Unware of Struggles Early
Ms. E's concern:
Unit tests show a lack of understanding, but it's too late...
“Even though I check for understanding along the way by asking questions and even prompting students to let me know if something isn’t clear, I often get to the end-of-unit test and find that some students are really not getting it. These are the students who do not raise their hands or volunteer to answer questions. I wish I had a way to know sooner what they are having trouble with.”
Why is this happening?
Whole group questioning and calling on students to respond is the most common form of formative assessment in social studies classrooms. Even when teachers use some method to ensure calling equally on all students, such as drawing names, it is easy to miss the fact that some students are falling short in their grasp of the material. This is especially true for ELs, who typically avoid answering questions in a whole-group format. ELs are often reluctant to volunteer to respond, and even actively avoid being noticed in a whole-group format due to a lack of confidence in the language skills needed to demonstrate their understanding. Likewise, teachers often contribute to this scenario, actively avoiding calling on ELs or limiting their whole-class interactions to surface-level questions, such as yes or no questions.
The section below is in development. Please check back soon.
Addressing Ms. E's concern:
How might teachers workshop this dilemma?
Ms. E describes the scenario in more detail to his colleagues:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
- Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
- Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Ideas offered by colleagues:
Lorem 1
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem 2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem 3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Which teacher move would you try?
A Coach's Comments:
All of the practices that are central to the WorldGen curriculum intentionally engage ELs in paired activities and peer discussions to avoid the situation of whole-group question and answer. Teachers will have a better understanding of all students’ understanding by designing formative assessments that cumulatively build from simple to complex understandings of the unit content. Using small-group check-ins and brief end-of-lesson writing prompts provide insight into possible whole-group misunderstandings and any students who might benefit from individual follow up.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Learn more about Lorem.
Download Lorem.