[NIFL-ESL:10999] Re: Lesson Planning for a "model" ESL

From: Elsa Auerbach (elsa.auerbach@umb.edu)
Date: Sat Jul 16 2005 - 21:37:15 EDT


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From: Elsa Auerbach <elsa.auerbach@umb.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10999] Re: Lesson Planning for a "model" ESL
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I absolutely agree that lesson plans are helpful (as long as they're
flexible and responsive to whatever is happening in class).  I think they
are invaluable in guiding and supporting reflective practice. One thing that
I think is productive is reflecting on the relationship between the
intention/plan and the reality of how the lesson plays itself out.  My only
concern is with the ways in which Madeline Hunter's work became a tool to
control teachers/teaching (her model was mandated in several states as I
recall).

Elsa 

On 7/17/05 1:08 AM, "David Rosen" <djrosen@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi Elsa,
> 
> Some might argue that using a lesson plan format itself is
> mechanistic, prescriptive, imposed and top down.  I have certainly
> seen examples where K-12 school systems, in an effort to standardize,
> have driven out creativity and quality, diminished teacher control,
> and ended up with well-organized mediocrity or worse.  So I would
> extend your caution to _all_ top-down processed which require
> standard formats for lesson planning.
> 
> However, in the control of teachers who are trying to share and
> integrate what they do across a team, a format is often useful,
> especially one which allows creativity and is not a slave to a
> particular teaching or assessment approach.
> 
> I wanted to test this one out (before recommending it to a group of
> teachers last week) and developed a sample lesson for adult learners
> at a secondary level who were interested in getting career
> information and also who needed to improve their report writing
> skills.  I decided to target it for a population of urban young
> adults, men and women, ages 16-20, who had left school without
> graduating.  I also decided that it should make good use of
> information, research capabilities and collaborative writing
> opportunities offered by the Internet.  Finally, I wondered if this
> format would be helpful to me in designing a (writing) portfolio
> based assessment process using rubrics, one in which students could
> collaboratively critique each others' writing in teams.
> 
> I didn't find the format constraining in any way.  When I presented
> the format and the lesson plan I had designed to a group of teachers
> a couple of days ago, they saw many possibilities for it, and found
> the lesson plan itself intriguing.
> 
> So I would conclude that a tool like this could, in the hands of a
> large top-down, system which was interested in primarily in
> organization and accountability (and not the quality of what teachers
> and students do in the classroom) could be a problem.  In the hands
> of teachers working together, however, who choose to use it, a format
> like this  can be very helpful.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> David
> djrosen@comcast.net
> 
> On Jul 16, 2005, at 4:16 PM, Elsa Auerbach wrote:
> 
>> Please note that there is a great deal of controversy about Madeline
>> Hunter's approach which many practitioners (K-12) find prescriptive
>> and
>> mechanistic; it has been imposed  in a top-down way in school
>> systems and is
>> seen as controlling, stifling of teacher creativity, disrespectful to
>> teachers' professionalism, etc.
>> 
>> Googling Madeline Hunter would probably turn up some of these
>> critiques
>> (although I have to admit I haven't done this).
>> 
>> Elsa Auerbach
>> 
>>   On 7/16/05 10:54 PM, "sandra fugate" <aviasan2@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> Thanks David.  This is a very helpful site.  I
>>> especially like the extensive 'measurable verbs' list
>>> that have been categorized.
>>> 
>>> I am somewhat familiar with the work of Madeline
>>> Hunter who is referenced in the OTAN site.
>>> 
>>> Are you familiar with Dr. Bob Kizlik's site, Adprima,
>>> at http://www.adprima.com/?
>>> 
>>> I have also found the book "Learning Teaching" by Jim
>>> Scrivener very useful.  Additionally, CAELA has good
>>> ideas for planning lessons in their Toolkit.
>>> 
>>> Again, thanks for this great site.
>>> 
>>> Sandra
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --- David Rosen <djrosen@comcast.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Hello Sandra and others who have this question:
>>>> "What do you consider
>>>> to be the 'model' ESL-specific lesson plan format?"
>>>> 
>>>> A new -- and possibly very useful -- tool which
>>>> addresses the need
>>>> you have described is Lesson Plan Builder
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> http://www.adultedlessons.org/login.cfm?fuseaction=login
>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> It's a free, online template where a teacher can
>>>> create lesson plans
>>>> and save them.  The lesson plans  can be done a
>>>> piece at a time,
>>>> saving (and returning to) the parts that are done.
>>>> They follow a
>>>> tried-and-true format (Madeline Hunter/WIPPIE). They
>>>> have adult
>>>> education (including ESL/ESOL) competencies
>>>> referenced within it
>>>> (such as CASAS, and SCANS, with others to be added )
>>>> and it
>>>> conveniently links with a (free) online rubrics
>>>> builder.  The
>>>> completed lesson plans can be saved to one's own
>>>> computer (or a
>>>> program's server for all teachers there to use) and,
>>>> within a few
>>>> months or, so they will be able to be saved to a
>>>> user-accessible,
>>>> searchable online database of lesson plans.  This
>>>> has been developed
>>>> (and will be improved) by OTAN in California.  I saw
>>>> it demonstrated
>>>> at COABE this year, and think it is potentially very
>>>> useful to adult
>>>> ESL/ESOL teachers and others.
>>>> 
>>>> What do you - and others here -- think of it?
>>>> 
>>>> David J. Rosen
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Jul 16, 2005, at 11:33 AM, sandra fugate wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> While we are on the subject of "Model ESL
>>>>> 
>>>> Programs", I
>>>> 
>>>>> would like to ask a question.  What do you
>>>>> 
>>>> consider to
>>>> 
>>>>> be the 'model' ESL-specific lesson plan format?
>>>>> 
>>>> We
>>>> 
>>>>> are trying to create a 'formal' lesson plan
>>>>> 
>>>> template
>>>> 
>>>>> that is ESOL-specific.  We have researched a
>>>>> 
>>>> number of
>>>> 
>>>>> resources and have found that the components for
>>>>> 
>>>> the
>>>> 
>>>>> 'recommended' ESOL-specific lesson plan are pretty
>>>>> much the same with the exception of the titles of
>>>>> 
>>>> the
>>>> 
>>>>> components.  Even when the title varies (such as
>>>>> learner activities vs practice) the definition is
>>>>> basically the same.
>>>>> 
>>>>> We have many ESOL practitioners who are 1)
>>>>> 
>>>> part-time,
>>>> 
>>>>> 2) have no language acquisition teaching
>>>>> 
>>>> experience or
>>>> 
>>>>> related educational background and  3) some who
>>>>> 
>>>> may
>>>> 
>>>>> not even hold a k12 teaching license that would
>>>>> indicate they have had training in teaching
>>>>> methods/lesson planning.
>>>>> 
>>>>> For these reasons, we want to provide training in
>>>>> lesson planning and ESOL-specific teaching
>>>>> 
>>>> strategies.
>>>> 
>>>>>  Of course, we know that they will not create a
>>>>> 
>>>> formal
>>>> 
>>>>> plan before each class, but we want them to at
>>>>> 
>>>> least
>>>> 
>>>>> know how to do so and understand the principals
>>>>> 
>>>> that
>>>> 
>>>>> support each component of an ESOL-specific lesson
>>>>> plan.
>>>>> 
>>>>> In an effort to create a lesson plan that conforms
>>>>> 
>>>> to
>>>> 
>>>>> recognized ESL specifications, we would greatly
>>>>> appreciate your feedback.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thank you,
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sandra Fugate
>>>>> ESOL Coordinator
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
> 
> 



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