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Jan. Discussion Board Interaction
Topic Started: Dec 30 2016, 08:53 PM (103 Views)
Lisa Z.
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Please watch one of the following videos and respond to the following questions. Then respond to other person's post. Both videos are about 10-12 minutes long. They are meaty so I would encourage you to watch both if you have the time.

1. How did the students interact in the lesson?
2. How were the the students grouped in order to interact?
3. What are some ways that you do/could include conversation/ interaction in your classes?

Elementary school video- this is a 1st grade SIOP exemplar lesson "butterfly lesson":

https://graniteschools.instructure.com/courses/764048/pages/interaction

Secondary video- this is one of the last weeks in a middle ELA exemplar unit:

http://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/groups-to-analyze-complex-texts
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LeighP

In the secondary video, all of the students seemed to take a pretty active part in the reading and analysis of the speech. Because the students were working in small groups, they were very comfortable with expressing their opinions, and the questions that the teacher designed helped focus student discussion so they could feel more comfortable taking an active part in the conversation. There was a lot of really good discussion going on in the small groups, and it looked like the fact that students were in small groups helped to foster the conversation. The students were very involved in reading and discussing the texts.
She did talk about heterogeneous groups, but she also talked about higher and lower level reading groups as well (since the students were working with three different levels of speeches). It seemed like all of the kids in the groups that the video focused on were at pretty high levels. They all seemed to have the highest level speech at least. It seemed like she would vary the way that she grouped students based on what she wanted students to do. This was very effective for her students in this assignment because the discussion about the text was really good. The students seemed highly engaged in the reading.
I feel like I use grouped discussions in my class pretty regularly. Then we come back together as a class to discuss what the small groups have found. I like this because it gives the students a chance to discuss their answers with a group before having to talk in front of the entire class. I could definitely do more to change up the groupings so that students are getting to work with more homogeneous and more heterogeneous groups depending on the assignment. This would probably help my students be more successful with conversations and discussions.
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TrinityOwens

The students were constantly interacting with the teacher or one another throughout the lesson in various ways. The teacher had them giving a thumbs up or saying hi to their teammates. They were seated in groups that they would work with. She kept the pace of her lesson pretty fast in order to keep them from getting bored. She also used a variety of techniques from singing to incorporating the Spanish word for butterfly in the lesson. I have just started speeding up my pace and moving from activity to activity. I have noticed that this does keep students engaged much better. I have realized that I don't have to teach them everything in a day.
Leigh, my students are grouped together by reading levels, but their language proficiency is varied in each group. I don't have a choice about my groupings right now, but I have seen the benefit of both hetero and homogeneous groupings in this way.
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LeighP

Trinity, I agree with your discussion about her use of various methods to check student progress and keep kids engaged. I also agree that speeding things up can help engagement, but sometimes that can be difficult with varying ability levels. I always worry that some students will get left behind. I guess using grouping and partnering strategies could help with that.
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CandaceBaggett

I decided to watch the first video, since the teacher and I are both first grade teachers. I thought the interactions happening in the classroom were great - interactions with one another and interactions with the teacher. In the beginning of the video, she had the students communicate with their team members to reiterate not only who was on their team, but that they are a part of a team. She had them repeat "I AM READY" to ensure engagement and participation. I love that she had various ways for students to answer questions and share their knowledge, as opposed to the traditional way of simply raising their hands. I use various signals in my classroom, but plan on implementing her "whisper the answer" method. I think this allows students the confidence to answer a question, due to whispering, while also allowing the teacher a way to quickly assess knowledge retention. The students also interacted through Total Physical Response which kept them engaged and helps to retain information. In thinking about my ESL student and my students with IEPs (developmentally delayed, language processing), I initially worried about the quick pacing of the lesson, BUT feel like the repetitiveness of the target skills through various teaching methods would help with retention regardless of speed.
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Karilena

I chose to watch the 2nd video.

1. How did the students interact in the lesson?
They all seemed comfortable sharing their thoughts with one another, even ideas that required deeper thinking and that students may consider to be riskier to share. They also took turns reading and asking questions about what they had read. One think I noticed what they interacted with their teacher really comfortably and she asked them excellent, open-ended questions both as a whole group and when she was checking in with her small groups. Dr. Walqui describes quality interactions as those that go back and forth and allow students to come to their own conclusions, and the students are doing that. Another thing worth noting is that students are reading, talking, and writing constantly during this lesson, so they are getting lots of language practice.

2. How were the the students grouped in order to interact?
I love how she grouped them! Everyone was sitting next to someone that was different from them, and she took full advantage of the fact that she had a really diverse class. Jigsawing is a natural way to teach this class since they all bring something different to a class discussion, and she does a really great job of bringing out their best. They were also grouped by ability and that determined what text example they would analyze, but all of the text choices were really rich and valuable. I also appreciate that she also gave them background reading.

3. What are some ways that you do/could include conversation/ interaction in your classes?
This definitely gives me the idea that I should shake up my seat arrangement. I usually let students choose where they sit, so they typically end up sitting with friends they have lots in common with. It's beneficial because they feel like they have some control and they feel comfortable sharing their ideas with their friends, but my class is pretty diverse as well so they could be missing out on sharing ideas with other classmates that are different from them, especially my ELs. As a side note, I love the text examples she chose to use; they all seemed like really rich sources of vocab and are really good to analyze.
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Karilena

Candace, I love that you noted what the teacher does to maintain student engagement. It can be difficult to get more shy students to participate in discussions sometimes, and it sounds like she made sure they were all invested. I love the idea of whispering the answer!
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CandaceBaggett

Leigh, I like the idea of changing groups dependent on the lesson. I often have a bad habit of keeping groups the same depending on where kids are sitting in the room, and need to do a better job of mixing the kids up.
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davidpoe1

I chose the second video to respond about. I felt that it was more relevant to my teaching situation.

1. How did the students interact in the lesson?

They worked together in groups. They read, discussed, and cam to conclusions about the text as a group, which required them to work together and actually discuss and understand the text.

2. How were the the students grouped in order to interact?

They were put in heterogeneous groups. I liked the way they were grouped. This grouping allowed them to work with students with different backgrounds and prior knowledge and experiences. I think that this is a great way to teach students, especially ELs. I think that sheltered classes allow ELs to depend on their first language and not push themselves to interact in their second language.

3. What are some ways that you do/could include conversation/ interaction in your classes?

I always use discussion and peer interaction in every class. Specifically, in math class, my students work with their partner or in small groups to discuss solutions to algebra problems daily.
Unfortunately, I think that my students too often speak to each other in Spanish, rather than English. I think that this is detrimental to them. I do not speak Spanish, therefore I can not help them with their work or understanding if I can not understand what they are saying to each other. Secondly, they depend on their first language and are not required to work to improve their English as much as they would be in a more diverse classroom.
I try to stress to them every single day to speak in English. It is a constant struggle.
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davidpoe1

Candice,
I also like the idea of having student have different ways to respond to questions in class. I struggle with this a little. I try to make it clear beginning each part of the lesson that I want them to raise their hands, discuss with their partner and then raise their hand, or simply say the answer. I have also used sticks with their names on them to call on them randomly and not get in a rut of the same students to dominate participation in the classroom.
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