we see not Thro the Eye 

Which was Born in a Night to perish in a Night 

When the Soul Slept in Beams of Light 

God Appears & God is Light 

To those poor Souls who dwell in Night 

But does a Human Form Display 

To those who Dwell in Realms of day

Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in.   

I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly

As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands.   

I am nobody; I have nothing to do with explosions.   

I have given my name and my day-clothes up to the nurses   

And my history to the anesthetist and my body to surgeons.

They have propped my head between the pillow and the sheet-cuff   

Like an eye between two white lids that will not shut.

Stupid pupil, it has to take everything in.

The nurses pass and pass, they are no trouble,

They pass the way gulls pass inland in their white caps,

Doing things with their hands, one just the same as another,   

So it is impossible to tell how many there are.

My body is a pebble to them, they tend it as water

Tends to the pebbles it must run over, smoothing them gently.

They bring me numbness in their bright needles, they bring me sleep.   

Now I have lost myself I am sick of baggage——

My patent leather overnight case like a black pillbox,   

My husband and child smiling out of the family photo;   

Their smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks.

I have let things slip, a thirty-year-old cargo boat   

stubbornly hanging on to my name and address.

They have swabbed me clear of my loving associations.   

Scared and bare on the green plastic-pillowed trolley   

I watched my teaset, my bureaus of linen, my books   

Sink out of sight, and the water went over my head.   

I am a nun now, I have never been so pure.

I didn’t want any flowers, I only wanted

To lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty.

How free it is, you have no idea how free——

The peacefulness is so big it dazes you,

And it asks nothing, a name tag, a few trinkets.

It is what the dead close on, finally; I imagine them   

Shutting their mouths on it, like a Communion tablet.   

The tulips are too red in the first place, they hurt me.

Even through the gift paper I could hear them breathe   

Lightly, through their white swaddlings, like an awful baby.   

Their redness talks to my wound, it corresponds.

They are subtle : they seem to float, though they weigh me down,   

Upsetting me with their sudden tongues and their color,   

A dozen red lead sinkers round my neck.

Nobody watched me before, now I am watched.   

The tulips turn to me, and the window behind me

Where once a day the light slowly widens and slowly thins,   

And I see myself, flat, ridiculous, a cut-paper shadow   

Between the eye of the sun and the eyes of the tulips,   

And I have no face, I have wanted to efface myself.   

The vivid tulips eat my oxygen.

Before they came the air was calm enough,

Coming and going, breath by breath, without any fuss.   

Then the tulips filled it up like a loud noise.

Now the air snags and eddies round them the way a river   

Snags and eddies round a sunken rust-red engine.   

They concentrate my attention, that was happy   

Playing and resting without committing itself.

The walls, also, seem to be warming themselves.

The tulips should be behind bars like dangerous animals;   

They are opening like the mouth of some great African cat,   

And I am aware of my heart: it opens and closes

Its bowl of red blooms out of sheer love of me.

The water I taste is warm and salt, like the sea,

And comes from a country far away as health.

Overall speaking, I think PT3 is the hardest. Grammar teaching in Hong Kong is mostly drilling and doing in-class exercise. But this time, we get to teach an entire 20-min session by ourselves through a single marker sentence. Personally, I think the limitation of using a single marker sentence is that teachers have to brainstorm different activities that matches the marker sentence. To a certain extent, materials used or chosen had to be narrowed down, and be more precise. However, the good thing of using a single sentence as a lesson plan prompt is that it allows teachers a lot of freedom to choose the methodology they would like to use in class. I've incorporated multiple methodologies such as the spinning wheel, videos, zoom annotate functions to make the lesson as interactive as possible. 

The part that I'm most proud of is using an appropriate animation - Mr Peabody and Sherman, and taking its time-machine component as the subject of the lesson. This makes the grammar-focused lesson less mechanical. My peers also mentioned that they enjoyed the movie trailer and the visual aids helps to set the context - students could be aware of the situation used in type 3 conditionals. Moreover, I'm glad that I've added some animation effects for my PPT, so that answers can be revealed after going through the ppt, especially in the last part about stressing different words of the particular marker sentence. Overall speaking, the lesson was pretty balanced between written and speaking form of type 3 conditionals.

Considering the feedback provided by peers, they mentioned that the amount of teacher talk can be reduced. I agree that students can take the initiative to respond and interact with other students, however, I think it is hard to limit the amount of teacher talk in a grammar class, especially when you have to assume that your students may not know the grammar item at all. Therefore, I gave a lot of explanation and did not ask students questions until after I have presented all my explanations. I do agree that some words can be explained such as "hypothetical" and "contrary", to make sure that students could comprehend the meaning behind. Although 20 minutes is quite long, I chose to focus less on pronunciation because I find it difficult to incorporate too many information in one lesson, especially then type 3 conditionals are a part of complex sentences. If I were to adapt the lesson, I would perhaps teach pronunciation separately, together with the revision of type 0,1,2,3 conditionals as a way to demonstrate how people may respond and speak differently under different conditions.

Personally, I think it is better to reveal the grammar we are going to teach before the activities, this is to make sure that students don’t get confused with what we’re teaching In class, however, through the peer teaching, I see that most people prefer hiding the grammar components and revealing it mid-way throughout the lesson to maintain students’ interests. This is extremely difficult and might even be confusing for some students. Just a personal thought - perhaps a way to reveal the grammar component afterwards is to have excessive drilling of the sentence of the same pattern and let them realise the recurring grammar. 

I think an essential part of grammar learning is that it is less communicative and having more teacher talk is inevitable. So feel free to use more teacher talk as this provides more guidance and could introduce a new knowledge constructively.

Grow:

I felt good during PT4. I think I enjoyed reading stories myself, therefore it arouses my curiosity, and I could make the best out of the materials provided

Yes. Initially I thought a Diary of a Wombat is too easy for primary school students because its sentences are choppy, explicit and simple. However, as the diary progresses, more details pop up and unfamiliar words start to pop up, hence in the end, I decided to focus on the text type - writing a diary.

There isn’t a specific poetic device, but there is a theme of living a simple life, or simplicity in general.

I read an excerpt of the text aloud live because I think this is more engaging and I feel ok to read it out. I feel like that reading aloud helps students to better grasp (especially learners who have lower English proficiency) the content of the story

The productive task (writing) was run pretty well. My peers were surprised that a productive task could be interactive. I actually incorporated both speaking and writing. Students had to write a diary of an animal and the class would have to guess the type of animal by reading out each others’ diaries. This fosters student talk and allows students to have the autonomy of the knowledge learnt ( e.g. how to write a diary, animal features etc)

My teacher language is short simple and clear. Meanwhile the instructions were in great detail. 

Yes, this time I balanced student and teacher talk. Student around 40% and teacher 60%

Students

Teachers

Resources

Classroom setup

Use of space

Language the teachers use

Staging of tasks

Surprises

Two things I want to remember

Anzac Day

Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) designs 

Their difficulties include: accessing historical knowledge of English language due to their limited experiences - they may even have a different perspective 

Teenage refugees having English lessons

Majority of the class was designed for students with limited schooling backgrounds - as they have less than 5 years schooling

The teacher reviewed note-taking strategies

The activities will be repeated to make sure that students can successfully apply the skills independently

Key takeaway:

Historical views are reliant on perspective and it is important not to assume prior knowledge 

Authentic learning context

This video shows a teacher using a flexible range of learning strategies to engage a diverse group of learners- gateway program for predominantly of indigenous background

Students mainly learn English as EAD

Mainstream type subjects are altered and adapted to be more culturally relatable to students 

Real life context is used 

One aim is to use ICT to transform her students from being passive users of technology into active creators

She invited a famous rapper to assist her - the beat is useful in terms of engaging the students

Students learn via actively creating music + English lyrics

She thinks it is important for students to learn outside the classroom context - to bring them out of their shells and communicate with other people 

Differentiation in maths

The teacher describes how she led an initiative to rethink the way her school taught maths 

Lessons are developed based on their students ability, and what they are capable of 

And designing lessons around their need - and removing textbook content afterwards

Maths - can also do warmup activity +  arouse engagement 

Differentiated approach are designed to meet the specific learning needs of students 

Students choose the task most appropriate to their level. Students reflect on their learning at the end of the lesson, which provides valuable information for the teacher about their activity choices

EAL/D reading strategies 

this video shows a teacher and team leader of EAL/D implements a lesson plan to demonstrate teaching strategies for a pre-service teacher

Takeaways : learning behaviours that are encouraged, expected and rewarded in Australian classrooms are not what EAL/D students may have experienced 

At a consolidating level, students “apply and integrate strategies to comprehend and learn at the text, sentence and word level, including using illustrations, activating prior knowledge and making inferences 

Skills in the lesson are being recycled with gradual release of responsibility to students 

Lead by example in an inclusive classroom 

Engaging every learner

This video explores how students can participate in learning and strategies include specific questioning, assigning roles to particular students, precise questioning achieve the aim of inclusive learning

Direct question - clarify questions that could scaffold the students - in terms of building some answers into the questions

Begin with a quote - students can pick up a few ideas from a single quote

The dynamic of the class relies on student interaction and active engagement 

Writing down the ideas happening in class - add additional ideas into the powerpoint

Single channel video, 16:9, 3:42 minutes, colour, sound
From Creative Generation, 2021

Installation of canvas sculpture and digital photograph printed on metallic paper
From Creative Generation, 2021

Grow:

You made it through week 5 of your immersion! You should be very proud of yourself. You’ve tried to make the lessons as authentic and as engaging as possible, and you understood that it wasn’t easy at all. The peer teachings have gone harder and harder, however, the more you experience, the more topics and approaches you come across. I hope that this experience could remind you of the importance of balancing teacher talk and student talk. 

Week 1 was less challenging compared to week 5. It is always better to work with a peer and have different ideas combined together. Therefore, teacher collaboration is very important. I hope that you can collaborate with your colleagues in the future. For week 5, there was a lot to integrate in one session, and we had to try out CLIL which refers to Content and Language Integrated Learning. The benefits of CLIL includes raising cultural awareness, internationalisation and achieving language competence of students, it is especially useful for bilingual schools in Hong Kong.

In peer teaching 5, I could see that all four language skills are combined. My peers have worked very hard to make the lesson as interactive as possible. Receptive and productive skills are shown in the outcome and everyone tried to approach English in a rather lexical manner than grammatical manner. For the main tasks, receptive skill activities such as ‘read/listen and do’ are mostly used ( i.e. listen and label a diagram, listen and fill in the gaps). On the other hand, the tasks designed are subject-oriented. This week, we focused on art pieces, I am surprised to see how my peers managed to come up with creative ways and themes to teach the class.

As usual, peer feedback was given after the peer teaching sessions. I found the feedback session extremely important as it reflects how much students could receive from the lesson taught. This allowed me to improve and modify my way of teaching. Hence, I thank all my peers for cooperating in class and giving me constructive feedback that I could rely on and look back to, even in the future.

Lastly, future me, whatever you’re working on right now, I hope you’re happy and enjoying it. Don’t forget why you chose education and how you started from zero. All the best of luck!

Yours truly,

Sarotta
4th July, 2021

·       with a happy ending

·       with a tragic ending

Could you use this with students in Hong Kong? What level? How?

2. design an engaging 3-minute video presentation using the checklist provided as a guide

3. set up an activity to encourage post-viewing interaction and consolidation on your topic
Lesson context: develop positive thinking

Experience 

Explore 

Extend

How are my students going to experience the song

What are they going to do when they first hear the song

How are we going to explore the lyrics

Do we have a grammar point about it

Is there a vocabulary exercise/pronunciation exercise, a bottom up approach or a top down approach?

How will I extend the song to a productive task? 

Will I ask the students to do a role play, or make our students discuss the lyrics

Or will I create a collaborative task and ask students to write new lyrics 

Or will they be asked about the main message or theme of the song

Practice pronunciation points

e.g. listening to a song and writing 3 adjectives to describe the mood of the song

Explore the song - listen to the chorus and write the comparative form of the lyrics

Secondary extension task - talk to a partner about their own experience of making them stronger, wiser ( positive experience), using the comparative form in explore

Always try to finish the class by trying to sing the song

To boost participation and interaction

Equality VS equity

Avoid

Saying people disabled, handicapped

Suffer from

Wheelchair bound

Confined to a wheelchair

Mental crazy mad

Mental retarded

Simple

Mentally disabled

Mentally defective

Brain damanged

Normal person

Say they are person with disability

has disability

Person who uses a wheelchair 

Wheelchair user

Person with a mental condition

Person with cognitive disability/intellectual disability/psychosocial disability

Brain injury

Person without disability

Positive and progressive language does matter e.g. inclusion, accessibility and ability

Students will mirror your language and behaviours 

Use the person’s or student’s name rather than defining them by their disability particularly when talking about them to another individual

Be confident when talking about disability with students

Be empathetic to a student with disability’s situation - understand how they feel will impact how they learn

Dont assume students with disability are happy - only performing sideline roles

Encourage students with disability to try new things to help them realise their ability

She connects parts of the story through questioning to the students’ world and experiences, and uses the activity as a springboard for an imaginative writing task. The teacher encourages students to share their stories orally in small groups before drafting, writing, rereading and illustrating their final texts. The teacher is supported by a colleague in enabling a group of Aboriginal students to record and play back their stories on USB microphones.

Strategy

Aboriginal dreaming story helps to teach by knowledge 

Try to include different dialects of aboriginal language 

Use ICT to interact with kids - usb microphones

They have great ideas which they can verbally tell

They can play back their story and write it out

Gives them an opportunity to express

Hands on experience - what works for aboriginal children works for other children as well

Model of communication

Incorporate different language in the classroom -> to elicit more vocabulary

Lot of literacy experiences

Approach management 

he contends that teachers can create a learning environment characterised by well-paced lessons, explicit instructions, and response to individual learning needs and abilities. 

Understand what students are struggling 

Give them a bit of flexibility in the classroom

No language video

The teacher draws on teaching strategies informed by indigenous Australian culture, that she feels are relevant for all of her students. She uses a no-language activity to tune the students in to maths and to remove any potential confusion for EAL/D students, generated by language. The teacher also incorporates drawing into the activity, inspired by sand-drawings, to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and collaboration.

Students work together collaboratively and draw together

No language strategy- originated from watching indigenous learners learn from elders

Students learn to observe quietly -> builds patience too

They learn to use other methods to communicate

Ask the students to help you solve the number

Ones who needed scaffolding has the concrete materials provided- and the teacher models carefully 

The process is what they’re looking for, but not the answers