Facilitating Life-Long Learning Shelby County Schools ELL – PDA Session 6

A Walk Around CALLA Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach 1.Write your answer to each of the questions on a post-it note. 2.Attach each post-it to the appropriate poster. 3.At the signal, go to the poster that represents your assigned number. 4.At the signal, read and discuss the question and responses with your group. 5.At the signal, rotate clockwise to the next poster with you group. Read and discuss the question and responses. 6.Continue rotating at the signal through seven rotations.

Brainstorm: Teaching and Learning Strategies What are some of your most effective teaching strategies? When you use these teaching strategies, what are your students doing or thinking? How do you know?

Who are English Language Learners? Linguistically and culturally diverse.Linguistically and culturally diverse. Differing educational backgrounds.Differing educational backgrounds. Variety of approaches to learning.Variety of approaches to learning. Range of levels of family literacy.Range of levels of family literacy. Differing family attitudes towards school.Differing family attitudes towards school. Differing family expectations.Differing family expectations.

What Do English Language Learners Need to Learn? Socialization and acculturation to school. Conceptual development. Linguistic development. Literacy development. Learning how to learn.

The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach 1.Read the description of CALLA silently. 2.Turn and talk with your table group. 3.Share with whole group.

PURPOSE OF CALLA Focus on learner.Focus on learner. Improve academic language proficiency.Improve academic language proficiency. Motivate with content topics.Motivate with content topics. Teach learning strategies.Teach learning strategies.

AUTHENTIC CONTENT Aligned to curriculum standards.Aligned to curriculum standards. Interesting school and cultural topics.Interesting school and cultural topics. Linked to students’ prior experiential and cultural knowledge.Linked to students’ prior experiential and cultural knowledge. Taught through hands-on/inquiry- based/cooperative learning tasks.Taught through hands-on/inquiry- based/cooperative learning tasks.

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE Language development through content across all curriculum areas.Language development through content across all curriculum areas. Vocabulary and discourse of content subjects and cultural topics.Vocabulary and discourse of content subjects and cultural topics. Linked to students’ prior linguistic knowledge.Linked to students’ prior linguistic knowledge. Development of language awareness.Development of language awareness.

LEARNING STRATEGIES Thoughts and actions that assist learning tasks. Ways to understand, remember, and recall information. Ways to practice skills efficiently.

Analyzing Textbook Language Choose a sample from a text at your level, using the textbook analysis form work with a group to identify some of the content difficulties for ELL students Share findings

BREAK TIME TAKE 10 MINUTES TO: STRECH YOUR LEGS GET A SNACK POWDER YOUR NOSE CATCH UP GRAB A DRINK

CALLA INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE Five Recursive Phases

CALLA’s Five Phases Practice Self- Evaluation Presentation Preparation Expansion

PREPARATION Identify objectives. Elicit students’ prior knowledge. Develop vocabulary. Provide motivation.

Applying PREPARATION How does preparation help your students? How does preparation help your students? What works to encourage vocabulary development? What works to encourage vocabulary development? How can you stimulate increased motivation in your students? How can you stimulate increased motivation in your students?

PRESENTATION Present new information in varied ways. Present new information in varied ways. Model processes explicitly. Model processes explicitly. Explain learning strategies. Explain learning strategies. Discuss connections to students’ prior knowledge. Discuss connections to students’ prior knowledge.

Applying PRESENTATION What kinds of presentation methods would help the English learner? What kinds of presentation methods would help the English learner? Does presenting with a variety of media help ELLs? Does presenting with a variety of media help ELLs?

PRACTICE Use hands-on/inquiry-based activities. Use hands-on/inquiry-based activities. Provide different cooperative learning structures. Provide different cooperative learning structures. Use authentic content tasks. Use authentic content tasks. Ask students to use learning strategies. Ask students to use learning strategies.

Applying PRACTICE What kinds of practice activities would help English learners? What kinds of practice activities would help English learners? Which are better for ELLs, individual or cooperative group practice activities? Which are better for ELLs, individual or cooperative group practice activities?

SELF-EVALUATION Students reflect on their own learning. Students reflect on their own learning. Students evaluate themselves. Students evaluate themselves. Students assess their own strategy use. Students assess their own strategy use.

Applying SELF-EVALUATION What are the benefits of SELF- evaluation vs. evaluation by others? What are the benefits of SELF- evaluation vs. evaluation by others? How can you help English learners to evaluate themselves more accurately? How can you help English learners to evaluate themselves more accurately?

EXPANSION Students apply information to own lives. Students make connections between language and content. Students relate information to first language knowledge. Parents contribute to learning.

Applying EXPANSION How can what has been learned in ESL class help English learners in their other classes? Can better communication with parents or involvement of the community help English students?

CALLA Instruction Summary Prepare Changes over time Teacher Responsibility Practice Student Responsibility Present Self-Evaluate Expand

Plan a CALLA Lesson Work with your group to develop language activities based on your grade-level content text for the textbook language analysis. Use the guidelines on the handout. Include language activities in which students practice two or more of the following language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. Be prepared to share.

LUNCH 11:30 – 12:30

Read & Respond Read the research findings and choose one point to respond to. In the space provided, write a practical example of a learning strategy that you teach your students to use. Share your example with your table group. Two groups will be randomly picked to share.

Research Findings The learning process is mentally active and strategic. Learning involves higher level thinking, not just memory. Social context and interaction are critical. Students learn content by relating it to their prior knowledge. Students learn processes through integrative practice individually and with peers. Learning strategies can be taught and learned.

Learning Strategy Example My challenge: learning to use my new cell phone. The strategies I used were: Trying the way I used my old cell phone. Looking in the user’s manual. Asking my daughter. Asking a friend who has the same phone.

What are Your Own Learning Strategies? Identify a challenge you have faced in the last two weeks. Describe to your partner the strategies you used to meet the challenge. What did you learn about your partner’s strategies?

THINKING ABOUT THINKING: A MODEL OF METACOGNITION Declarative Knowledge: Self Knowledge World Knowledge Task Knowledge Strategy Knowledge

Why Teach Learning Strategies? Show students how to be better learners. Build students’ self-efficacy. Increase student motivation for learning Help students become reflective and critical thinkers.

TIPS ON TEACHING LEARNING STRATEGIES Build on students’ current learning strategies. Demonstrate how to use the learning strategy by modeling. Give the strategy a name. Provide ample practice opportunities.

Metacognitive Strategies Planning Understand the task Organize materials Find resources

Metacognitive Strategies Evaluation: after completing a task:  Assess how well you have accomplished the learning task.  Assess how well you have used learning strategies.  Decide how effective the strategies were.  Identify changes you will make the next time you have a similar task to do.

Metacognitive Strategies Self-Management: Manage Your Own Learning Determine how you learn best. Arrange conditions that help you learn. Seek opportunities for practice. Focus your attention on the task.

All second language learners use strategies - BUT “Good” language learners use more varied strategies and use them more flexibly. Frequent use of learning strategies is correlated to higher self-efficacy. Research Support for Teaching Learning Strategies

CALLA in Action Review the list of CALLA Content and Language Learning Strategies. Develop a meaningful way to explicitly teach the assigned strategy. Use available resources. Be prepared to share.

More Research Findings Strategy instruction improves academic performance. Instruction needs to be explicit. Students need to develop metacognition. Transfer is difficult. Language of instruction matters.

CALLA Instruction Is... Learner- centered Learner- centered Reflective Reflective Supportive Supportive Focused Focused Enthusiastic Enthusiastic

Review of ELL PDA Sessions 1.Cultural, Ethnic, and Social Diversity 2.English Language Development 3.Strategies to Enhance Content Instruction 4.Separating Differences from Disability 5.Engaging Students Learning Styles 6.Facilitating Life-long Learning

References Chamot, A. and O’Malley, J. The CALLA handbook: Implementing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1994.