LiterateLife

The Learning Network Listserv has just had a great conversation about The Teaching/Learning Cycle (TLC) (this is a transcript of the discussion at www.rcowen.com). This is the very first concept teachers need to know about when they begin teaching. I have been to the TLN Institute twice and it changed my whole way of teaching.

ASSESSMENT

 Any act of teaching begins with the assessment of a student’s ability to use a skill or knowledge of a concept. I was taught in college in the late Eighties, early Nineties, that assessment was the LAST step in the cycle. The teacher teaches the curriculum, then assesses understanding. Responsive (and economical!) teaching BEGINS with assessment, though.

I will focus my blog when the school year starts on how I am applying the TLC in my work as in-class ESL support for science teachers in my school.

Two weeks ago my AVID site team attended the AVID conference in Dallas, TX (just a hop, skip and jump from home in Arlington). I attended the Science Write Path I strand, instead of the English Language Learners strand (which I attended last year, since I am an English as a Second Language teacher), because this year my job description changes a bit. I will be going into the Science classrooms to support ELL students in class rather than pulling them out. THis is a great opportunity for me. I am not sure how this will work logistically though.

I don’t want to be a glorified homework helper, only assisting the students to complete their Science worksheets. On the other hand, is it fair to take up these students’ homework completion time to instead  give them intensive instruction on their science curriculum?

Or am I more a resource for the teacher in how to present the curriculum more effectively for ELLs? I know that my principal wants ne to help these teacher use more AVID methodologies in their classrooms. Less book-worksheet and more “let’s be scientists” and explore our world, sharing our learning through writing and speaking about it.

This will be an interesting endeavor that I will, of course, share here on my blog!

How cool are the science interactive notebooks, an AVID method that blends right brain and left brain to help kids really learn science concepts!

The right side of the notebook is always “input”: notes, information, etc. The left side is student “output” utilizing 4 colors, poetry, art, creative thinking and representing of science concepts.