Vblog Entry 2
I interviewed Marina Chavez for my second Vblog. Marina Chavez is a first-grade bilingual teacher in Pasadena ISD and in this interview, she shared with me some of her new experiences, opinions, and knowledge she has developed during her first year of teaching.
Ms. Chavez herself grew up as a Spanish speaker but later learned English. Now she teaches students that were like her learn the content area material and develop their English language proficiency. Something that I learned from Ms. Chavez during her interview was her determination to really get to know her students and to try to understand them better in order to help her know how to teach them best. She shared her experience in getting to know her students like creating an "All About Me" activity at the beginning of the school year and incorporating family, a common value in many Hispanic or Latino families, into her writing prompts. By doing this, Ms. Chavez can learn more about each of her students in a way that is appropriate for their age and educational, just as how Wright (2019) mentioned (p. 26). Additionally, students learn about each other and about their teacher, so that establishes a good connection and relationship.
When I asked Ms. Chavez about what methods or approaches she uses to meet the needs of her ELL students, she shared some great tips. At the beginning of the school year, she mostly monitored student progress through their Seesaw activities but now after returning to school, she has been able to collect data during small groups and through observations. She shared how she works together with the other bilingual teacher in first grade to identify what are some of the things students need to work on by looking at their data and notes. She also shared how she makes sure to provide some kind of assistance in everything students do, such as providing sentence stems, recording the directions in her own voice, providing visuals, and much more. Wright (2019) mentioned that "teachers can determine what is likely to be a challenge about a particular activity, lesson, or unit for those students and select appropriate instructional and assessment strategies" (p. 66). I believe Ms. Chavez's teaching methods reflect this as she is getting to know her students more every day and has taken notes of what are some ways she can support them so that students maximize their learning.
Ms. Chavez seemed to emphasize the idea that every student is their own puzzle, which means that they each have their own parts and are unique. Because of this, Ms. Chavez has worked hard to try and understand each of her students through methods such as morning meetings, writing activities, or individual student conversations. Furthermore, she shared the need to observe our students to learn what motivates or what discourages them. This way, we can identify their strengths and weaknesses to help support them learn English and the content material too. She also shared the importance of maintaining contact with parents. Her idea is that teachers and parents need to work as a team to guide students and help one another know what a student might need at school and how parents can help at home.
The interview with Ms. Chavez was a learning experience for me as she shared her experience as a first-year bilingual teacher and how she has learned more about the program and her students every day.
References:
Wright, Wayne (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Caslon Publishing. Third edition.
Hello Betsabe,
ReplyDeleteI love how Ms. Chavez can relate to her students on such a personal level. I'm sure her experience with learning English later in life, definitely helps her connect with students. I also really love how she takes time to really get to know her students and their culture and values. According to Wright, "Most effective schools...engage in pluralist discourses by recognizing ELL's home languages and cultures as rich resources for helping ELL's learn English" (Wright, p.3).
Ms. Chavez definitely seems to see her students and their background in a positive light which will definitely be beneficial in terms of them learning English.
Hi Ruth!
DeleteThank for you comment! I agree with what you mentioned. I believe that one of the best and most important things we need to do as teachers is get to know our students so I'm glad Ms. Chavez does this often. By doing that, she can learn about her students' interests, experiences, families, learning preferences, and so much more that can help her find the best ways to teach her students. Wright (2019) mentioned that educators can "challenge and potentially transform meaning relations in ways that are equitable for linguistically and culturally diverse learners" (p. 40). I thought that Ms. Chavez shared her experience of doing this because she often engages in discourse and communication with her students in both English and Spanish by talking about content areas but also about themselves, their interests, and their families.
References:
Wright, Wayne (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Caslon Publishing. Third edition.
Hello Betsabe! I admire how Ms. Chavez takes the initiative to understand and get to know her students, as well as make her classroom a positive and welcoming environment for them. This is crucial for any educator to do since ELLs' "academic success depends in large part on how the school and the wider society treat them, their language, their culture, their families, and their communities" (Wright 2019). It is evident that being a part of the Latino community gives her more insight on the culture of her students as well as her own compassion and being an advocate for her students. "ELLs come from a wide range of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, educational, and socioeconomic backgrounds" (Wright 2019) so the fact that Ms. Chavez gets to know not only her students but also their families and personal lives benefits her instruction, relationships with her students, and overall her students' academic success in various ways.
ReplyDeleteWright, W. E. (2019). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon.
Hi Dayana!
DeleteThank you for your comment! I like how you mentioned that Ms. Chavez is an advocate for her students. I believe that as teachers, we can hold so much power in what students learn and how they learn it. Therefore, we have to be aware of who are ELLs are so that we can meet their need and help them grow. Because every student comes into the classroom with different experiences, we "need to know their...cultural backgrounds and how culture influences learning in school" to make it a safe learning environment for them (Wright, 2019, p.18). For example, COVID has had a intense impact on us and every student has been impacted differently so we, as teachers, need to identify how current events or possible situations at home can effect students' learning at school. Students also have different values and beliefs that can influence their learning so we should take these into consideration when planning our lessons.
References:
Wright, Wayne (2019). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research theory, policy, and practice. Caslon Publishing. Third edition.