Thanks, Cynthia those are great ideas for getting students connected with each other and taking advantage of what they know and are experts in. So many times it sounds bogus to students when the teacher says "we are all learners here and I learn as much from you as you learn from me" (then why does the teacher get paid and the students don't).  So I think the challenge becomes to take advantage of situations where the students genuinely know more than the teacher - students are experts in their own lives; they own their experiences, and they certainly know what happened to them (which can become role plays and scenarios once students have a bit more English) -



I wanted to add a couple of variations to what you had written:



1. I think there's great promise in inviting students to express themselves through drawings and pictures. During the first week, we ask students to make "name tents" and the draw "three things about me" on the back. If it's a beginning class, the teacher models both the "task" and the language (My name is Heide. I'm from Germany (beer stein and soccer ball). I like to hike (stick figure) and I live in the desert (cactus).  Some students may need to ask for the words in English that go with their drawings but between the teacher and the other students they usually manage. Students then get a minute to think about what they want to say (mental practice), and then share who they are with a partner and then a small group (Think, Pair, Share). This can go on for a bit to help students get to know each other and build community. Volunteers then share their story with the larger group -



For beginners, it often works well to encourage them to work some more on their name tents if they would like. I've explained to students that I'd like to keep the tents to help me remember who they are - and I've seen amazing work - drawings, pictures, from magazines, small items glued to the paper (a Budweiser bottle cap in one case - but that was a teacher in a workshop)



One teacher in a family literacy program told me she asks parents and children to make "me bags" - that contain real objects that reflect who they are - and students are quite excited to find out what others are unpacking each day.



Students demonstrating what they are good at and sharing information



I think students sharing their special skills that teachers don’t know about is one of those situations where the teachers as co-learner becomes quite real (I, for example, suck at making those big gorgeous Mexican crepe paper flowers).  And tortilla making really seems to resonate with a lot of students. In one of the Socorro, TX classes, none of the young women from Mexico had ever made tortillas from scratch so they decided to learn, document the process (with story boards and then digital cameras) and share it with others. Here’s the Lesson Plan by Rosanne Loya and the pictures the students took.



http://bordercivics.org/Products/Lesson_Plans/Storyboard_Activity_Desc_Table.htm





For those of who interested in using craft projects, here’s another example from the Border Civics project by Susan Zander and her students



http://bordercivics.org/Products/Lesson_Plans/How_to_Make_a_Craft/How_to_Make_a_Craft_Lesson_Plan.htm



So thanks again Cynthia for getting us started on specific ideas – I very much appreciate your taking the time to offer not only ideas but such great details.



Any insights from others on using “critical incidents” in students’ lives as a way to have students discuss issues that they are concerned about (before and after Role Plays for example)



All the best



Heide Spruck Wrigley









-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Peters
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 10:58 AM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2186] Re: Introductions and Questions:Student Involvement and Critical Thinking



Hi Heide —



It's definitely challenging when there isn't much in the way of shared

language. Here are some things I've tried with beginning English

speakers.



1. pass out paper with a few random lines or shapes and ask people to

complete the drawing. It's amazing what people come up with. It gives

people a way to express themselves without words. (But then you can give

them words for the images they came up with.) They look at each other's

work and learn something about each other. Artistic talent emerges!

(This is important. Someone can move from feeling like the one who

doesn't know anything to being the one who's got real talent. They see

themselves in a new light.) The theme of someone's drawing leads to a

discussion — which is a great teaching tool for you to work with.



2. Role playing familiar situations. Students come to class with lots

on their minds — a problem with their boss, with their children, their

spouse, their children's school, whatever. They describe the problem as

best they can, and two other students act out the problem. Or the

student plays the role of the person who is creating the problem (the

boss, the child, the spouse), and *someone else* in class plays the role

of the student who has the problem. A lot of interesting stuff comes up

— not to mention the problem will probably be very familiar to people

so they won't need a lot of vocabulary. You can develop a vocabulary

list. You can write out a simple dialogue that they develop in their

role play. They can do the role play again using the written dialogue.

They can take turns playing the same role and then discuss their

different responses to the same situation.



3. Another thing I've done is worked with ESL students to identify

something they feel they are really good at, and then have them teach

the rest of the class. I had one student bring in the ingredients to

make tortillas. We plugged in an electric frying pan and actually did

some cooking right in the classroom. Another student knew all sorts of

fancy ways to tie ribbons on packages. She brought in ribbon and we all

tried to learn her techniques. In these instances, I (the teacher) was

the learner — and in fact not very good at either of these activities

— and the student was the expert. The critical thinking comes in when

the student sees that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, that

teaching and learning can be fun and not power-based, that just because

I know English grammar (or whatever), doesn't make me smarter or

better.





This kind of learning is empowering because it starts with the

student's own expression or is rooted in an issue that the student is

concerned with. It invites critical thinking because it orients students

towards each other rather than to the teacher. It notices expertise in

each other. It de-mystifies the teacher, too, which I think is

important.



What techniques have others tried in the ESL classroom?



Cynthia

--



Cynthia Peters

Change Agent Editor

World Education

44 Farnsworth Street

Boston, MA  02210



tel: 617-482-9485 ext. 3649

fax: 617-482-0617

email: cpeters at worlded.org



Check out The Change Agent online at:

www.nelrc.org/changeagent






>>> On 7/4/2008 at 7:13 PM, in message


<9A4D2BACDC556C4E8AFD0F94F05F65110DC79BB3 at winxbeus09.exchange.xchg>,

"Wrigley,

Heide" <heide at literacywork.com> wrote:


> Hi, Jackie and all



>



> I’ve long been interested in the use of scenarios, and “evocative


prompts”


> to get students thinking and talking about critical issues in their


lives.


> We’ve developed a few of these scenarios for El Civics but the


problem is


> always how to make even simple case studies accessible to students


who are


> very much new to English and who don’t have strong literacy skills.


 While


> students can “get” a picture and describe what they see as a


problem,


> articulating thoughts and ideas around these issues often requires a


bit more


> language – using a bilingual approach helps of course but that’s


not always


> an option.



>



> Yet, thousands of people with no or little English have jobs and


families


> and get things done and certainly there is lots of critical thinking


going on


> – and I’m looking for ways of bringing these experiences into the


classroom


> to help teachers see that engaged learning does not have to wait till


Englsh


> proficiency is achieved.



>



> Here is my question, what strategies and approaches have others used


that


> engage beginning level ESL learners in critical thinking?



>



> I’m very much looking forward to this discussion



>



> Heide Spruck Wrigley



> Literacywork International



> Mesilla, New Mexico



>



> From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov



> [mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of


Taylor, Jackie


> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 11:11 AM



> To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List



> Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2172] Introductions and Questions:


Student


> Involvement and Critical Thinking



>



> Dear Colleagues,



> Wow – in the last two days approximately 40 individuals have


subscribed to


> the PD List for the upcoming discussion of Student Involvement and


Critical


> Thinking. Welcome to the list! :) I’m happy you’re here and I


look forward to


> learning from your experiences.



>



> I’d like to open the floor for questions so that our guests can


prepare.


> Please post an introduction and your questions about student


involvement and


> critical thinking to the list. If you wish to raise your questions



> anonymously, feel free to email me direct:



> jataylor at utk.edu<mailto:jataylor at utk.edu> and I will share your


questions


> without attribution.



>



> For background about the discussion and our guests, visit:



>



>


http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/08student.html




>



> Critical thinking and the intersection with student involvement is an


area


> that we’ve not really articulated in-depth on this list. I’m


excited about the


> opportunity to explore issues, strategies, and resources with you.



>



> Happy 4th!



>



> Best, Jackie



>



> Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List


Moderator,


> jataylor at utk.edu<mailto:jataylor at utk.edu>



>



>



> Discussion Announcement



>



>


http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/08student.html




>



> Beginning July 7 – 14, 2008 the Adult Literacy Professional


Development List


> will host a guest discussion of Student Involvement and Critical


Thinking in


> Adult Literacy. Join our guests Cynthia Peters, Editor of The Change


Agent,


> and Marty Finsterbusch, Executive Director of VALUE, to share issues,





> strategies, and resources for instruction and staff development.



>



> This discussion is the first in a mini-series of guest discussions


this


> summer and fall on Literacy for Social Change. Join us now to plan



> instruction and staff development for fall.


----------------------------------------------------

National Institute for Literacy

Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list

professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov



To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment



Provide feedback by May 30th on the AALPD Quality Professional Development Standards:

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/AALPD_PD_Quality_Standards_Feedback



Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/attachments/20080707/4470ca4b/attachment-0001.html