Mind Mirror Strategies
Exhibited by:
PLO Attended:
- Manhattan FSC Workshop for ELL Leads – District 1 and District 5
Coached by:
- Pedro De La Cruz
By participating in the PLO Learning, I learned to use multiple entry points to amplify learning through partnerships, collaboration, academic conversations (QTEL), and Socratic Seminars. I additionally learned to utilize peer interactions to develop strong oral communication skills, written language, and to improve self – esteem. Through these workshops, I learned to identify the elements of effective instructional strategies from my peers, and have incorporated them into my daily lessons.
I am introducing the new teaching strategies that I learned from the PLO to my colleagues by inviting them to our presentations and asking them to provide feedback to students and teacher. I share the students’ final products with the teachers and the impact it has on my students and on me as a teacher. Additionally, I have shared the results of how student-led conversations have changed my students’ behaviors, and have affected their learning.
From this PLO learning, I learned to design lessons that incorporate social interactions, academic conversations, and how to support them with strategic selection of texts, and use effective student grouping to amplify learning.
The results of my implementation of the learned strategies show a dramatic change in my students’ behaviors during lessons. Since then, the participation rate has increased throughout the year. In September, only 15 out of the 27 students would willingly participate in sharing, discussing, and expressing their opinion openly. Many of the students felt reluctant to speak out loud, and were fearful of speaking in front of their peers. In December, after my implementation of the new strategies, 24 out of the 27 students were opening up and actively participating in class when it comes to conversation and group work. By May 2017, everyone in my class wanted to be the first to speak. They debated and argued openly with supportive evidence. Even the reluctant speakers were coming out of their shells and participating in Socratic Seminars and collaborating in group work.
Based on the PLO learning, I can discover more easily the strengths and weaknesses of my students, as well as for myself as a teacher. I used the data I acquired to form meaningful groups and to include multiple entry points in all my lessons. The students were able to collaborate respectfully, and actively take responsibility in their learning, especially through these activities that showed their deeper understanding of the texts. It has helped me as a teacher to see my students at a deeper level from different angles.
As for my next step, I will continue to learn and improve my pedagogical practice which will ensure that my students will continue to grow academically and socially. I will also continue to share with colleagues at my school to support their development in effective teaching practices to promote positive peer interactions where students learn from each other. This has been a meaningful learning experience. I have learned a lot from the experts and my peers. I have grown professionally as well as on a personal level. I am looking forward to my next PLO learning experience.