Bolstering Engaged Learning and Classroom Language Use Through

1. Bolstering Engaged Learning and Classroom Language Use Through Explicit Instruction and Structured Interaction Merced Union School District Instructional Coach Training August 6, 2009 Dr. Kate Kinsella San Francisco State University katek@sfsu.edu(707) 473-9030

2. Participants will learn effective ways to: Engage students physically, intellectually and verbally in lessons Structure “precision partner” interactions and democratic discussions Set up and monitor task-based learning with clear language goals Check for task and content comprehension in mixed-ability classrooms Explicitly teach vocabulary to support speaking, reading and writing Write academic response frames to support speaking and writing Observe lessons for explicit instruction, engaged, accountable learning and use of academic language Support colleagues in implementing target instructional practices Workshop Objectives

3. Personal Learning Goals • I especially want to learn how to ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ • My top priority is to ________________________________ ________________________________

4. Setting Up Precision Partnering

5. Workshop Setup • Identify a colleague who can be your partner for any assigned partnering tasks. • Decide who will be partner #1 and partner #2. • Observe the “4 Ls” for working with a partner: • Look (Make eye contact.) • Lean (Turn toward your partner.) • Low voice (Private vs. public voice) • Listen (Authentic vs. pseudo listening)

6. Think-Pair-Share What are two ways a student can demonstrate active, authentic listening while working with a partner? • Starter:A partner can demonstrate active listening by__(verb + ing) • making eye contact • leaning toward the partner

7. Class Discussion Ground Rules • Demonstrate respect for others at all times. • No hand-raising until I ask for volunteers. • Use your public voice: 2 x slower and 3 x louder than your conversation private voice. • Use the sentence starter to share your idea. • Listen attentively and jot down one new idea. • Point out similarities before sharing your idea.

8. Active, Authentic Listening • Sit up straight and lean toward your partner. • Make eye contact. • Nod your head to show you are really paying attention and understand. • Ask your partner to repeat the idea if you couldn’t hear very well. • Ask your partner to explain the idea if you didn’t understand something. • Say something affirming: I see what you mean. I agree. That’s interesting. My idea is similar.

9. Language for Class Discussions:Asking for Clarification • Casual Conversational English Huh? What? I don’t get it. • Formal Spoken English • I don’t quite understand. • Could you explain what you mean by __. • So what you mean is __. • If I understand you correctly, you think that __.

10. Language for Class Discussions:Pointing Out Similarities • Casual Conversational English Oh yeah. I know. Me too. That’s right. Mine’s the same. • Formal Spoken and Written English • My idea is similar to __’s. • My idea builds upon __’s. • I agree with __. I also think that __.

11. Engaged Accountable Learning

12. Learning Journal Reflection by a Long-Term English Learner “The class where I think I am a passive person is my English class because in English I can’t express what I want. Yes, I do say a little bit, but not how I would like to. I don’t feel like participate because I am afraid to say something wrong or pronunciate a word badly. I don’t like to be wrong and I think it is better to be quiet than to be wrong. That’s why I think I am a passive learner in English class, because I don’t want to be shamed.” Consuelo (9th grade) Step to College Class Dr. Kinsella, Fall 2002

13. Some students’ default learning mode is the ZME (Zone of Minimal Effort) rather than Vgotsky’s ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)!

14. Raise your hand if you have taught students who… spectator • view classroom learning as a __________ sport not a ____________ sport • spend considerable time during lessons in an “___________________” • rely on other students to ______________ and ask for clarification or assistance • are _______________ to respond during class discussions for various reasons • are “ _____________ participants” who habitually contribute participatory an upright siesta answer questions reticent professional

15. What does it take to engageunder-prepared or under-motivated students? • A perceived possibility of success: I am up to this task. I won’t be embarrassed. • Evidence of viable classroom support: My teacher will assist me in being successful. • Evidence of increasing competence: I am becoming more knowledgeable and skilled. • Relevance and connections: This is interesting. I want to learn more. • Perceptions of Importance: My views count. My teacher and classmates are interested in what I say and do.

16. Structured Learner EngagementKinsella & Feldman (2006) To attract and maintain a learner’s interest and active involvement in all lesson content and related tasks, with clearly articulated verbal or non-verbal “evidence checks” of a concrete, productive, and behaviorally observable response to instruction. • Underline a significant detail. • Thumbs up if you identified the same reason. • Add a relevant example to the graphic organizer. • Share your perspective with your partner using the assigned sentence frame.

17. Evidence of the Dire Need for Structured Verbal Engagementin Linguistically Diverse Classrooms • Only 4% of English Learners’ school day is spent engaging in student talk. • Only 2% of English Learners’ day is spent discussing focal lesson content, and rarely speaking in complete sentences or applying relevant academic language. Arreaga-Mayer & Perdomo-Rivera (1996)

18. Structured, Accountable Instruction Engages ALL Students Nor Just the “Professional Participants”

19. Evidence Checks of Learner Engagement: Lesson Observation, Gr. 6 Reading/ELD Nonverbal / Physical Responses: • Point to the word hard. • Check to see if your partner found the word hard. • Point to #1 and see if your partner is in the right place. • Raise your hand if you and your partner talked about this meaning of hard. • 3-2-1 eyes up here.

20. Evidence Checks of Learner Engagement: Lesson Observation, Gr. 6 Reading/ELD Verbal Choral Responses: • Everyone say hard. Verbal Partner Responses: • I know that one meaning of hard is… and twos you can go first.

21. Structured Accountable Responses Nonverbal - Physical Responses: • Focusing visually: on board, text, teacher, handout • Marking:underlining, highlighting, circling, checking • Pointing at something, tracking • Hand signal: raised hand, hand rubric • Wrapping up an interaction or independent work at the teacher’s verbal signal: 3-2-1 Eyes up here.

22. Structured Accountable Responses Verbal (Spoken) Responses: • Choral response (unified class) • Individual (calling on volunteers: raised hands) • Individual (calling randomly without hand-raising) • Responding with a provided sentence starter • Partner interaction • Small-group interaction

23. Structured Accountable Responses Verbal (Written) Responses: • Copying from the board/screen • Filling in a blank with an answer • Structured note-taking • Completing a sentence starter • Filling in a visual organizer/thinking map • Writing on mini white boards

24. Lesson Observation Task:6th Grade English/Social Studies Core Prereading Discussion Task: “Have you ever had anything written about you that was inaccurate, that wasn’t right, not like a note at recess about somebody who likes someone else or anything like that, but something official in a magazine or newspaper, and it upset you because it wasn’t right?” 1. Potentially unfamiliar words: 2. Students’ preparation for responding competently: 3. Number of student responses: 4. Students’ perceived accountability for responding: 5. Register and vocabulary use in student responses:

25. Engaged, Explicit Vocabulary Instructionwith A Structured Oral Task measurements correct detail a ruler accurate __

26. A Structured Oral Taskwith a Sentence Starter and Vocabulary Support Think of a time when someone said something inaccurateabout you. How did you feel? One time __ (noun) said something inaccurate about me, and I felt __ (adjective). Casual Precise NounsCasual Precise Adjectives a kid a sibling badembarrassed a guy a classmate mad frustrated, angry somebody a coach sad disappointed

27. Lesson Observation Task:8th Grade Science - Full Inclusion Text Pre-Reading Discussion Task: List 2-3 reasons teens lose critical hours of sleep during the school week. Natural Student Responses: 1. high-performing bilingual 2. high-performing native English speaker 3. Long-term intermediate English Learner (6 years U.S.) 4. intermediate English Learner (2 years U.S.)

28. A Structured, Accountable Task With an Academic Sentence Starter Based on my experience, many adolescents don’t get sufficient sleep because they __ (present tense verb) stay up late finishing assignments Word Bank:study … watch … worry about …

29. Academic Language and School Success

30. All students are AESL(Academic English as a Second Language) Academic English is not a natural language that we acquire through extensive listening and social interaction. Academic English, including vocabulary, syntax and grammar must be explicitly and systematically taught, not merely caught.

31. To Narrow the Verbal Achievement GapLessons Must Include Academic Talk Academic talk is “comprehensible verbal output” addressing focal lesson content, framed in complete sentences with appropriate register, vocabulary, syntax, and grammar. Kinsella, 2006 Swain & Lampkin, 1998

32. Critical Aspects of Academic Oral Language Development • Vocabulary: all the words that a person knows, recognizes, uses or learns • Syntax: the way words are arranged in order to form sentences or phrases • Grammar: the rules according to which the words of a language change form and are combined into sentences • Register: the style of language use or degree of formality reflected in word choice and grammar

33. Expressing an opinion Asking for clarification Paraphrasing Soliciting a response Agreeing/Disagreeing Affirming Holding the floor Acknowledging ideas Justifying Predicting Summarizing Offering a suggestion Reporting someone else’s idea/Citing Language Functions (Purposes) Within Academic Interaction

34. Dual Goals for All Lessons:Academic Content and Academic Language In mixed-ability classrooms, all students must engage in conscientiously structured, accountable academic interaction with dual lesson goals: • Developing students’ conceptual, linguistic and strategic foundations for lesson tasks; • Improving students’ ability to articulate understandings and perspectives in academic speaking and writing.

35. Think-Write-Pair-Share Observation Task: As you observe this lesson footage, identify two strategies the teacher utilizes to ensure that every student is actively involved in learning the target lesson vocabulary. • provides a note-taking guide • pre-assigns appropriate partners

36. Pragmatics of Precision Partnering

37. Think-Write-Pair-Share Starter 1: One strategy she utilizes is to __ (verb phrase) Starter 2: Another effective strategy she utilizes is to __ (verb phrase) Word Bank: Casual Verbs Precise Verbs give provide show demonstrate explain clarify

38. Think-Write-Pair-Share Discussion Task: What are two important factors to consider when partnering students in mixed-ability classes to complete important lesson tasks? • Starter:One important factor to consider • is a student’s __ (noun phrase). • time on task • attendance record

39. Explicit Vocabulary Teachingwith a Structured Oral Task divide 5 many factor the person’s interests

40. Explicit Vocabulary Teaching with a Structured Oral Task

41. Variables to Consider When Assigning Lesson Partners • Attendance record • Time on task • _______________________ proficiency • _______________________ score • _______________________ skills • ___________________________________ • ___________________________________ • Avoid placing high with low or low with low. • Assign two reliable “floaters” who can fill in and work with a classmate whose partner is absent. Language Reading comprehension Social Behavioral issues Gender & comfort level with opposite sex

42. Pragmatics of “Precision Partnering” • Arrange seating conducive to partnering. • Assign partners thoughtfully rather than randomly. • Change partners routinely (a new month, unit). • Designate who is partner 1/2, green/blue. • Designate who speaks first for a particular task. • Assign a concrete task and a specific time frame. • Check for understanding of task expectations. • Provide a clearly displayed sentence starter and model appropriate use. • Assign a related follow-up task for fast finishers.

43. Precision Partnering: The teacher has… • seating conducive to partnering • pre-assigned partners • provided a clearly displayed starter • modeled a response with the starter • designated which partner speaks first • assigned a follow-up task for fast finishers • specified listening tasks for the class discussion • called on a range of students during the discussion

44. Think-Pair-Share Observation Task: As you observe this lesson footage, identify two “evidence checks” of “precision partnering”. I observed that the teacher _ (past tense verb:assigned, reminded)

45. Think-Pair-Share Identify one (of several) strategies I used after posing a question to elicit responses from more than the “professional participants.” Starter: You structured more democratic participation by __ (verb + ing) Word Bank: Casual VerbsPrecise Verbs letting allowing using utilizing picking selecting

46. Structuring Democratic Verbal Participation

47. Methods of Ensuring More Democratic Participation • Partner students to share individual responses (to ensure everyone responds) before calling on random individuals and volunteers during the unified-class discussion. • Place names on cards or popsicle sticks and call on students randomly (after all students share with a partner). • Monitor students’ written responses and verbal responses during partnering. “Nominate” 1-2 students to jump-start the discussion: “I plan to call on you to share this idea during our discussion”; “I would like you to be our discussion jumper cable and share this response.”

48. Methods of Ensuring More Democratic Participation • Use the “Popcorn” response strategy and allow the student who has just participated to select the next participant. • Always allow volunteers to contribute after randomly calling. • Allow students to nominate their partner if their partner’s answer was different, interesting, etc. • Use the “Numbered Heads” group participation structure and assign students a number 1-4. Pose a question to the class, specify the collaboration time (30-60 secs.) for group members to discuss their response, call on a number, then call on various students with that number to respond.

49. Think-Pair-Share Lesson Observation Task: Identify two instructional strategies the teacher utilizes to ensure that every student contributes more confidently and competently in the lesson task and subsequent class discussion. Starter: She structured engaged learningby __ (verb + ing: reminding, requiring)

50. Ways to Check for Understanding of Assigned Lesson Tasks • Tell everyone to write one question they have about the assigned task. Call on 2-3 students representing a range of proficiency to share, then address their concerns. • Tell partner #1 to explain to #2 what they are supposed to do. Tell #2 to confirm or clarify the task expectations. Monitor explanations. Call on a student to explain who clearly understands.