LLED 360

In the book Building Academic Language the author states that it is important to build a whole class discussion.  There are many reasons why a whole class discussion can be very useful for learners.  These discussions can help students build their thinking skills, help them modify their ideas, as well as help them to articulate these ideas.  A whole class discussion is a little like improvisation.  You have to be paying attention to what is going on.  One minute you may be talking about one thing and the next minute you are on to something else.  Mainly, in whole class discussions and in improv people need to stay on their toes, they need to think and then rethink their next move and everyone needs to be committed together.  All in real time!  Zwiers says that this imitates real life situations which will help students in the future!

Due to the fact that I am the worst blogger ever, I never did get around to doing a post about “Brick and Mortar Words.” Luckily – our recent journey into the world of Lesson Plans has highlighted for me just how necessary it is to keep track of these words in our subject areas. In a lecture that was designed to teach Grade 8 Drama students the important concept of the Proscenium Arch, I noticed something. Scattered throughout the text of my lecture, there were several other brick words.  As an experiment, I decided to highlight these words for the purpose of counting them.  There were 16 on the first page. (And I hadn’t even gotten to the worksheet that had a section of brick words that were specific to the Proscenium Arch!) In one page that was designed to explain one term – 16 other terms had cropped up that would also, (probably), need explanation. And such an explanation would definitely take up more than the 10 minutes I had allotted for the lecture section of the lesson plan.
Especially if we consider that in order for students to truly learn each of these new brick words, they will have to see it, hear it, and use it in context.  Which leads me to wonder, how will I ever get anything done in my class?!

After I had finished having that panic attack – I decided to continue to explore the lesson plan for mortar words. I discovered words like define, identify, demonstrate, represent, explain, and so on. Without my even realizing it, I had helped create a lesson plan could potentially take the entire semester to unpack. I realize now, this exercise not only provided me with a lesson I’ll be able to use in my classroom, but also gave me a very tangible demonstration about how conscious we as teachers, need to be of the language we’re using. Hopefully, I’ll be able to come up with some strategies to better incorporate “brick and mortar words” into my lesson plans without ending up with a list of words that require explanation.

I really believe questions are quite important in classrooms. Asking questions is a way for teachers to gain understanding in where students are at with their learning. Questions also engage students and help them to regulate their own thinking. Granted, I do believe that it is important not to overuse questions. Questions asked to students need to be thought out beforehand, and crafted carefully. The questions should have a purpose for students’ learning. In other words, teachers need to ask “essential questions”, questions that challenge students’ understandings and make them go above and beyond textbook facts. These questions should require students to really think about what they already know, what they do not know yet, and where does the new information fit into that framework for them.

Asking essential questions develop critical thinking skills in both learners and teachers.  It is pivotal in the process of inquiry because it requires the teachers to be self-reflective in their own practices based on students’ responses as well. Before implementing this it is important that teachers are aware of the classroom dynamic and are active in providing a supportive environment where students feel safe to explore and engage their imagination. I believe that it is this challenge and process of synthesizing new information through students’ own inquiry that produces lasting learning outcome.

– Emily

Having been an English Language Learner myself, I have experienced first hand how intimidating it can be sitting in a class and not having a clue what the teacher is talking about or what your peers are laughing at. When it comes to being in an activity where you are expected to participate and have input this becomes even more challenging. I really enjoyed the games that Graham introduced us to on Wednesday as they eliminated that fear factor. The games included one called “stomp”, which had everyone standing in a circle and involved the passing of rhythm from one to another around the room. Another game was similar but involved the hand clapping. A third game called “May I” that involved people switching positions in a circle through eye contact and the asking of “may I” to each other. These games have a commonality in that they all depend little if at all of verbal language communication. I thought it was interesting when a student from the class who had missed the introduction of the activity and came in midway through the game was still able to participate fully throughout the game. Communications involved were primarily eye contact and hand/body gestures. An ELL student can easily understand the situation and not feel left out. This was especially apparent during the feet stomping activity when without communicating to the class Graham facilitated a change in direction of the feet stomping. Everyone in the class was able to catch up on that despite no verbal communication was involved. I thoroughly enjoyed the activities and will definitely use them in the future with my own classes.

– Emily

I absolutely love how much emphasis is made in this chapter about the importance of group work in the classroom. I totally agree that group work can have both benefits and hinderances when delivering the lesson. This chapter touches on the hinderances briefly but concludes with the fact that with group work, if facilitated properly, students have the opportunity to be more active in classroom discussion rather than passive.

It is very critical that as teachers we model what appropriate language looks like in a group setting. By teaching our students about the motto “respect, connect, build, and support,” students will have less of a fear of being shut down and feel like their ideas are not being personally attacked are diminished to being a dumb idea. This is where scaffolding comes into play. By modeling these behaviours when we bring the class together in the beginning of a lecture or discussion, student will be able to build their vocabulary and syntax to speak creatively and critically to each other and to us.

Though I find it quite annoying, one of the most effective group discussion/activities I have found is the jigsaw concept which can be facilitated in many different ways. By allowing students to break off into their own groups and finding things about their topic they can share and by splitting off and joining with another group who has a similar topic, the facilitation is solely on the students themselves.

I appreciate the overarching emphasis throughout this chapter on the value of “process over product”. Of course we want students to come out of their exercises with new discoveries and reinforced learning, but my own experience in secondary school has taught me that the process is not valued nearly enough. When we emphasize the way that we come to learn something in the classroom, we let students know that their work along the way, mistakes and all, are an important part of education. I believe that shifting the emphasis to process might take away some of student fear of being wrong/forming an opinion that might be contrary to popular belief. Most processes use collaborative, critical discussions that are highly useful in learning academic language and developing skills that allow students to work successfully in teams. All of these things are fundamental tools that will help students when they reach university programs like this one.

Perhaps another reason that I like the idea of sometimes valuing process over product is because this ties closely with artistic practices. An artist tries to be cognisant of the way their piece is developing and dialoguing with their main theme, the materials they are using, the potential audience, and especially other artists’ works. In many ways, the process is more pivotal than the final piece that is produced because it is often while making that artists learn the most. I think this can definitely be paralelled to our students’ learning processes if we give them the support and the space to make discoveries along the way.

Overall I believe there could have been a more motivating way to really get me thinking academically about things in High School.  In general, I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful discussion in my classrooms. Shakespeare, for example, is filled with ideas, theories and themes.  Yet, I don’t remember discussing Shakespeare.  All I remember is trying to write something about what I read in isolation.  I think it would have been far more meaningful if we could have taken the time to not only learn about what Shakespeare was saying but to actually individually discuss what was happening in the play.

Recently I have been thinking about how as a student I wasn’t considered to be a typically academic student. My spelling and grammar were subpar. My math skills mediocre at best. Yet i still felt an academic spirit within me, and it came out in the manner of discussion. The most natural way i could analyze anything (how most teenagers could) was through movies. I could pick out what the director was trying to get me to see, I could read the manipulating words in the script, even pick out hollywood trends. I thrived at it. What came as a shock to me is that this was something that all of my friends did, and it came naturally. We would discuss, analyze and interpret movies. Perhaps it wasn’t the media particularly but the fact that we all shared in this body of work and interest.  I think discussion of art in general is a very integral way of life for teenagers.  Not only do they seem to naturally discuss films, but they also think about and discuss music.   I believe it would be very natural to facilitate and lead discussions on artistic matters and taste.

Questions are often overused in the academic environment.  Teachers definitely want student to discuss things and asking questions appears to be a way to deepen thinking.  However, certain factors inhibit this  noble goal!  First, the fact that the students are in their own peer group.  Some students are intimidated by other students and will not answer questions truthfully.  A student may not want to look too cooperative or willing or even too intelligent.  Teachers need to be aware that they are working in a complex social environment.   It may seem easy to ask a question to initiate thinking and discussion.  However, without some understanding of the social group you are dealing with, it may be extremely difficult to get students to answer honestly and forthrightly.

Second, good questions simply can never substitute for relationship.   Students need to know you care and that you are willing to share.  Why would a student trust a teacher who doesn’t appear willing to work on the student-teacher relationship?  Students need to know that they are being respected and are not just part of some kind of educational game.  The teacher has to be able to convey that what is happening is meaningful.

I believe teachers need to be careful when using complex vocabulary because students might not know what the teacher is saying.  For example, if I cannot assume students will understand the academic word “medium” when I ask them to do something with a medium.  Some may assume that I am using the meaning of medium as between big and small.  It is incumbent upon the teacher to make sure students are aware of the meaning of academic words.   Students cannot mindread.   They have to deal with the comprehensible input they receive from their teachers.   Zweir’s talks about how the scaffolding must be built before academic language comprehension can be achieved.  I believe that this is not only crucial, but sometimes very hard to remember.  Teachers live in the world of academic language and jargon without thinking about it.  They always need to be aware that they must bridge the gap between students and the language of the teacher.

“Building Academic Language” really had me thinking about the use of lectures or lecturing in schools. Typically in high school (or University setting) lectures were composed and scripted with complex academic language being used by an expert in this language. I believe that this type of lecture setting (a setting without discussion, interruption, or debate) makes for inaccessible learning of brick language. Speakers/ educators while introducing brick and motor language to their students, though important must consider the setting or tools in which they display this language. I believe the most common reaction to confusion or misunderstanding of language in young adults is usually utter indifference. It is our job as educators to promote and encourage language and language tools by the means that considers our listeners and students first.