Spending the last four years at a school that includes not only a high level of second language learners, but a high level of children living in poverty, has forced me to look closely at the issues of transliteracy. The basic learning experiences that I would expect to students to have had before coming to my classroom do not exist for many of my students. Understanding can be the biggest barrior to their success. It is important, then, to find ways to bridge those gaps in understanding. We cannot simply hand them a book or give them a vocabulary list. For true understanding to take place, we have to find multiple ways to bridge connections.
In my own classroom, when encountering new words with my students, I would often also teach them the American Sign Language for that same word, hoping that the brain/body connection would improve their retention and understanding. I used the website: https://www.signingsavvy.com. I have strongly argued for the inclusion of students' own technology whenever possible. Students who have phones (there are fewer on our campus than more afluent schools) use them as their strongest means of communication and understanding. It would be beneficial then, to include those phones in our classrooms. Flipggrid is a great way to do that. As it stands now, I try to include videos that students can rewatch when introducing new concepts to my students. For example, when we begin to tackle html/CSS, I have them access the instructional videos at Khan Academy, Code School, and Code.org to help support every learner. While some of my students respond tothe very straightforward approach of Khan Academy others find the game-style approach of Code School to be more understandable.
All of this is very important for me to consider when building my capstone project. Creating a custom-made game framework for my class involved a great deal of thought and programming. I spent much of my summer trying to find the perfect way to create the game, and finally found a fantastic previously formatted spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is very complex, and most people become intimidated when looking at it. This is very important for me to remember when thinking about how to share this information with other teachers. I was already attempting to create my own spreadsheet when I stumbled upon the premade one. Few teachers already know how to use spreadsheets and create formulas within them, and if I were to show the spreadsheet to them, they might just turn away and never attempt to gamify their class or unit. When I built my game, I used the step-by-step video tutorials to ensure that I was building it correctly. This was far more effective for me than simply reading the instructions. I have found that providing a simple screencast or video for teachers who are new or even fearful of technology is a really great way to support them. I recently started holding Appy Hours at my campus, so that teachers can just drop by my classroom and try out some new apps or websites. This type of relaxed and nonthreatening learning environment is meant to encourage even the tech-reluctant to try some new approaches in their classroom. My capstone project needs to have this same awareness and delicate approach to teachers, who would be part of my intended audience. How can I best draw in and support teachers who are reluctant to try technology? Will videos and screencast best support them? Would lists and step-by-step instructions be best? Would a simple script of written explanations be the most effective means of communication? My experience is that EVERY type of instruction is best. Allowing students, and teacher who are students, to choose the best method for themselves not only improves their understanding, but also their own sense of autonomy and agency. For example, when I taught freshman English I cam to discover that students' desire for autonomy could be used to my benefit. Instead of simply assigning a paper when we had compelted our reading of The Odyssey, I gave my students freedom of choice. "Figure out the best way that YOU communicate your understanding, and show me that you understand." I would point out to them that this was to be the equivalent of a paper or an exam on the topic, so they should put in the appropriate amount of effort. The results were extraordinary. One group of students banded together, built a puppet theater, made puppets and performed key scenes from the book for the class, one girl composed an original piece of music that expressed the various themes of the book, and another group recreated the story using stop-motion animation. Nearly every student put in a great deal more effort than I would have expected if the assignment had been a paper. They were allowed to communicate in the medium they felt they spoke best in -- film, music, or drama. Giving students the freedom to choose how they expressed themselves, allowed them to "speak" more clearly to me. Those few students who put little to no effort into the project were for the most part, the same ones who generally put little to no effort into paper writing, too, and while they didn't create their own meaningful project, they were exposed repeatedly to their classmates projects. This helped them build a better understanding of The Odyssey than any exam or paper could have. When thinking about transliteracy, it is important not only to consider the various ways that I can communicate to my students, teachers and parents, but also the many ways that students can communicate with us. Allowing students to choose how they communicated their understanding with me was risky, but the pay off way huge, when students were allowed to speak in their clearest, and true voice.
3 Comments
James
9/11/2017 08:06:25 pm
Jen,
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Nancy
9/12/2017 03:40:26 pm
Jen,
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Nai Saelee
9/12/2017 09:15:17 pm
Jen,
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