Teacher as facilitator: Optimizing learning for students L2 success - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Teacher as facilitator: Optimizing learning for students’ L2 success

• Dr. Fennema-Bloom

The University of Findlay Graduate TESOL/Applied Linguistics Program KSAALT 2017

Write down three ideas you have in regards to what makes an effective teacher.

Teaching-Learning is Symbiotic not Cyclical

Teach

• Facilitate
• Provide Information
• Plan lessons and

activities

• Model engagement
• Develop resources
• Assess outcomes

Learn

• Make connections
• Comprehend ideas
• Think critically
• Practice retrieving

information

Acquire

• Use knowledge
• Perform

Know

• Demonstrate knowledge
• Explain knowledge

To be an effective teacher

• 1. Understand how the brain works in the learning process

Information Processing Model

http://jaredmgriffin.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/information-processing-model.jpg Sight Sound Touch Smell Taste

How much can your WM hold?

• Two items of information

Preschoolers

• Three – seven items
• Average of five items

Pre- adolescence

• Five – nine Items
• Average seven

Adult

Sousa, D. (1995). How the brain learns: A classroom teacher’s guide. Reston, VI: National Association of Secondary School Principal, p. 15.

Factors that Affect Memory Processing

• 1. Perceptual register
• In just a millisecond it uses the individual’s experience to determine the

data’s degree of importance.

• This is influenced by Long-term Memories, aka prior* or background*

knowledge.

• 2. Threat
• Anything that is perceived as a threat takes higher priority diminishing the

processing of data.

• 3. Emotion
• When an individual responds emotionally the limbic system overrides the

conscious thought/complex cerebral processes.

Types of Knowledge

Background Knowledge

• Implicit Knowledge that a

learner has gained through exposure to society and interaction with others

Prior Knowledge

• Explicit knowledge that a learner

has gained through formal training

How does learning occur?

Sense Meaning Learning

The sense that something is relevant and/or meaningful to the student Comprehensible input and output

What can influence sense and meaning?

Cognitive Belief System

Our belief system and view of the world around us.

Self-Concept

The way we view ourselves in that world, developed through a series of experiences.

Purpose of teaching

To create as many pathways and associations as possible in

• rder to access long-term

memory

Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

Retention

Lecture = 5% Reading = 10% Audio-Visual = 20% Demonstration = 30% Discussion Group = 50% Practice by Doing = 75% Teach Others/Immediate Use of Learning = 90%

After 24 Hours

Sousa, D. (1995). How the brain learns: A classroom teacher’s guide. Reston, VI: National Association of Secondary School Principal, p. 43.

Retention within a Learning Events

http://mwalker.com.au/ Originally from Sousa, D. (1995). How the brain learns. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principles, p. 38.

Some simple “truths”

• The brain goes through physical and chemical changes each time we

learn.

• More neural pathways are created when repeated stimulation occurs

and the number of associations increase.

• There is almost no long-term retention without rehearsal.
• During a learning event, we tend to remember best what comes first

and then what comes last, often the middle is thrown away (SLA – Perceptual Salience Theory).

Every time we retrieve something from long-term memory for active use in short-term memory we are “relearning” it.

To be an effective teacher

• 2. Understanding the role of the teacher and how this plays out in retention and

retrieval

Communicative Approach

• Views language as a system of

communication thus the purpose and the goal of language teaching is for the students to communicate in the target language through

Reading Writing Speaking Listening

Roles of a teacher

Facilitator Information Provider Planner Role Model Resource Developer Assessor

Roles of a teacher

Facilitator Information Provider Planner Role Model Resource Developer Assessor Mentor Learning Facilitator Disciplinarian Lecturer Practitioner Curriculum planner Class Organizer Student Assessor Curriculum Evaluator Material Developer Project Developer Student assessor Curriculum assessor

Good Classroom Facilitators

• Studies in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) show that teacher

talking time (TTT):

• Was counter productive
• Leads to student under-involvement
• Leads to a lack of adequate student language production time
• Enables student to take less responsibility for their own learning outcomes

(c.f. Dellar, 2004; Lynch, 1996; Scrivener, 2005; Zaro & Salaberri, 1995…)

Reduce Teacher Talk Time and Increase Student Talk Time

Good Classroom Facilitators

• Plan your lessons to focus on the natural brain cycle for a learning

event that limits your instructional phase and optimizes student production time

• Adopt a basic five phase lesson plan with the possibility of recursive

phases of instruction Plan lessons to optimize learning

Five Phases Lesson Plan

Opening

• 3-5 minutes
• Activities
• Agenda Building
• “Do Nows”
• Baiting
• Reviewing

Mini Lesson* Presentation

• 8-10 minutes
• Activities
• Introduce new material
• Offer clarification

Guided Practice* Practice

• 10 minutes
• Activities
• Model the task
• Guided discussion
• Drill

Independent Practice* Production

• 10-20 minutes
• Activities
• Group/pair production
• Individual production

Closing

• 3-5 minutes
• Activities
• Learning summary
• Homework
• Baiting/Foreshadowing

Recursive

Teacher Role in Each Phase

Opening

Teacher Directed Student Centered – Role of Teacher Assessor Facilitator Planner

Mini Lesson (Presentation)*

Teacher Centered – Role of Teacher Information Provider

Guided Practice (Practice)*

Teacher Directed – Role of Teacher Role Model Guide Resource developer

Independent Practice (Production)*

Student Centered

• Role of Teacher

Facilitator Assessor

Closing

Teacher Directed Student Centered

• Role of Teacher

Assessor Facilitator Planner

* Lesson Dependent Recursive stages

Good Classroom Facilitators

Understand how to implement ‘activity systems’

Engeström (1999)

Good Classroom Facilitators

• Select the correct interactional frameworks that best meets the

activity’s outcome

• Try to include two-three frameworks in each lesson to optimize

movement and construct distinct learning events Manipulate classroom interactions

10 Interaction Framework

Individual Pair Work Collaborative Group Divided Group Group Presentation Horse Shoe Circular Interaction Roving Teacher Centered Traditional

Interaction Framework 1: Individual

Interaction Framework 2: Pair Work

Interaction Framework 3: Collaborative Group

Interaction Framework 4: Divided Group

Interaction Framework 5: Group Presentation

Interaction Framework 6: Horse Shoe

Interaction Framework 7: Circular Interaction

Interaction Framework 8: Roving

Interaction Framework 9: Teacher Centered

Interaction Framework 10: Traditional

Good Classroom Facilitators

Reduce negative emotions and threats

Establish Trust

Trust in you Trust in their peers Trust in themselves

Know your Students

Background Prior Future

Communicate

Co- construction With them Not at them

Reduce language anxiety

Safe environment Have fun Errors are natural

References

• Engeström, Y. (1999). Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Dellar, H. (2004). Rethinking Teacher Talking Time, TESOL Spain Newsletter,

http://www.tesol-spain.org/newsletter/hughdellar.html

• Lynch, T. (1996). Communication in the language classroom. Oxford University Press, USA.
• Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching. A guidebook for second language teachers. Oxford: Macmillan.
• Sousa, D. (1995). How the brain learns: A classroom teacher’s guide. Reston, VI: National Association
• f Secondary School Principal.
• Zaro, J. J., & Salaberri, S. (1995). Handbooks for the English classroom storytelling. UK: Macmillan Heinemann.

Thank you!

Contact: fennema-bloom@findlay.edu University of Findlay College of Liberal Arts Department of Language and Culture TESOL/Applied Linguistics Program 1000 North Main Street Findlay, OH 45840