Planning for English Language Learners

Next semester I plan to teach a unit on color theory. I have chosen four different stages of language learners that might be in my class for this coming year. These are speech emergent, beginning fluency, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency.  For the emergent learner the basic vocabulary is already there and that the vocabulary has increased and the times they make mistakes have decreased. But they still need some extra help when it comes to making connections and using the vocabulary. A lot of the students may have some of the basics for the color wheel, but they will go deeper into the concept of what color holds in this world. For this reason I will be having students write down all vocabulary words at the beginning of the lesson, before we get started, that way they will not be shocked when different words come up they will be ready for them. And then I will emphasis the words throughout the instructions, making sure students remember to use them when explaining them.This is one of the first step in the English Language teaching strategies. Keeping the vocabulary where students can see will help students make the vocabulary that will be used common. For the students who are beginning fluency and still have trouble to express himself because of gaps in vocab or appropriate phrases. Even though students may struggle with gaps in their vocab, they still will be expected to communicate with each other during their art critics when it comes to explaining their rough draft, final project, and art critiques. Having sentence stems in their sketchbook to help when giving these talks will help students be able to communicate more fluently without worry. Some of these sentence stems could be, “The reason I chose these colors is________”, “I find that your use of balance is__________”. This is based off of the second strategies for English Language teachers, which is “guided learning”. For the students who are intermediate, they already demonstrate a higher order thinking skill, and therefore can offer an opinion or analyze a problem, using the strategy of authentic assessment we will use a variety mini projects and different ways to assess in the unit. So instead of just having one final project at the end of the unit to assess if they understood the concepts. Instead we will be using a variety of mini projects in the sketchbook like an echo line project that focuses only on tone, value, and tint, a paper cutting project that focuses on the concept of complementary colors, a small color theory quiz, a sketch book assignment that focuses on composition and balance in the artwork. This way we can see if they actually understood all the concepts over time. The final language learner will be the advance fluency where is essentially fluent but with accent. Which doesn't need much additional help, but could use the previous strategies along with meaning based, to have students connect on a deeper level with the content.

Special Education Referral Process

Part of being a good teacher is to make sure each student is learning. But that is easier said than done. As a good teacher one has to be able to observe and identify what a student needs, the best way they learn, and how to implement differentiated instructions and sometimes even know when to refer them to learning support. I had the amazing time interviewing my colleagues , 1 councilor who shall be known as Mr. Y, and 2 teachers Mr. H and Ms. Q. Because not everyone is at summer school, I used a program called "whatsapp", a messaging app very popular over here in Hong Kong, to interview the teachers. I would ask the questions via text and they would use voice to respond back to me with a voice recording. For the interview with the councilor we interviewed in person with a voice recording of the interview. 

Interview with the Councilor- Mr. Y

• How is a student identified for special education referral?

• The whole system has been revamped and implement a new protocol. A teacher has the ability to recognize the needs a student will have. Teachers already have differentiation, but if they need extra support they will ask a referral. They will talk to the special needs teacher who will come in and make an observation to see how they should help.

• Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?

• Both the teacher and the Learning support staff. The paperwork usually comes under case manager, but the teaching strategies and teaching the material, takes the lead.

• What is the school administration's directive for special education?

• Moving fully into inclusion, getting the students into the school who have mild needs. Seeing support take base. Hard to fully implement, because of the newness. Some teachers seem weary about having additional students with special needs in the classroom because of the extra time involved but the head of school wants to champion the cause. And making sure there is documentation to go along with the support.

• What provisions are made for students identified for special education?

• They get put on a plan developed by a teacher and a special ed teacher, as well as the principle and the parents. Student will sometimes be brought into the meetings to talk about how it isn't a stigma that there is no label but these are needs that they have and they will be owning the support that they get.

• What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?

• Important because they need to be following at home. Important to get them involved earlier on, the more cooperation, even though they are at school for 8 hours a day there are more hours they are at home and its important for the family to be involved

• What are some areas the school does excel in? 

• Supporting our students helping our students the best that we can. Teachers using different teaching strategies. The revitalization of the whole process. Make it about the student and doing our best to meet their needs.

• What are some cultural differences you see in the USA vs. our school in Hong Kong ?

• US it's required by law. There are appropriate channels, staff on site to administer tests for cognitive and behavioral, and they don't need to pay for it. In Hong Kong it's very expensive to have a student treated as well as get the documentation they need, a deterrent for parents to have their child tested. More of a stigma in Hong Kong and parents do not want to be labeled. Need for more awareness that people are not the same and we all need help. Students also need to know that they are not all the same that they are not cookie cutter models of each other. Every student has specific strengths and areas they need to improve on.
• 
  

Interview with two teachers from my School. Mr. H and Ms. Q.

• How do you identify a student for special education?

Mr H: Student clearly has difficulty in their development, academic, social, emotional, effect the process of learning material and advancing in school.

Ms. Q: Watching for methods that work for other students that don't work for this student. Not weak all over, but weak in some areas. Doesn't seem to be a link between them. If can't find a link then see if they need help with special help. 

• What are the signs of a struggling student?

Mr. H: Difficulty socializing with peers, developing friends, new friends, trust in peers. Teachers look at more which is the academic side. Students cant keep up with content or focusing in class. This is difficult in Middle School because a lot of kids have trouble focusing, it could be need for special education or if they are still developing. That is why there should be different levels and tiers for referral. 
Ms. Q: When you look at data, test scores, participation, what you notice what they say vs what they write vs what they do. The differences between what they say and what the can do. A general inability to keep up with peers or standards. Most concern when modifications have changed so much that expectations are lowered. 

• Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?

Mr. H: Different methods could be differentiating the instruction if a student doesn't learn well if a student is lecturing because they are a Kinetics learner and need more hands on activity to be able to receive the information. Maybe they didn't need any special education but they learn differently from their peers. 

Ms. Q: Always alternative methods before referring them. Trying lots of strategies, prefer sitting, visual aids, written and verbal instructions, type instead of write, have some choice in assessment, verbal vs written response, not all the instructions on summative assessment at the end, taking formative assessment. Looking at all the pieces, lots of different strategy to try before hand just to see what works and what doesn't.

• Do you have a specific example or a story of how you used a personalized learning plan?

Ms. Q: A student with S as far as she would not understood things in class, never spoke up in class. Gave her a card that had a prompt card. In the end had to prompt her personally. In the end the plan had to change. 

After the Interviews-
Even though the interviews are short and precise, I found that the teachers have a heart for wanting to do whats best for the student. And that they try new things for the student with differentiated instruction before they refer the student to the learning support team. I am very impressed with how they put the student as a focus, that the student isn't a burden, but that the teachers job is to help the student best as they can to make sure that the student is getting all the support that they need. Because I live in Hong Kong, where it is not a law to have to refer a student, the referral process seems a little less formal than in the US, which is required by law. And that even though teachers and learning support are responsible to help the student with needs, they are not bound by law to do so, but instead by the schools policies 

 I have attended meetings for students who needed help from the learning support with these teachers, and I have to say it shows some similarity to the Finish Special Education video I talked about in my last blog post. The video that describes what the teachers work towards helping the student with an individual learning plan. We meet the student is the focus of the meeting, and meet twice a cycle, and to make sure all subject teachers are on board with the process. The referral process the teachers mentioned in the interview gets discussed in these meetings to help the teachers all be on the same page. Our meetings might go something like this: little Jimmy is a kinetic learner and is excelling in certain subjects but falling behind in others, the teachers meet together and discuss how they teach little Jimmy,the teachers who have had success in instruction share their learning strategies and differentiated ideas,and then they come up with a plan to teach him in a way where he will excel, a personalized learning plan,  before suggesting that little Jimmy gets a referral to learning support. 

I think that the whole purpose of special education, personalized learning plans, and the process of referral is important to our students, especially in the 21century, if done well. If student's and parents don't see it as a label or a stigma but as a tool, if teachers don't find it a burden but as a way for students to succeed and shine, then I think that it will be incredibly helpful for the students who in the past who would have been labeled  dumb, or trouble, or unteachable in the past could have an opportunity to reach their potential and be known as The Future. 


Links to the audio clips: 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFZ2tLLTBZbkpFVEJrcUZTanV0dmM4dnpkTnl3
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFNFJWSEhfZFhJc3E4VjVNeWp3Y3FxQUxkTFRV
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFWTA5RUxHSGZrSER4Q0pjVnBvMTdhTnFycHZr
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFT1EtcXdvWGZkcWc3NjlQSUpORkF0OUdKdTBJ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFSjBzTk45RW5ISEQ3YjhGZnZsT01TSFp2ZlBr
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFa0xDRHJPb05HYnM4dGFVZXFFS1RpaUY3SnBr

Personalized learning

This week I was given the task of writing a "reflection on the role personalized learning plays in special education today, how you see it being addressed in tomorrow's world, and reasons to justify your opinions."

As I was reading up on the role personalized learning plays in special education today a few different contents got my attention, Finland's response to special education, the National Center of Learning Disabilities web page, and how one of my colleagues has been using personalized learning for his students in special needs. When I was watching Finland's way to respond to special education a few things in particular really popped out at me.First they said that the help students receive is so common that students who don’t get a little extra help. That the try to detect issues at an earlier stage, theys say that earlier detection is key, that a lot of issues could be resolved if the child was detected earlier. The other part that really got my attention was when they talked about who was involved in the care of a child, the principle, a special ed teacher, a school nurse, psychologist, and the classroom or subject teacher. I think that kind of help is crucial to the success of any student, especially that of a special need student. The third thing that got my attention in the time put in the student. The teachers met with each other twice a month for each child, they plan out a detailed personal plan for their education. The plan put out for learning sounds amazing. To have teachers sit around and discuss how and what can and should be done to help the students using attainable and measurable ways. It brings to mind the old saying “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Using the National Center of Learning Disabilities I found out what a personalized learning plan looks like and what it includes and benefits of a PLP. I found that learning plans include competency-based progressions, flexible learning environments, project based learning, learner profiles, blended or online learning, and personal learning paths. This helped me understand what it entails and what it could look like in a class. This last year our Special Education teacher asked how I would feel if I would try out integrating a student who has a developmental and learning disability into my art and drama class. I said that I would love to and we worked on what the expectations were for him, since this is his first time to be integrated into a regular class we used project based learning for him as well as flexible learning environments. And from that experience I can see what the National Center of Learning Disabilities is saying the benefits are. The site says that it increases student engagement and achievement, Encourages growth mindset, builds decision-making and self-advocacy skills, reduces the stigma of special education, and gives students who think differently multiple ways to show what they have learned. In the experience I saw the part of reducing stigma and gave the student more chances to be engaged and achieve the same standards that the other students achieved. I would meet with his special needs teacher once a cycle to touch base and could hear what the plan for him was.

The last thing that gave me some understanding, was as I reflect on my own opinion on personalized learning was my coworker, the special education teacher. How I have seen him use personalized learning plans and goals has been inspiring. I have seen his students, that in some societies are seen as a burden, grow with skills that others might not have seen because of his use of a personal growth plan, helping them achieve goals that they plan together. And with what I’ve seen him do in his class, the information about Finland's program, and National Center of Learning Disabilities website, I see that using a personalized learning is the future of education! I think this is the future of education. But, not just for special education, instead for all students. Just like in Finland a student would be considered special if a student has not used extra help that is available. Think about it, wouldn’t it be great if the future of our education, took a page out of the special needs program, valuing each student and planning a way for the child to succeed the goals that have been set out in front of them. As the success rate increases as more students achieve, I can see the main stream starting to use the same techniques.