I discussed with Mrs. H. her philosophies about teaching literacy. She is very much a believer in collaborative learning. She feels that each student in a group should have a job that requires participation and he or she should be held accountable for that job. The teacher’s role during group work is to provide scaffolding and to use questioning techniques to stretch students’ language. Because students are working cooperatively, students can also use the ideas and language of others in their group to enhance their own language. She is certain that these learning strategies not only help ESL students but all the other students in the class and should be used in all content areas.
Mrs. H. also advocates making activity directions clear for all students. She does this by using visuals, having students retell the directions and also having the directions on a note card to remind students what to do during the assignment. She feels that these strategies bridge the gap for learning and allow time for a deeper meaning of the learning.
I agree with this teacher's philosophy. Students who work in cooperative groups are likely to discuss ideas freely and use the ideas of others to increase their own learning. I can even relate it to my own learning. I retain more when I have the opportunity to discuss ideas with my classmates.
No comments:
Post a Comment