I am so glad to hear that you check in often with your student’s comprehension. Having a teacher like you when I was in school would have helped me so much as a child. I had to learn in the sink or swim methology . There were no ELL programs or even attention given to the struggles of ELL learners and their families when I was in school as a child. Keep up the good work
Cultural background can have a significant impact on how the families respond to a child with special needs. From personal experience, I had a hispanic family that did not even realize that their child could go to school. The family was very low socioeconomically and did not speak English. The child had significant special needs. The only reason, the child even received services was because parent took a younger child to enroll for school and the school secretary asked about the child with special needs enrollment who was with parent at time of sibling’s enrollment. The parent said child was not enrolled anywhere and did not even think the child could go to school. Secretary immediately put the family in contact with appropriate resources to get the child enrolled in school.
I was also a teacher in Japan for 3 years. During my time and travels there, I never saw a child with special needs in public much less at school. The cultural beliefs and practices make it a embarrassment and a shame, so they are hidden away. It is good that you are trying build rapport and trust with the families. That is key to helping this type of family and any family with a child with special needs.
Thanks for sharing that! I also would have thought before the dyslexia affected print readers. I am wondering how to accurately test as well for dyslexia in braille? Is that something a TVI would do or work with another specialist?
Thank you for this response. It makes me realize how important it is to work with the IEP team and all the specialists at the school to help a student. Often times it can feel like we are working alone being itinerant.
- How might the cultural background or socioeconomic status of families impact their ability to implement the suggested strategies for promoting emergent literacy in toddlers with visual impairments?
It’s more so their socioeconomic status than cultural background that can really and truly exacerbate a family’s ability to properly implement the necessary literacy skills of children with visual impairments. Low wages, long hours, persistent food and housing insecurities, and increased stressors can potentially breed an adversarial learning environment. For who has time to talk? To mindlessly describe the unimaginable? The inhospitable? The unspeakable? And who really has time to sing silly rhymes, invent wordplays and scribble absolute nonsense in the midst of life’s tragedies? —and while I’m being a bit melodramatic here–I’m not necessarily saying that monetary issues are the Rorschach test of fostering creativity but what I am saying is that it can be incredibly restrictive. Not impossible but hard to overcome.
Yes Skynight, economic stressors coupled with language barriers can definitely slowdown learning development. In normal circumstances such factors can be a great hindrance but with the added element of a visual or intellectual disability it makes the situation more complex to navigate. Time an absolute necessity here—becomes an arch nemesis in the same breath.
Once again, I don’t prescribe to this notion that cultural and dialectical differences are a leading factor into why children can’t learn properly. I don’t believe that a learning environment has to be politically neutral and free from cultural and linguistic biases to be an idealized and safe place to learn. For learning can take place in any kind of environment where both the parent, teacher and larger community is cognizant of their respective role in child’s life.
Are You Communicating High Expectations? (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2022)
- Reflecting on your own experiences as a student, how did teacher expectations influence your academic performance and motivation? How might you apply these insights to your own teaching practice?
Thinking back to my high school education I had a Chemistry teacher that would ask “And?” once you answered a question. He was the first teacher I had that really challenged me. School was fairly easy for me and I knew I had the right answer but he dug deeper and challenged me to come up with more. I use this strategy when teaching to see if students will add to their answer.
I did not realize that our students that read Braille could be impacted. This was definitely a eye opener for me. I knew it was brain based, but still never put it together. I believe because in my head I had the picture of letters dancing around. That is a very good question about the helpfulness or hinderance of Braille contractions.
I do believe challenging students is important to think deeper. I wish I had teachers that did that more with me. I could answer the questions asked, but I don’t feel I was ever asked to really develop my own thoughts on most subjects and I do believe that is needed.
- Reflect on the seven specific suggestions provided for teachers of reading classes with ELLs. How practical and feasible are these suggestions in real classroom contexts?
I believe how practical the suggestions are may depend on the grade level of the student. Such as working on phonemes with younger students may be easier by incorporating songs and chants. In classrooms with older students this may not be as naturally implemented. When it comes to focusing on the differences in the languages, the teacher must have a good understanding of the student’s native language.
I believe it is feasible and practical to find appropriate ways to use the student’s native language in classroom instruction. This will benefit all students in the class in so many different ways.
Summarizing passages and clarifying difficult words and passages is practical for all students. This can be done as a classroom discussion or individually. This is something that benefits many students, not just our ELLs.
@lilbby.friedhaber,
Your suggestion of “simplifying the tasks for these parents” is one of great importance because we as Early Interventionist do not want to overwhelm parents in any way. Infants and toddlers with additional disabilities other than visual disabilities can be quite overwhelming for some parents, especially medically fragile infants. It is important to model what we want parents to do. Often times I find parents will do more over time or as they become comfortable and/or become more acceptable of initially having a child with a disability. Again, we must empower parents to take charge as their child’s first teacher and create natural environments with rich literacy opportunities.
@brenda.krueger,
I too had a college professor to encourage me to “dig deeper” as a way to get her students to think outside of the box. During that particular time, I did not understand the concept but as I have become a “seasoned teacher” I tend to use this concept with my students. Experience has taken me places I never thought I would travel because my undergraduate work focused on what students with disabilities could not do. The focus has changed to what can students with disabilities do and do well which make all the difference in how the child views his/her performance and success.
Reflect on the seven specific suggestions provided for teachers of reading classes with ELLs. How practical and feasible are these suggestions in real classroom contexts?
I think the seven suggestions outlined for teachers would be easier to implement in small groups or one-on-one vs a larger classroom with a more diverse group of learners. Four of the seven suggestions are specific to the students’ native language. The teacher providing instruction would need to consult with the ELL teacher and/or do research to carrying out these specific suggestions. Knowing additional steps would need to be taken these four suggestions may not be as practical or feasible to implement quickly. That should not discourage teachers from implementing them. These feel like four suggestions that could result in positive outcomes for the student. The remaining three suggestions could more easily and readily be implemented. Knowing and working with the student would make these three more practical to implement in a more timely manner. They can be adjusted in response to the learners needs or progress.
These four need additional information to implement if not aware of the students’ specific language needs.
- Provide additional work on English phonemes that are not present in the students’ native language.
- If students are literate in their native language, focus on differences between that language and English, with less attention given to elements that will transfer.
- Use cognate words in the native language as synonyms when teaching vocabulary.
- Find appropriate ways to use the native language.
These three could be more easily and readily implemented with knowledge of the learners performance during instruction.
- Provide extra practice in reading words, sentences, and stories.
- Identify and clarify difficult words and passages.
- Consolidate knowledge of the text through the use of summaries.
Yes, the more diverse the population of learners, the more difficult it would be for the teacher to provide the customized/specific instruction based on the language spoken. However, if the geographic area has specific demographics that can be anticipated it may be easier to prepare with the support of the ELL teacher. There will always be outliers but if the preparation for the more commonly spoken languages is already outlined it will help support these suggestions. Experience and exposure will also have an impact on successful implementation of these suggestions. A new teacher may not have the experience with a diverse classroom vs an ELL teacher with many years experience in a diverse school environment.
This phrase hit me as I realized I don’t think I have ever explained how it will translate into reading skills. As I ponder more. I recognize different cultures also describe things differently; maybe some details aren’t things they have any experience with. I think about my year spent teaching in Amman, Jordan, and the descriptors I used there are different than the ones I use in Central Oregon or my years teaching in the south (SC, TX, TN).
I agree with you that socioeconomic status is bigger than cultural background. Long hours and tragedies definitely don’t lend themselves to silly rhymes and wordplay. I have one family whose child had a brain tumor removed resulting in no vision and other complications. They are still dealing with chemo treatments and numerous doctor visits. This child struggles with phonemic awareness which of course hinders reading. I don’t think they realized the importance of those early learning experiences (the child only started services part way through kindergarten and then COVID hit).
Generational poverty has a real impact on our students. A particular family that comes to mind also share a genetic eye condition that spans generations from the grandparent to parents to their children. The kiddos on my caseload are cousins and both have a parent (parents are siblings) with the same eye condition. They are aware of the early intervention services available but did not engage in any. Both children started school without being identified as a student with a visual impairment. Their kindergarten year was challenging for the team as well as the kiddos. The families have been resistant to many supports and will not consider Braille instruction. Their past experiences and education are having an impact on their children’s educational experience. The perspective they’ve communicated has been one of “I did that and don’t use it now, so my kid doesn’t need it either.” I try and model as much as I can when working with the kiddos. When they see the value and enjoy the literacy activities, they want to do them more. As a fun activity, I brought a Leap Frog Tag pen and book to school for my younger student. The student loves to be able to read “on their own” with the pen. The student isn’t read to at home and this gives the student access to the print that she is not able to access academically at this time. It also sets us up to introduce other ways to access books using assistive technology.
I can’t say that I notice the importance of storytelling in my travels. However, I do know they want to share their culture. They want to share why they do what they do and many were excited when I participated in what they did. For example, I went to the house of teacher I worked with. Her family was there. They eat sitting on the floor. Of course I wanted a chair because I’m more comfortable that way. They offered me a chair but I sat on the floor with them. I ate with them. It’s such a simple act but it meant a lot to them. My only inconvenience was in my mind because physically I could sit on the floor. I just struggle with my core strength!
Question #2: Reflecting on your own experience as a student, how did teachers’ expectations influence your academic performance and motivation? How might you apply these insights to your own teaching practice?
As I think over our second week’s readings, I was impacted most by the reading authored by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, Are You Promoting High Expectations?
This reading delves into the playing field we set when we teach. If we are continually setting the bar high, with a HIGH LEVEL OF EXPECTATION when presenting our lessons to our students. As mentioned, we all model a belief in our students, “that they are all capable of learning.” “An educator’s high expectations will positively influence student achievement.” Setting the bar high will lead the way to influence student achievement. We read about the importance of establishing a warm environment to nurture student growth and potential. Teachers must create ways throughout each lesson to provide instructional content based upon a high level of expectation for every student. Teachers must provide lessons that are motivating and personalized toward each individual. We must teach our students to set up their own goals and to self-monitor what they’re learning. I agree that we need to “teach our students to take ownership–to monitor their individualized progress”, so they can recognize how far they have come along their educational journey.
I enjoyed the video we watched with a glimpse into Mr. Alex Cobreah’s 1st Grade classroom, as they worked on their lesson that day–HELPING OUT A FRIEND. We saw that he had established teacher behaviors to discover the best of every student in the classroom. All students were given a purpose for learning, high expectations were “routine” in this classroom. Those needing more clarification or guidance received this throughout the lesson. All students remained engaged, even while the teacher was helping others, by working together with partners. There were routine expectations and time to review them at the start of the lesson. He took time to allow each student to self-monitor what they needed clarification on, such as unfamiliar vocabulary words. I liked how he took a moment for a check-in, by show of hands, so he was aware which student(s) might need more help or simply to receive reassurance that what they thought was the correct answer could be seen and supported by others. I liked how he helped some ELL students contribute and follow along within the class pace, to offer meaningful answers that could be disputed or perhaps added to for even greater understanding. This was such a remarkable example of HIGH EXPECTATIONS at work within a first-grade classroom!
My own experience back in elementary school brings me back to my fifth-grade classroom. I struggled in reading and it was my fifth-grade teacher who took this on as if it was her mission to witness my success by the end of the school year. She wanted to see me succeed as much as anyone in her class. She witnessed a shy, young reader who hid to avoid reading aloud. One day, she pulled me out to a different group to offer some additional time to practice various reading tasks. I felt embarrassed, even though she offered encouragement and explanation that I could become one of the reading stars with some additional practice. She brought in my mother to discuss options to work on at home. With this team effort, I overcame my challenges and became a successful reader in time for sixth grade! As time progressed, I was enrolled in a speed reading course. This addressed several key areas I struggled with, especially when I was unable to view the entire sentence, focusing on every single word while reading. I think about this time in my life and how much it meant to have Ms, Hill as my teacher. She helped me find my way, as she identified important skills I needed to learn to become a more confident and capable reader.
I think about one student I presently have. She becomes frustrated when asked to work on essential academic skills (reading, writing, math). She is a “hands-on” learner who performs best when her teachers incorporate her interests. Though she has both visual and hearing deficits, she is a phenomenal artist, gardener, and craftsman, who is becoming an amazing floral designer. She even desires to establish her own floral business someday. Her parents want her to go to college to have a better future, though she wants nothing to do with what it will take to get there–academically. During her Vocational Horticulture class, I take time to supplement some of these academic skills within her basic hands-on projects, working on writing, math, and communication skills during her sales class. She often seeks out outside reading and loves when she can take home books, articles, or textbooks on the industry. She is gaining additional perspective. In her class she always has a voice, a choice on what she wants to work on and she is permitted to explore special interests. I encourage her to reach out so she can achieve her full potential but always require her to establish new goals for herself. We often take a moment to reflect upon things that worked and things she could do differently the next time she engages in a similar task.