Part 6: The Return of the PLO's.

When I started this program I was not aware of what the abbreviation ELA meant.  I really had little vision of what the classroom would look like, probably because it had been so long since I had been in an ELA classroom, and the memories that I did have of English class were not overly positive.  I didn’t really have a vision of what my class would be like, but after this course I do feel like I have some more ideas and approaches to use to allow the students to experience oral and written language.  In other words, my vision for my ELA classroom is constantly changing as I learn new things and have new experiences, and I feel that it will continue to change.

PLOs:

I didn’t know what a PLO was before this program started, I really had no idea that the curriculum was so flexible for teachers.  Although I was very intimidated by that at first, I now really see the value this has for teachers.  We are able to create our own curriculum that works for us as teachers and works for the students that we have that year.  Although the task is pretty daunting to create your own program, the advantages for a teacher with experience are limitless. 

Nancie Atwell:

Reading Nancie Atwell’s book, In the Middle has been a great learning opportunity for me.  It seems that Atwell’s approach works extremely well for her, and she has spent many years refining what she does in her classroom and is able to modify activities for her students.  I think I would really have to spend some time modifying things so that it would work well for me, but I do find this a good reference book.  It is one of many great resources that exist out there for teachers, and a method to help with student engagement.

Mini- Lessons

I really like the idea of the mini-lessons that Atwell writes about.  I am a firm believer that teachers simply talk too much in class and there is just too much lecturing and not enough active involvement with the students.  Mini-lessons are a way to deliver smaller amounts of information that are actually relevant to what the students need to learn at this time.  Atwell’s approach of getting on the same level as her students (using a small char so she is sitting at their level) also works well in this type of situation.  She is able to convey manageable chunks of information so that the students can grasp the concepts of what she is talking about.  She works with her students on relevant topics that appear in their writing, in that way keeping them engaged in learning.

Engagement

This seems to be the thread that is connecting many of our classes, keeping students engaged in their learning.  This shouldn’t be taken lightly, this is a monumental task to accomplish as a teacher to all of your students all the time in all of your courses, but it is something that should be attempted in all classes.  Relevancy goes along with engagement, in fact they are probably one and the same thing, if students feel that what they are doing is relevant to them then they will become engaged in it.  Keeping students engaged is more difficult than it sounds, but many of the strategies in class that we talked about in class I find could be very effective.

Many of the lessons that were created by the students in my 302 class were very engaging and would be fantastic to use with ELA students and I look forward to trying some of these in class.

Service-Learning

I hope I can create some projects on service-learning for use in the classroom.  The small amount that I know about service learning and the projects that I have done with students in the past on service (outdoor-related service projects) are a great way to get engagement and ‘buy-in’ for the students.  If they can truly make a difference in what goes on in their communities, then engagement is taken care of.   It’s a bit of a mouthful, but Learn and Serve America grant program, defines service-learning as:

A method under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in and meets the needs of a community; is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program, and with the community; and helps foster civic responsibility; and that is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, or the educational components of the community service program in which the participants are enrolled; and provides structured time for the students or participants to reflect on the service experience." 

Exposure and Choice:

I hope my classroom will offer students a chance to choose what they will write about and speak about in class.  Rote learning of books that hold no interest for the students are some of my memories of ELA, and hopefully the students I will have will be able to make some real choices.  I feel that students need to have that exposure to multiple types of writing and be exposed to multiple ways of oral expression.  The articles we read in class talked about giving students lots of choice, instead of simply making them write about things they have no interest in.  Along with choice and exposure I hope to be able to make the material relevant to the students.

Student Teaching:

I hope that students will stay engaged and interested by helping to teach others.  It is an impossible task to reach every student on every level with every activity by a teacher, and I hope that I can create an environment where the students feel safe to share their ideas with each other and help to teach other.  So much learning happens at the peer level, and hopefully in ELA students will learn by listening, reading, and writing with other students.

Vision and Change:

I still feel like I lack a vision for what my classroom will really look like and I feel comfortable with that.  But I feel that now I have some tools that I can use to create a classroom, and I have more ideas for what might fit into a classroom setting with students.  The amount of resources and help available for teachers is staggering, and I think that I would be foolish to not take advantage of everything that other teachers and the internet has to offer.  I’ve realized that the PLO’s can be a great asset in planning a curriculum if looked at from the right perspective.  I’m excited to try some things out in a classroom, make some mistakes and learn with my students through experiences that we’ll have together in the classroom.