Strategies to Reach Every Student Reaching all learners successfully is a tough job and requires carefully thought-out structures. “There’s a misperception that deeper learning is unstructured,” Berger said. “It’s really just a question about what you’re going to be tight and loose about. In traditional classrooms they are tight about pacing and about kids being quiet. I’d rather be tight about kids being focused and courteous.” Changing the focus might make for a more chaotic classroom, but meaningful learning is often happening between students in that environment. “It’s an active peer-driven sense of working towards quality,” Berger said. “It’s not just sitting passively and letting someone tell you what to think.” Careful grouping is important to give all learners the best chance at success. “The key thing about deeper learning for the kids we work with is not whether they can do it, but how can we structure classrooms so they can be successful,” said Joe Luft, senior director of programs for the Internationals Network and a former teacher and principal at one of their schools. “You want to be able to support students academically and in terms of literacy,” said Rosemary Milczewski, a math teacher at Flushing International High School. “They are arguing; they are talking to each other; and I’m walking around as a facilitator.” A common way to teach students for whom English isn’t their first language is to group them by proficiency. But Sylvan says that rarely works. Grouping is a delicate balance of English language ability, native language ability, and familiarity with the academic content. “The grouping would differ based on the task you are asking students to do,” Sylvan said. Click the link for more. blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/strategies-to-reach-every-student-regardless-of-language-barrier/
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 10:58:08 +0000
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