Content Methods End of Quarter Post

Standard Four:
Content Knowledge: The teacher uses content area knowledge, learning standards, appropriate pedagogy and resources to design and deliver curricula and instruction to impact student learning.   

To me, this standard describes aspects of lesson planning that relate how one will effectively communicate content to students so that they actually learn. Content area knowledge is, simply, information about the topic you’re teaching. Learning standards are what you’re required to teach students in a given unit or lesson. Appropriate pedagogy and resources means using an relevant and proper method to teach, and relevant and proper resources to teach with that method. For example, if you’re teaching students how to do an online research project, you would use laptops or a computer lab – not a regular classroom with no computers.

The standard is broad, so I will narrow my focus for this blog post. I will discuss my increased understanding of academic language. Academic language is the language needed to discuss academic content. It can be particularly challenging to English language learner (ELL) students, who have varying levels of proficiency with English and therefore might struggle not only with content-relevant vocabulary, but also with specific academic terms used to describe content  (and some content-relevant vocabulary). Native English speakers will also sometimes need a refresher with such terms, as they usually are not accustomed to speaking with formal language. ELL students are particularly likely to struggle where academic language terms have different formal and conversational meanings, as noted in the Coleman and Goldenberg reading for this course (2010). The same reading also notes that it is important to “include not only the vocabulary of the content subjects, but also the syntax and text structures” (2010). One must go beyond simply words, and must also describe and teach how and when to correctly use those words.

My emerging competence on academic language has increased significantly. I went into this class thinking academic language was simply a fancy term for vocabulary words – I now know how very wrong I was, and how much more there is to the idea of academic language. Academic language can include everything from simple vocabulary like “tank, bomber, bunker” to “read, write, listen, analyze, critique, describe.” It must also necessarily include instruction on how to the terms – one cannot allow sloppy term usage like “The Germans bombered that target,” or that a student has “analyze Winston Churchill’s speech.”

It is part and parcel of academic language to be able to use it correctly, not just to know the words exist. Students must be taught this, especially ELL students, so that they can develop competency of their own both in my classroom and in their other classes – I’m realizing that all opportunities to practice language use must be capitalized on, so that they can become proficient in both conversational and formal English.

In summary, I’ve learned a lot from this class, as well as from my own personal experience, regarding academic language. There are several ELL students in the classes I’m currently student teaching, and I’ve realized I need to focus in with them specifically on how to correctly use the terms I’m mentioning as I teach, and the vocabulary words as well. They need as much support as I can give them, so that they can be successful in history class and also elsewhere.

Some changes I can make to increase effectiveness of my academic language instruction would be to provide more examples of proper usage, both in my teaching and also in worksheets for the students to complete. I could additionally provide worksheets just for ELL students and students who struggle with using academic language, so that they can get extra practice with this specific verbiage. I can also deliberately seat struggling students next to students who easily grasp academic language, in the hopes that the students who “get it” can help the students who don’t. All these changes might increase students’ understanding and absorption of academic language.