Program Standard 3: Reaching All Students with Peer Tutoring

We've all had those students who, despite everything you've thought to do and tried, still can't connect with the material you've learned or are still struggling with the work. This year as a teacher, I had two specific students who, after modifying and differentiating assignments, still struggled to understand the concept. 

SPU's program standard 3 states that teachers must learn about students' development and use it to create practices and strategies that advance learning. While last year I kept seeing these two students struggles to understand the curriculum, I didn't know of any new strategies to implement that might help them outside of what I had already been trying. 

Only after reading about peer tutoring did I stop and think back to my high school physics class. My teacher used to do his best to explain these complex physics concepts, but he was an EXPERT. He had years and years of physics training, attaining his doctorate in physics. During the lessons, I often wished he didn't have so much education, so he could explain it to me in a simpler way. 

As I had this realization, I realized the success these two students did have with peer tutors. When someone else was able to explain to them in their own words what they were doing, it was in a language that made sense to them. 

There were two problems I experienced with this, as it was not set up as a routine in my classroom. First, with one of the students, she always directly asked for the answer. Of course, while this is convenient, it takes away from the process of how. Additionally, with the other student, he was always asking for clarification from his partner. This meant that he was always the "helped" and his partner was the "helper." These types of roles do not support students as well as mutual support does. 

In an article by Rebecca Bond and Elizabeth Castagnera (2006) they suggest that “using peers to support students with disabilities is an effective intervention, educationally and economically, and it benefits the tutor and tutee, socially and educationally, by motivating them to learn” (p. 229). Part of what makes peer tutors successful is what Zaretta Hammond (2015) points out about communication. “Authentic engagement begins with remembering that we are wired to connect with one another” (p. 50). Peer tutoring allows students to take the primary role of learning and teaching one another. But it must be prepared and set up effectively, so that all students get a chance to be the helper and receive help, otherwise it continues to cultivate preconceived notions students have of themselves and that they have of other students. 

Differentiation and Collaboration through Technology

Throughout this quarter, I have been working on adapting an important lesson in my content area and enhancing it through the use of technology. This is a lesson that I have used many times in order to scaffold student's understanding of theme, but using the technology enhanced the lesson by allowing for more student collaboration and differentiation.

After creating the lesson, I realized how much it would support student learning through visuals. When I did this without technology, our white board was a mess of crossed out ideas, circled ones, and it was not visually appealing. Using a concept map would help to show student's the steps. But it will also help students to collaborate and use each other's ideas to create the best idea.

The lesson not only increased student collaboration, but allowed for easier differentiation for me as a teacher. Instead of having to work 1-1 with students, I can simply prompt them to look at other student's ideas and have students use each other's ideas as scaffolding. For students who struggle, seeing exemplar ideas is always a great way to differentiate and scaffold for lower learners. Also, I differentiated that when student's finished revising their theme, they could support other students by leaving them hints for how they could revise. This allows the more knowledgeable other to support lower level student's learning, and allows quick learners to practice the skill more.

One concern I still have is monitoring the computer program. I specifically had a paraeducator supporting me in doing this, but then that eliminates a para from supporting. Because the lesson is so student focused, including students supporting students, I think it would work out ok; however, in the school I am in, it would be a risk to ask a para to work to manage the resource over working directly with students. On reflecting, maybe a better way to do this would be to request one student to support me by assigning a role like "website manager" to ensure appropriate answers. This is still one part of the lesson that I want to improve and revise, but I really want to teach the lesson first to see the best way to revise it. We will not be covering theme until next year, so I am excited to see how the lesson works out.

At first, I was very nervous about using technology in a lesson because my mentor teacher hardly ever uses technology. Another teacher I work with uses it, but often it is just added on and doesn't always make sense or support student learning. I was surprised as I started thinking how much the technology would enhance the pedagody I had previously used in my lesson. It was a much stronger alternative to no technology, where the visuals were messy and it took a long time because the teacher was the "collaboration" for students. I think that this revision truly enhanced the lesson and will allow for my students to collaborate better, as well as allow for differentiation, mostly provided for by students themselves! I am excited to try the lesson in the near future. 

SPU Standard 4: Content Methods

Although the EdTPA is a dreaded word in education programs, I am thankful for my class where I was able to prepare for my high stakes evaluation. Going through the process of formal evaluation helped me to realize my strengths and areas for growth in planning curriculum. SPU program standard 4 explains that a teacher can use their content area knowledge, common core standards, and pedagogy to design curricula to maximize student growth. With this, teachers can create learning targets, align learning activities to these targets, and create a unit based on the assessment of these targets (and ultimately standards). 

Through my content methods class, I developed strategies and tools to help plan units aligned to standards and create sequenced learning targets from those standards. Before taking this class, I was using many strategies and pedagogies I had learned throughout my classes; however, with the pressure of the EdTPA, I started to notice what I would be evaluated on. It was reassuring to realize that most of the items that we needed to include in our lessons I was already doing, sometimes it just wasn't explicitly stated. 

I also discovered a few areas for growth. One of them was academic language. Although I was using strong verbs for my learning targets, I realized halfway through this class that students did not know what they were doing because they did not understand the academic language I was using. Another area for growth was simply identifying what my language supports were. Although I intentionally planned language supports for my students, I did not previously have language for this term. And finally, one area of growth is giving students criteria for assessments, formal or informal. Criteria brings students back to their learning targets and to the standard, reminding them that all assessments are important and that I am looking for specific items. 

My practice has improved from the process of preparing for the EdTPA, but my student's learning will also grow. From this, students will have clearly identified academic language, intentional activities, and criteria for their assessments. For example, I often struggle with students writing everything down. But as I've started giving student's criteria (write down 5 ideas) and hold them to it, everyone begins to participate. 

Overall, I am thankful for doing the process of EdTPA. Although it is a lot of hard work, it is encouraging to be reminded that I am using most of the elements on a day to day basis in my classroom. It is a good reminder that there are always areas for growth and that reflecting on my teaching and really creating lesson sequences from the standard supports student learning. 

Digital Citizenship: How to Teach Positive Code Switching

Working as a teacher and a support staff, I have run into many problems with students online activity. Some students struggle with cyber bullies. Some students use their twitter accounts to say all sorts of things about school, people, teachers, and politics. Many times, students ask me to help them get a job, but I know that some hiring processes use social media to help them. Our students think of social media as their oasis to express themselves freely, and this creates a big problem. ISTE standard 5 explains that students will "practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology." It is extremely important that young people learn this skill in an age where "anything goes" online. 

This is where digital citizenship is so important. As technology advances faster than teachers can keep track of, it is essential to teach digital citizenship alongside of teaching resources. Terry Heick defines digital citizenship as "the self-monitored habits that sustain and improve the digital communities you enjoy or depend on." He explains just like citizenship in a school or community, digital citizenship requires self-knowledge, interaction, and regulation (Heick 2013). But the reality is, if students are taught that the digital world is a system to navigate, they will code switch online, which is an important tool to foster many online communities. Matt Levinson explains that teens hide their online behaviors from adults and may even create duplicate or fake social network profiles (Levinson 2013). While parents may not feel comfortable that their children are hiding information from them, this technique of code switching is not a bad strategy for the young person. It allows them to have a more professional social media and a personal one, where they do not need to "mask digital speech and linguistic patterns." 

One practical strategy that I encourage young people to do is to use certain social medias professionally (facebook, twitter, even Instagram). Other social media (like snapchat) I remind students that it is ok to have be more personal. This is a positive way to encourage code switching. But  but teachers must remind students that no matter what online world they are in, for professional or personal reasons, they must still act as digital citizens. Oftentimes, technology is so empowering because you can type or express how you feel without instant consequences. Teaching students that the digital world can affect people just like the non-digital world is essential. I love how this Think poster reminds students to take a moment to reflect before they type, comment, or add pictures. 

To conclude, it is very important that teachers educate their students on the importance of digital citizenship in the classroom. Technology will increase faster than teachers can keep track of, but the longstanding norms of how to use these technologies will remain the same. Whether students are using a social media site for professional reasons or personal reasons, teachers must ensure that students know that the norms that are set in schools are similar norms for online. Be respectful, be compassionate, and take responsibility to keep the online world which you enjoy, a safe place. 

Heick, T. (2013). Definition Of Digital Citzenship. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/digital-citizenship-the-future-of-learning/the-definition-of-digital-citzenship/

Levinson, M. (2013). The Digital Lives of Teens: Code Switching. Retrieved March 10, 2017 from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-teens-code-switching-matt-levinson