ITL 608 Learning Map Scavenger Hunt

¡Learning map scavenger hunt 

¡Jessica Kuiper

¡Professor Comer

¡Student & teacher characteristics

¡In the GIST assignment, students need to have the ability to effectively use a computer and self-monitor when necessary. 

¡Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan is targeted for grades 3-5.

¡Student reading levels vary from K-7thgrade. (5thGrade Literacy Lesson) There are students who understand Latin/Greek roots, and there are students who have not been introduced to this concept before. 5 students have moderate attention issues which cause them to miss information. ELL students in the class struggle with tier 2-tier 3 vocabulary.  The class has 29 students, and as a whole, the class loves to talk. The more advanced students in the class are willing to help their classmates. 

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¡goals

¡In the GIST lesson plan, the goal is for the students to be able to successfully complete a GIST template on their own, using information they learned from the lesson plan.

¡Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan- students will be able to use primary sources for research purposes, understanding different view points, and produce a response to literature. (A.P.H Lesson Plan)

¡Students are able to use context clues, Latin/Greek affixes, and reference materials to determine the meaning of words. (5thGrade Literacy Lesson)

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¡Objectives and learning outcomes

¡GIST assignment- the students can successfully complete a GIST template with given information. 

¡Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan- students will be able to use primary sources for research purposes, understanding different view points, and produce a response to literature. (A.P.H Lesson Plan)

¡Use context to derive meaning of a word, knowledge of Greek and Latin affixes, ability to use references materials. (5thgrade Literacy Learning Plan)

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¡Instructional strategies

¡In the GIST lesson plan, the teacher observes students throughout the process, and has the student repeat steps as necessary. The teacher looks for input from students, and encourages students to speak out about the assignment.

¡Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan asks the teacher to take the students for an observation walk in their neighborhood, and describe what they see in full detail.

¡A flip book with words and information is given to the students, pictures or videos can be added to the flipbook to students with IEPs. Games can also be used to reinforce the material. (5thGrade Literacy Lesson)

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¡Methods and activities 

¡In the GIST lesson plan, it is recommended that the teacher use an overhead so all students can participate together. (Session 1)

¡Give students an opportunity to work on the GIST assignment by themselves, and come back to share answers together as a whole class. (Session 1)

¡Have the students work in partners on the GIST assignment. (Session 2)

¡Students work on GIST computer assignment. (Session 3)

¡In session 4, the students work independently on their GIST project. 

¡Session 5, students apply their knowledge of GIST in their own project. 

¡In the Attack of Pearl Harbor lesson plan, students participate in an observation walk and share their eye witness account. Students choose an eyewitness, students take notes on important ideas from the book, students tell an eyewitness account as the eyewitness spectacle they picked, give the students time to review and edit their eyewitness accounts.

¡Games, class discussions, flash cards can be used to reinforce information. Class groups can be used. (5thGrade Literacy Lesson)

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¡Assessment and management of learning 

¡The teacher is told to repeat session 2 of the GIST assignment if they feel the students have not mastered the material.

¡In session 4 of the GIST assignment, the teacher is told to assess the independent work of the students, if they are not ready, the student is told to repeat session 4.

¡The teacher can assess the GIST assignment based on how the who, where, what, why and how questions are answered and organized. 

¡Students can assess themselves and other members of the class in the GIST assignment. 

¡Students share what they learned on the observation walk, which will be connected into the Attack on Peal Harbor assignment. 

¡The teacher presents a Quizletthat will assess student’s learning progress from the previous day. The teacher holds discussions on affixes to gauge the comprehension levels of students. A pretest can be given on Quizletto determine the starting point for students. (5thGrade Literacy Lesson)

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¡Analysis

¡The GIST assignment lesson plan identifies all 6 areas of the learning plan map, except for an in depth description of the students and teacher characteristics. It would be helpful to know the backgrounds of the students and the teacher. (Does the teacher accurately explain the material, do students know how to use computers. ETC.) The lesson plan does include the goals and learning objectives, and a teacher can relate this assignment to a variety of different subjects.  The lesson plan does include instructional strategies, and informs the teacher to have students repeat steps until they understand before moving to the next step. The lesson plan includes assessment strategies for the teacher, and what the teacher should look for. Lastly, the teacher is given an in depth description of the activities.

¡The Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan specifies the activity is for students in grades 3-5. Students will learn how to use primary sources, create a responses to literature, and enhance their ability to distinguish varying viewpoints. The lesson plan gives instruction on the observation walk and the eyewitness account assignment, and outlines the activity in detail.

¡The 5thGrade Literacy Lesson would be beneficial to students who speak English fluency. ELL students struggled with this assignment, and students with attention disorders would not be able to maintain focus. This assignment is detailed in the goals, learning objectives, methods of teaching, assessment, and instructional strategies that would be used and implemented. The lesson also gave specific characteristics of the class and teacher. However, the assignment as a whole is too advanced for students who are not proficient in the English language. 

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¡Comparison

¡In regards to the GIST assignment and the Attack on Pearl Harbor assignment, The A.P.H. includes a warm up activity that prepares the student’s brains to think like an eye witness. This will be beneficial to the students when doing their eyewitness activity.

¡The Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson has less steps and can be understood easier by students than the GIST assignment. The Pearl Harbor assignment would be more engaging and students would be able to tap into their imaginative side of learning. 

¡Of the 3 lesson plans, the 5thGrade Literacy Lesson provided the most detail and back ground knowledge of the students and class as a whole. However, there were many factors that led to this assignment not being successful. The teacher had several students who were ELL or had attention disorders, and that affected their ability to perform this assignment. 

¡The Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan would head the best results, and maintain the attention of students. 

¡Outcomes and suggestions 

¡For the GIST assignment, the outcomes will vary depending on the age group completing the activity. Younger students may not grasp the material entirely, as compared to older students who will benefit more from this assignment. I would suggest the teacher spend several days on this assignment as it incorporates many different tasks for the students to complete. 

¡The Attack on Pearl Harbor lesson plan includes a warm up observation walk to start off the assignment. This is a great benefit to the students in getting them to think like an eyewitness. I believe this assignment would be successful in the classroom. The student is able to use their knowledge of the subject and eyewitness they picked, and apply that to the lesson. This gives the students the opportunity to abstract think and use information in a non-black and white manor. My suggestion for this lesson would be to have students conduct an assignment where they are thinking of as a different person prior to conducting this assignment. 

¡For the 5thGrade Literacy Lesson, it is evident that several students were too far below the proficiency standards to successfully complete the activity. The teacher should have included modified activities for ELL students, and students with attention disorders as the assignment was above their performance level. In the future it would be beneficial for the teacher to have previously assessed student comprehension levels, so that he/she could have the modified activity ready for each individual student. 

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ITL 608 Observation

Week 2 Teacher Observation

Jessica Kuiper

Professor Comer

ITL 608

10 September 2018

OBSERVATION       

I observed Mrs. Seeba’s 6^thgrade language arts class. The agenda on the board was 1) 10 minutes of A.R. 2) Read chapters 3 and 4 of Maroo of the Winter Caves 3) Pear Deck questions. The 6^thgrade class lined up outside, and waited until the bell rang to come inside. Once inside, the students quietly went to their desks and pulled out their A.R. books. The classroom was set up in long tables, with the agenda posted on the board. Mrs. Seeba used the transition strategy, “ ready in 3, 2, 1” in order to gain the attention of the students. Absent work was organized and posted for students for each day, period, and subject. After the 10 minutes of reading was over, the students were asked to grab their Chromebooks, and waited quietly for instructions. Students were given the website to log into, and were given individual temporary passwords. Mrs. Seeba then explained, in detail, how to change their passwords. Each student was told to change his or her password to SnowlineMMDDYYYY. There were many questions and concerns from the students on how to successfully change their passwords; this took a majority of the class period. Students were told to give a “thumbs up” when they were ready to move on. Once everyone had changed their passwords, the students began reading Maroo of the Winter Caves. One student was called on to read, and the class began popcorn reading (students chose other students to read after them.) Mrs. Seeba would ask the students questions periodically to gauge the understanding and level of clarity of the students. The students were given 2 minutes to discuss the questions at their tables, and then came together as a whole class to go over the answers. The class was unable to do the Pear Deck questions, and finished the period with reading Maroo.
            In terms of the 6 elements of the learning plan, I could see several in Mrs. Seeba’s lesson plan. She takes time to learn about the students (student characteristics) and uses this information to form her lesson plans. Goals, objectives, and outcomes were present in the classroom; the students came in and read for 10 minutes, they created new passwords for their web page log in, and lastly, they read Maroo of the Winter Cavesfor the remainder of the class period. Mrs. Seeba’s instructional strategy was for students to help each other create passwords and log in to the system, and rotated around the classroom for students who needed more help. Mrs. Seeba’s assessment strategy was that she periodically would check for understanding every few pages, and confirmed that everyone was successfully logged into the website. Lastly, the activities included reading and working on the computer, in order to maintain the focus of her students, and ensure their best learning.

DEBRIEF

1.     May I see the learning plan for the lesson? Students were to come in the classroom and read for 10 minutes, create new log ins and passwords, and read Maroo of the Winter Caves.

2.     What plan model do you use? I don't use a specific plan, but most of my lessons are plans from a unit by design larger plan. In pieces, I don’t have a formal lesson plan for the day. 

3.     What was the class composition (specifically, how many exceptional, special need and English learners?) That class has 8 ELL, 2 gate students, and mostly average or below average students according their CAASP scores from 2018

4.     Did any students cause any concern for you? Why? Not for this lesson

5.     What were the lesson’s goal and objectives? Get set up on a new tech website, read chapters 3-4

6.     Why did you structure this plan as you did? It didn’t work out as planned, the website took a lot longer than I had planned

7.     What are your favorite instructional methods and strategies? I like to incorporate technology whenever I can. It keeps kids engaged, and if they can learn the material in a new way, I’m all about it.

8.     Were all students engaged sufficiently? Yes, we do a lot of 10/2 when discussing our book. We talk, and discuss our findings.

9.     Do you believe you achieved the lesson’s goal and objectives? For the most part in the reading, we were supposed to use pear deck (an interactive google slide presentation)

10.  How do you evaluate the resulting student outcomes? Through dialogue, and the next day we answered comprehension questions.

11.  Are you satisfied with students’ work in the lesson? If not, why? Yes

12.  What interfered with an effective lesson procedure? The hiccups of the technology piece. Some students were unable to log on to the website making it difficult to move on.

13.  Was your formative assessment effective? Yes it was more of an oral formal assessment, the following day, we put into writing.

14.  What techniques do you believe are most instrumental for classroom management? Building relationships with your kids, trying to point out the positive instead of the negative, and being flexible when things don't work out as planned

15.   Could you improve your learning plan based on the lesson reflection? How? Yes, now 

I am aware of the kinks in the web program we were using, so I’ll know for next time.

ITL 606 Brochure

ITL 606 Field Work

Teacher Interview

Pinon Mesa Middle School
Phelan, CA

Curt Chase
6^th-8^thGrade Leadership

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs indicates that we all have 5 levels of need that must be met:  Physiological, Safety, Love / Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization.  In your professional opinion:

1.     How important it is for students to have their basic needs met in order to be successful in School? Why do you think so?

It’s important for students to have their needs met, because they need to feel safe and comfortable in school. This could be the only safe haven they have, and teachers need to provide a sense of support and create connections with students.

2.     Which needs are most important to have satisfied so students can thrive in school?  Why?

The love aspect of the model is the most important. If the student knows you care for and about them, they will perform better in the class. 

3.     Who is responsible for ensuring that students have their needs met?  Why do you think so?

It is a combination of teacher and parent support. The teacher and parents rely on each other to provide the best support system for the student.

4.     What is one thing a teacher might do for a student who has physiological or safety needs?  Why would this be useful?

It’s important to make sure the student is safe. If necessary, the teacher needs to alert authorities, contact the administration, and file a report. The student needs to know they can trust the teacher, and that the teacher will ensure their safety.

5.     Ensuring Safety needs are met and making sure students are ready to learn involves classroom management.  What are three things you do to manage your classroom?  

1)   Clearly explained/defined expectations

2)   Have students help create expectations, so they feel included in the process

3)   Communicate frequently with parents and students 

6.     How do you decide what rules and routines to employ?

It depends on the group of student. Keep consistency, but remain flexible. If one routine does not work, try another one. If that one works, continue to use that day by day. 

7.     Do these fit for students who have a Behavior Intervention Plan? How do you assess progress? What do you do for students from a different culture?

For students with a BIP, Mr. Chase speaks one-on-one with the student. Together they create a list of goals the student wants to achieve throughout the year. He keeps open communication with the student and their parents. He continues to watch and talk with students on a daily basis to discuss progress. For students from a different culture, Mr. Chase pairs them with someone who speaks the same language, or someone who is a diligent worker (who can help the student succeed.)

8.     How do you organize your classroom / educational environment to support classroom management?

The class is arranged in large table groups, the students rotate seating throughout the year to ensure students are meeting new people, and creating a welcoming environment.

9.     With classroom management in mind, what advice would you give me regarding how to establish good classroom management in my first class?

-Stay consistent

-Follow through with what you say you will do

- Create bonds with students
- Don’t take behavior or actions personally

10.   When you know that a student has a specific need that most of the other students do not have, what do you do to address that need? 

Each need is handled differently. Either modify the activity or partner the student with a diligent student in the class. Remain flexible in lesson plans, and adjust when needed. 

SUMMARY

            Mr. Chase is a 30+ year teacher at Pinon Mesa Middle School. I observed his 6^thand 7^thgrade leadership skill classes. Mr. Chase thrives on creating lasting relationships with his students. He is the most common favorite teacher between middle school students, and establishes bonds with students, that follow throughout the student’s adult life. He creates a safe learning environment in the classroom, and ensures that the student’s need for belonging is met. Mr. Chase chooses to have a classroom with an open door policy, making students feel comfortable and safe. Mr. Chase successfully balances flexibility and consistency in the classroom; students know what is expected, but Mr. Chase offers support if the student is struggling academically, or facing family issues. When asked “what advice would you give me during my first year in the classroom?” Mr. Chase responded that I must remain flexible, follow through on my word, build connections with students, and not take anything personally. 

REFLECTION

            Personally, I’ve always looked up to Mr. Chase as an educator. Mr. Chase is an excellent example of an inspired teacher, and I will be lucky to be half the teacher he is. I hope to share the same connections and life-long bonds as he has with his students. I want to create a safe environment for students to come in to; where they can forget the struggles they are facing at home, and focus on learning. I want to be an understanding and compassionate teacher, one who isn’t there for a paycheck, but one who cares about the well being of my students. I aspire to have the calm and warm aurora that Mr. Chase exemplifies, and to be a confidant to my students while still delivering necessary learning material. Group tables, partner activities, and open door policies will create the classroom experience I want. Clear, explicit expectations, parent/teacher conversations, and flexible lesson plans will create a classroom management style that can be respected and followed by students. This observation was beneficial in helping me see what I would like to implement into my own classroom. 

ITL 604- CELDT Testing Transition

INTRODUCTION

            California is a state in which a significant number of children reside in homes in which English is not their primary language. Based on a parent’s response to the Home Language Survey, any pupil in California not previously identified as an English Language Learner or where previous records do not exist must be assessed for English language proficiency using the California English Language Development Test (Education Commission). Results of the CELDT are used by the school’s EL coordinator, teachers, and administration in order to guide instruction and to ensure that EL students receive adequate support within the classroom.

ASSESSMENT TOOL

            The CELDT is an assessment tool used to gauge the proficiency of English Language Learner students. The CELDT Fundamentals video on Blackboard reviews the four components of CELDT: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. There are five proficiency levels that students can score, “beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced” (Blackboard, 2018). Once test results become available, EL individual student progress can be tracked and monitored for the duration of their public school career. The EL coordinator and teachers use the proficiency levels of the CELDT to properly place EL students in their classes. Also, teachers use the results to ensure that EL students are getting the needed academic support necessary to be successful in their classes. Another example of how teachers use the CELDT results is in the placement of the bilingual associates who provide increased student support in order to help the student transition to their new school setting. Teachers utilize individual CELDT results in order to modify lesson plans that address the language weaknesses and strengths of the EL students. This is an example of how a teacher could modify a test based on a student’s CELDT result. A student who has a higher proficiency level in Speaking could be allowed to verbally answer test questions instead of writing their answers. CELDT results also enable teachers to identify areas that a student’s skill is lacking such as reading. The teacher can then collaborate with the EL coordinator or other members of their department in order to remediate that skill. For example, an EL student with a Beginning reading score would benefit from reading with a partner to help increase reading fluency. There is a less stress for a student when working with a partner versus reading aloud to the entire class. CELDT scores are also important to administrators. For example, a smaller class size may be considered when grouping English Learners. State testing is also affected by English Learners. Generally, English Learners do not test at a proficient level in English and Math. Lastly, administrators also consider the number of English Learners when it comes to the staffing of teachers and associates. 

PURPOSE OF CELDT TESTING

            In order to utilize the benefits of CELDT testing, it is important for educators, students, and administration to understand the purpose of the test. The CELDT is administered in grades kindergarten through 12^thgrade, and progress is tracked each year to better assist the student. If the student is new to a California public school, it is a requirement that students take the CELDT within 30 days of starting the school. According to the California Department of Education, the test is administered yearly until the student attains sufficient English proficiency and is reclassified as a fluent English speaker. The CELDT boot camp video explains the elements associated with the test, and prepares the students for the upcoming test they will be taking (Blackboard, 2018). The teacher discusses with the students that they will be required to write one coherent sentence during the test, which describes what is happening in an image that is given to the students. In order to help the student, the teacher uses a basic sentence frame, which will ultimately keep the sentence organized and guarantee all required components are included in the sentence. She urges students to keep the sentence short and to the point, and encourages students to reread their sentence. Students are told to look for a capital letter, period, and check that the sentence makes sense. She teaches the students that the sentence should be “big, little, and easy through the middle;” meaning the students should have a capital letter at the beginning, period at the end, and that the sentence should flow and makes sense through the middle. Towards the end of the video, the teacher creates one last sentence with the students, “the kids are sliding on a fun slide,” and together the students decide that the sentence makes sense, and contains all required components needed to make the sentence. The results of the Writing portion of the CELDT help teachers determine if a student understands and can use verbs properly or if they can use proper punctuation in their writing. This information helps a teacher guide the individual instruction for the EL student.

            The overall purpose of the CELDT is to ascertain the English proficiency level in four different categories. In reading, a student could be lacking skills in phonemics or fluency. A reading program could be implemented to strengthen these skills. In the listening section of the test, the student is given verbal instructions, is tested on rhyming ability, and is tested on verbal comprehension. Teachers can use this information to determine where the student needs more help; for example, if the student scores low in the rhyming section of the test, the teacher would spend more time reviewing rhyming patterns with the student. In the writing component of the test, the student is instructed to create a simple sentence. Upon reviewing results of the test, the teacher might find that the student used the wrong verb tense; in this case, the teacher would develop lesson plans which improve the student’s aptitude to determine which verb tense to use. The last component of the CELDT is speaking, in which the student is tested on his or her oral vocabulary, speech functions, and the student is asked questions and must verbally respond. Again, the teacher is able to review test results, and determine areas of improvement. Possibly, the student may be struggling with subject-verb agreement, such as “the kids is going to the park,” in which case the teacher would incorporate direct instruction and student practice. 

CELDT TRANSITIONING TO ELPAC

            Current CELDT testing is evolving and becoming the ELPAC. As discussed in the article, “Comparison of the CELDT and the ELPAC” there several differences between the CELDT and the ELPAC. Eventually, the ELPAC will replace the CELDT. The ELPAC has intriguing characteristics, which will make test results more useful to teachers. The CELDT has 5 tiers of proficiency levels, and the ELPAC has only 3, this gives more room for improvement for students, and narrows the gap between proficiency levels. The CELDT is grouped into 5 grade level spans, whereas the ELPAC has 7 grade level spans, this can be beneficial because students can be tested more frequently on material they are learning, and gives students more room for improvement. This can also be a helpful tool in aiding teachers to discover areas of focus and can assist teachers in creating explicit lessons for individual students. In the document titled “ELPAC Transition” found on Blackboard, the ELPAC was in a pilot stage in 2016, in 2017 the ELPAC was being field tested, and as of July 2018, the ELPAC is currently in the operational stage, and the CELDT will slowly be phased out. The ELPAC incorporates the best components of the CELDT, and also contains several improvements that will benefit school districts (Blackboard, 2018).

CONCLUSION

            CELDT or ELPAC testing and results are essential tools for teachers and administrators in order to guide instruction and to properly place teaching personnel to benefit the needs of English Learners. The administration can also use results to guide Professional Development for teachers as well. Yearly monitoring of an EL’s English skills helps teachers target their instruction and celebrate the student’s language successes. The goal for each English Learner is to be eventually reclassified as English Proficient. CELDT or ELPAC testing is the first step to achieving this outcome. 

References

California Department of Education. Comparison of the CELDT and the ELPAC. 18 January 

            2018. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ep/celdtelpaccompare.aspon 28 July

2018.

California Department of Education. ELPAC Transition. 14 October 2015. Retrieved from 

            https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ep/documents/elpactransition.docon 29 July 2018.

Edmund, Deborah. CELDT Brochure. National University Blackboard. Retrieved from
            https://nu.blackboard.comon 25 July 2018.

Edmund, Deborah. CELDT Fundamentals. National University Blackboard. 13 October 2017. 

            Retrieved from 

            https://nu.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_8046

            8_1&content_id=_5939970_1&mode=reset on 28 July 2018.

Edmund, Deborah. CELDT Video: Bootcamp. National University Blackboard. 24 October 

2017. Retrieved from

https://nu.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_8046

8_1&content_id=_5939970_1&mode=reset on 28 July 2018.

What Methods are Used to Identify English Language Learners. (2014, November). Retrieved       from http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbquestNB2?rep=ELL1403.