Breannia Stewart ELL

Report

1. Description

a. The setting of the field experience (e.g., in a classroom, at a community organization

location, etc.).
The location of this field experience was in the general education science classroom in a
Gwinnett County High school.

b. The student(s)—use a pseudonym to maintain confidentiality—with whom you are working

(e.g. age, grade level, level of English Proficiency, personal characteristics based on
observations/interactions, other information that may give the reader a more in-depth
description of the student)
L.L. is a 3rd year monitored ELL student. His native language is Vietnamese. He is a 9th
grader at a Gwinnett County High School. The primary language spoken at home is
Vietnamese. He speaks conversational English well but can struggle with academic
vocabulary particularly with pronouncing and remembering new words. L.L.’s parents do
not speak English and rely on L.L. to communicate in English. Some days he is very
energetic and participates with group discussion and other days can be a little withdrawn.
Most days L.L. is a very talkative student. He at times struggles with social cues of when to
stop talking about a topic or continue to add to the conversation. He is often observed talking
to himself. He carries a box that was initially intended to be a box for selling chocolates,
which he has now repurposed as a box to hold his various knickknacks ie, Rubik's cube,
handheld video games, and books. He does seem a bit immature when compared to his
peers.

c. The days and times that you met with the student.
Oct 1, 2018 - 7:05- 8:35- 90 minutes
Oct 3, 2018 - 7:05 - 7:35 - 30 minutes
Oct 5, 2018 - 7:05 - 8:35 - 90 minutes
Oct 10, 2018 - 7:05 - 8:35 - 90 minutes

d. Ways in which you interacted/engaged with the student (including pedagogical strategies).
I chose to use the online tool Nearpod as a review of one unit in Biology and introduce two
concepts in another unit with this student. The first Nearpod took two class periods to
complete. It reviewed the components of cellular respiration in the carbon cycle. The next
two Nearpods were used to introduce DNA and RNA and translation and transcription. Each
Nearpod was self-paced and allowed the student to take notes and ask questions. This tool
also engaged the learner in several different ways. There was a section with vocabulary
matching with both timed and untimed sections. L.L. was asked to answer short answer
questions and in some cases a short paragraph with his notes. He was asked to watch videos
from the Ameba sisters. L.L.’s favorite by far was the drawing sections. LL was asked to
 draw a mitochondrion in the DNA and RNA Nearpod and a double helix in the Translation
and Transcription Nearpod. There was also a quiz at the end of each Nearpod to check for
understanding. L.L. was allowed to use any notes taken during the Nearpod during the Quiz.
There were a few times when L.L. struggled to use the text tool on the drawing slide. A
worksheet was displayed and he had to fill in the blanks using a text box. He struggled with
figuring out how to resize and move the text box once it had been created. He also struggled
with finding the answers within his notes. I sat with him and showed him how to create a
text box and where to click in order to make edits to that text box. We also worked through
one of the answers together, to find the first fill in the blank. I refreshed his memory on the
structure of the notes and also showed him that he could click back in the Nearpod to find
the answer as well. After this, he did not have any issues with the two following Nearpods.
The second Nearpod began with having L.L. list five things that he already knew about
translation and transcription. L.L. struggled with getting started, so I asked him to verbally
tell me what he thought he knew. After I asked a few guiding questions and a quick
discussion with me, L.L. realized that he did know a few things and was able to complete
the first slide.
The notes that L.L. used were guided notes, that would be glued into an interactive notebook
that is used to store all notes taken in class. Each Nearpod had a set of 4-5 slides that were
all text. L.L. would then have to use these slides to complete the guided notes. These notes
are basically exactly the same as the slide, but with key words missing. It is L.L.’s job to
write the missing words. These are the notes that he will use to complete the quiz. During
the DNA and RNA Nearpod, he was also asked to copy a chart comparing DNA to RNA.
In the final Nearpod L.L. had to use a codon chart to determine an amino acid that had been
transcribed and translated. He also had to take another quiz.

2. Objectives and Assessments

Objective Assessment Was the objective met?

The student will identify
the stage of cellular
respiration.
AKS 4a: Develop a
model to illustrate the
role of photosynthesis
and cellular respiration in
the carbon cycle.
L.L. had to complete a fill in the
blank section using content
vocabulary words with a word bank.
He also had to correctly draw a
Mitochondrion and label the second
and third stages of cellular
respiration. The Nearpod also had a
multiple choice, open note quiz at the
end, to assess student knowledge.
Evidence of student learning.
L.L. was able to identify the
differences between cellular
respiration and photosynthesis and
how they are connected in the
carbon cycle. He got a 100 on the
fill in the blank, correctly drew a
mitochondrion, but incorrectly
labeled the location of the second
and third stages of cellular
respiration. L.L. scored an 83 on
the quiz.
The student will review There was a vocabulary matching L.L. was able to correctly identify
the components of DNA halfway through the Nearpod, that the base pairs for both DNA and
and RNA allowed for unlimited opportunities RNA. He got 100 percent correct
AKS5a: Use to correctly match RNA, DNA, or in the matching section, after 6 tries
mathematical both with its correct characteristic. (if one incorrect match is made this
computational thinking L.L. was asked to draw a double counts as one try). L.L. correctly
to examine the structure helix and label the locations of the drew the double helix and location
of DNA and RNA using base pairs. The Nearpod also had a of the base pairs. He got an 80 on
base pairing multiple choice, open note quiz at the the quiz.
end, to assess student knowledge.
The student will be Based on the previous lesson and the After some prompting L.L. was
introduced to central graphic organizer vocabulary warm- able to formulate 5 things he
dogma and process of up L.L. was asked to write 5 things already knew about transcriptions
transcription and he already knew about transcriptions and translation. L.L. was able to
translation. and translation. L.L. was asked to correctly transcribe, translate and
AKS5c1: Develop and correctly transcribe DNA into RNA identify the corresponding amino
use models to examine and then translate it to identify the acid. He got a 90 on the quiz.
protein synthesis by amino acid, using the same drawing
transcribing and tool. The Nearpod also had a
translating gene multiple choice, open note quiz at the
segments into an amino end, to assess student knowledge.
acid sequence.
3. Resources

During the ELL module, several different types of strategies were highlighted, that can be used to
support learning for ELLs. I choose to use activating background knowledge, differentiated
instruction, and provided opportunities for the students to practice (The IRIS Center, 2011). A way
in which I chose to connect the new concept of transcription and translation was to ask L.L. what he
already knew about it. By asking him to brainstorm about what he already knew, he was able to
make a connection between the previous lesson and the one he was about to experience. The next
technique that I used was creating a lesson that was self-paced. This allowed for his lesson to be
differentiated from others. He was also able to engage his learning in several different ways ie,
drawing, vocabulary matching, and a multiple choice quiz. The information was also presented in
both text and video. By presenting the information in a variety of ways, it began to build on his
confidence. As Richards and Renandya (2002) note, “the eventual success that learners attain in a
task is partially a factor of their belief that they indeed are fully capable of accomplishing the task”.
Burnette (1999), complements this same idea when she explains that one instructional strategy is to
make your lessons match the aptitude, cognitive, and communication styles of your students and
differentiating can accomplish this task. The final strategy of providing opportunities for the
students to practice was embedded in the short answer questions where he was required to use
complete sentences that were grammatically correct. The drawing and vocabulary matching was
also another way for L.L. to practice and generate a better understanding of the content. When
teachers create hands-on experiences either virtually or in real life “it helps them connect abstract
concepts with concrete experiences” (Goldenberg, 2008). While L.L. did have access to an online
translation tool, he did not seem to need it to complete these assignments.

Burnette, J. (1999, November). Critical behaviors and strategies for teaching culturally diverse
students. ERIC/ OSEP Digest E584. ED435147. Retrieved on November 11, 2018, from
http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/PDFS/ED435147.pdf

Goldenberg, C. (2008, July 1). Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does -
And Does Not - Say. Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. Georgia Southern University.
Retrieved from
digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=esed5234-master

Richards, J., & Renandya, W. (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of

Current Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.

The IRIS Center. (2011). Teaching English Language Learners: Effective Instructional Practices.
Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ell/