My Topic: Group Work Revisited

I've discussed group work a lot in my blog posts. However, I want to revisit it because of how prominent it is in my service learning classroom.

In my EDU 220 class, we've discussed two types of grouping. These are random grouping, and purposeful grouping. Random grouping is exactly what it sounds like; students are put together in groups randomly. Some advantages of random grouping is that everyone is assigned a task, and it can be done quickly if a teacher makes the spur of the moment decision to group together students for an assignment. However, it can create unequal groups based on students' individual strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a class is learning a new math concept and students are placed into random groups to complete an assignment, every student in one group may really struggle with this particular math concept, while every student in another group may excel at it.

Purposeful grouping differs from random grouping because it's the deliberate placing of students into certain groups where strengths and weaknesses can be balanced. There are many advantages to purposeful grouping. It helps to create a balance of knowledge in groups, so that students can share their strengths that might be another student's weakness. It also helps to mix student personalities and build community in the classroom. However, it can be very time consuming to plan out the groups so that students can have the most success.

In my service learning classroom, the teacher has done a lot of purposeful grouping. She places students together so that there is a fair balance of knowledge, and everyone can contribute to the work. When I asked her why she prefers purposeful grouping over random grouping, she told me that it allows her students to work to their best potential and best understand the material being taught. They can better help each other, and it allows the students to get to know each other better. When the students are split into their groups, they go with either their teacher, an ELL aide, or myself. I've worked with all of the students at least once, and I've seen them work in their different groups. The sense of classroom community has truly strengthened as the students learn to respect what their peers understand and what they don't understand.

I personally prefer purposeful grouping because it brings a balance to the group dynamic. In my EDU 220 class, we've often worked in purposeful groupings, and I've really enjoyed getting to know my classmates and contribute to our group work with my own individual strengths. I think it can really benefit ELL students because it helps struggling students to understand, as well as help their other classmates. When I am a teacher, I want to make it a goal to take the time to use purposeful grouping because I think it can best benefit my students, and I want them to be able to succeed to the best of their abilities.

Review and Assessment

I've noticed in my service learning classroom that my coordinating teacher does not use a large variety of formative assessments. Because her students are very young and the school is a Title I school, white boards are not used at all in the classroom. I've observed the class create one Venn diagram to compare and contrast butterflies to other insects, as well as a bullet-ted list to show what they know about butterflies. Usually, students are just asked to summarize what they have recently learned or to share their answers for an in-class assignment. However, the teacher uses many small summative assessments in her classroom. For example, every Friday the students take at least two tests: a reading comprehension test about the story they read in class that week, and a vocabulary test. These tests cover what they have learned throughout the course of the school week. If students do well, they are rewarded with positive reinforcement.

My coordinating teacher always gives instructive feedback to her students. If a student does a good job on something, she will tell them they did a good job, as well as why they did a good job. For example, the students recently had to write three sentences about why they did or did not like Thanksgiving. One student wrote that she liked spending time with her entire family because they were nice. The teacher praised her for being descriptive and writing a longer sentence, something that has been difficult for this student in the past. The student worked harder because she knew if she worked this hard again, she'd receive more positive feedback. The students work much better when the teacher gives them informative and positive reinforcement because they want to make their teacher proud and happy. 

When teaching a new concept, the teacher will teach the class as a whole for 10-15 minutes, depending on how much time she has. After she has taught, she allows the students to process the information by giving them questions to answer before moving on to the next concept. This method, known as the chunk and chew method, has proven very successful for this particular class. During the chew portion, they are allowed to work with their nearby classmates to clarify anything they don't understand. Once the entire concept is taught, the students are split up into groups. 

Although I respect the way my coordinating teacher assesses her students, I do wish she used a larger variety of formative assessments. I think this would benefit her students, as well as engage them in the lesson more. In my own classroom, I want to use many different kinds of formative assessments so my students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they've learned. After observing this class, I can better understand the importance of giving sufficient feedback to students, particularly ELL students. This helps to build confidence and motivate students to work harder, as well as reward them for the hard work they have already done. I have a better idea of how to give such feedback to my own students one day after watching my coordinating teacher. 

Interaction and Lesson Delivery

In the classroom where I completed my 15 service learning hours, the teacher provides many opportunities for her students to interact with each other and with herself. Students are always encouraged to help each other when another student is struggling, and time is usually always made for questions and for sharing what has been discovered. For example, I've mentioned that the class learned about the butterfly cycle. Students were asked to share their favorite stage of the cycle with their peers sitting next to them and explain why. Each student shared at least twice, and in sharing, students that were struggling were able to receive a better understanding of the butterfly cycle.

The teacher will teach the class as a whole, but will split her students into three groups to complete any in class assignments. There are usually three groups. Four students work with me, five students work with an ELL aide, and four students work with the teacher. Once everyone has completed the work, we come together as a whole to discuss answers. While in groups, students are allowed to interact with each other, as well as whoever is supervising their group, to discuss what answers they found individually. Working in groups allows the students to collaborate and assist one another, as well as build a stronger sense of community in the classroom.

The students have to read a short story every week that utilizes their weekly vocabulary words and certain phonetic sounds the class is focusing on for the week. For example, one week the sound they were focusing on was the ch sound. We read a book about a boy named Chip who played catch with his friend Mitch. As a small group, we highlighted all the words in the book that had the ch sound in it. Then, students read the book with a partner. When everyone in my group was finished, we discussed what happened in the story. I saw that students understood the story better after going over it as a small group first, then reading it with a partner.

The teacher also provides sufficient wait time for her students to answer questions. She will ask a question, wait approximately five seconds, and then will repeat her question so her students understand it better. I have observed that if the teacher provides 5 to 10 seconds of wait time for her students, they will give the most relevant answers. However, if she waits longer than that, the students will often forget their answers.

I have never been a fan of group work because I personally have always preferred working on my own. However, after watching this class work in groups, I realize how successful it can be in helping students learn. My coordinating teacher is very aware of her students' language differences, and has told me that working in groups can help ELL students, especially if they have the same primary language. I've seen this in this classroom, as well as in my own education classes at MCC. I want to implement this into my own classroom someday and have my students work in groups so they can build communication and critical thinking skills.

My Topic: Cummins' Theories

In my EDU 220 class, we've been discussing Jim Cummins, who's a theorist in English language acquisition. I've seen several of Cummins' theories in action in the class I'm completing my service learning hours in. One of the concepts that he's developed is the idea of Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (or BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (or CALP). BICS is the social language that a student acquires, or the "playground" language. This generally takes two to three years to acquire. On the other hand, CALP is the academic language that a student acquires in school. It generally takes five to seven years to acquire. 

I've seen both of these ideas in action in the classroom that I'm in. Every student is an English Language Learner, with varying degrees of English proficiency levels. Many are proficient in BICS, but struggle with CALP because it's much more difficult to acquire and understand. Oftentimes, the students draw on their native language to understand new concepts. One girl is very fluent in Spanish, and her mother doesn't speak any English. When I've worked with her, I've noticed that when she sees a picture of an object in her workbook, she'll say the object's name in Spanish and then will repeat it in English. This benefits both her and her peers who may be struggling. 

What this student does also follows another one of Cummins' theories, which is the Common Underlying Proficiency, or CUP, theory. This theory states that students will be able to understand a concept in a second language once it's developed in their first language. 

The teacher has spoken with me about Cummins' theories and how she watches them at work in her classroom. She spends a lot of time on academic vocabulary because she knows it will benefit her students if they can acquire it now. If she teaches a new word to the class, she will explain what it means to the class but makes sure that the students use that word instead of an easier substitute. She maintains a positive attitude, even when her students don't quite understand what she's teaching and when they don't want to understand. It's clear to see that she understands the importance of her students understanding academic vocabulary. 

Each of Cummins' theories go hand-in-hand, and it's very interesting watching them firsthand in the field. The students I work with don't understand or even know that the way they learn follows theories that have taken years to fully develop. They simply go about their school work without questioning it. I'm excited to have my own classroom so I can see Cummins' theories in work every day, and so I can see my students progress. 

References: Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive-academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, optimal age and some other matters. Working Papers in Bilingualism, 19, 197–205.

Cummins, J. (1991). Interdependence of first- and second-language proficiency in bilingual children. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children (p. 165–176). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. Los Angeles: California Association for Bilingual Education.

Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters Ltd.

Cummins, J. (2008). The role of culture in reading instruction. Presentation at the annual conference of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Language.

Making Content Meaningful

Technology is a big part of the classroom where I'm completing my service learning. My teacher uses a document camera to show the worksheets that the class is working on and to go over homework and other assignments. This makes it easy for the students to follow along with the teacher and understand where they are on the assignment.

The teacher also uses her computer to pull up additional videos and occasionally websites to supplement her students' learning. For example, the class recently learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. They spent about a week learning each stage of the cycle, and at the end of the week the teacher showed the class a video about the life cycle so that they could see it in action.

The teacher also uses technology to display previous knowledge learned and to scaffold the students' learning by using what she displays as a visual for the lesson. Prior knowledge is discussed regularly in the classroom, so that the students are constantly thinking about what they have learned and how it connects to what they are learning. 

The students are able to demonstrate what they've learned by presenting it to their classmates. Occasionally, the teacher will call students up to the document camera to display their work in front of their peers. Students also present information in small groups. When a student gives a right answer, the teacher will very enthusiastically let them know they did a good job, and the rest of the class will either clap or cheer very briefly for their peer. While I admire the level of community this builds, I do feel like it's a little time consuming. 

Students read and write often in class, and one of my jobs is to help students write sentences and edit them for grammar mistakes. I also assist them in reading a weekly story. I read the story first so the students understand the plot or progression of events, and then we read the story in a small group using the popcorn strategy (one student reads a small section and then calls on another student to read the next section).

I've noticed that the students I work with are, in a sense, following their own butterfly cycle. Right now, they are caterpillars, learning and solidifying concepts they will use in their entire education career. Eventually, they will become butterflies and evolve into hardworking and critical-thinking students. I want my future students to feel the same level of classroom support that these students feel in their classroom. 

Building Connections with Vocabulary

As I've mentioned in previous posts, every student in the class I'm completing my service learning hours in, is an ELL, or English Language Learner, student. My coordinating teacher is very aware of her students' needs, and one of my jobs in the classroom is to help out with students who are struggling with writing and reading because of vocabulary and grammar rules.

Many of the students are proficient in social English but struggle with academic English. As a result, their teacher spends a lot of time on reading and writing exercises so that they can have extra practice. She lets her students work at their own pace and in groups so that they can help each other understand whatever concepts they're learning. She maintains a positive and patient attitude towards their learning and towards their diverse needs.

If a student is struggling with a word definition, the teacher allows me to look up a picture of the word (if applicable) and has the student say the word in Spanish, then in English so they can make the connection. Once, a girl who really struggles with vocabulary words in English was unsure of what a ring was because she didn't know the definition of the English word. I looked up a picture of a ring and asked her to tell me what it was in Spanish. I then told her that the English word was "ring," and I could see the light in her eyes go on as she made the connection between the words.

To reinforce her students learning vocabulary words, the teacher does something called The 100 Club. Every Friday, the class takes a vocabulary test. The students who get a 100 on the test are invited up to the front of the class, and the rest of the students clap for them. When I asked the teacher why she does this, she said it helps the students respect and celebrate each others' accomplishments. "The idea is that no one will get jealous because they know that if they get a 100, their classmates will be genuinely proud and happy for them," she told me.

The teacher also encourages everyone to help out their fellow classmates when they are struggling. There is a very understanding and close feeling in the classroom because it is so small and the students are all very close friends with each other. Because the students all come from a Hispanic culture, they have many similar background experiences. There have been multiple times when she has made a connection to something they have learned in the past or even to a holiday they all celebrate, and the students have let out a collective "oh yeah!" Once the background experience has been established and discussed, the teacher will make a connection to the new concept they are learning. She will occasionally pull up on image on her computer that will help the students make the connection themselves.

I really admire the community that exists in this classroom. The teacher maintains a positive attitude and is always willing to help her students when they are struggling. She's very aware of her students' needs and is ready to fulfill them. As a teacher, I'll need to maintain the same positive attitude to make school a positive experience for both me and my students.