Tutoring As Service Learning
A research project funded by
The Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education
(SCALE)
7/27/2010
1
Service Learning Assignments
ESL Student Case Study
You will have the opportunity to work with an ESL student
in the community setting of your choice throughout this
semester. You will be working with the student in a
specific content area (reading, language arts, math, social
studies, science, etc.) to enhance the student academic
performance. To achieve this goal, you will:
• Set your goals based on self-assessment;
• Select a community setting and one ESL student to work with;
• Collect information regarding the student’s academic
performance (including English proficiency level, primary
language proficiency level, prior schooling, content area skills,
years enrolled in U.S. schools, strengths, areas of need, etc.);
• Collect baseline assessment data (SOLOM, writing sample,
learning style inventory, etc.);
• Design instructional plans to support student academic language
development and reflect on the tutoring sessions;
• Collect student artifacts and final project in the selected content
area based on student needs;
• Provide final reflection on the tutoring experience.
7/27/2010
2
Service Learning Assignments
ESL Student Case Study
• Weekly blog is required to document
tutoring progress;
• Guidelines for weekly blog:
– Lesson plan for the tutoring sessions
(lesson objectives, activities,
assessments, etc.)
– Reflection on the tutoring process (how
was the tutoring session; what went
really well; what surprised you);
– Reflection of progress toward your
goals;
– Modifications or changes you plan to
apply to your future tutoring/teaching.
7/27/2010
3
Service Learning Assignments
ESL Student Case Study
• Final reflection is shared on discussion board;
• Reflection Questions:
a. Have you achieved your goals you set for yourself at the
beginning of the semester? Why or Why not?
b. What have you learned as an ESL teacher from this
experiences? (please provide examples)
c. Comparing your initial rating of your self-assessment and
the current rating, is there any difference? Why or Why not?
d. How will this experience impact your current or future
classroom teaching?
e. If you had the opportunity to conduct this service learning
project again, what would you do differently?
7/27/2010
4
Teacher Candidate Reflection
• When I first did the self-assessment on teaching
English language learners, I scored myself mostly
in the 2-3 range for almost all the questions. Having
completed this project, however, I have scored in
the 3-4 range for all the questions. The difference, I
believe, has to do with my focusing on the needs of
the learners throughout this project. …On the
whole, my experience working with these different
groups and their varying levels of English
proficiency has made me feel more comfortable
with ESL teaching in general.
(MH, preservice ESL Teacher)
7/27/2010
5
Teacher Candidate Reflection
• My teaching career so far has only included
classroom teaching to mostly American born
children and teaching Spanish in a foreign
Language setting. ESL is really different! I knew
this theoretically, but experiencing it first hand
makes it much more real.
(MS, experienced Spanish Teacher)
7/27/2010
6
Teacher Candidate Reflection
• I’ve been working all year on trying to
define a "big picture" outlook in my
teaching, not just in tutoring, but in
school. …These are not new or
particularly unique ideas, but this
semester is the first time I have tried to
consciously put these thoughts across
to students, and consciously tied them
to lessons across subject areas. I still
have a very long way to go in
consciously connecting disparate
lessons together into a coherent
teaching philosophy and style. It has
been a big first step to define for myself
what I hold most important in my
teaching, and what I most want to
impart to my students.
(KR, experienced ESL Teacher)
7/27/2010
7
Service Learning Assignments
Service Learning Presentation
• We will have our presentation at a
community setting and you need to:
– Prepare a presentation to share the information;
– Prepare handouts for parents and teachers;
– Share with parents and community members on
the topic you prepared and address any
questions they may have;
– Individually, submit a 1-2 page reflection on this
project.
7/27/2010
8
Service Learning Assignments
Service Learning Presentation
•
Final reflection questions:
a. What topic did you select? Why?
b. What preparations did you do for
the presentation?
c. What did you expect to happen on
the presentation day?
d. What surprised you during the
presentation?
e. What have you learned as an ESL
teacher through this experience
(including both preparation and
presentation)
f. Based on what you have learned,
what would you do differently in your
own teaching environment?
7/27/2010
9
Teacher Candidate Reflection
•
Before I started this project I was unsure as to exactly what I
could do to help parents. But my conversations with them
later made me realize how simple information can really help
to inform them a lot.
•
I was very surprised and excited at how much each group
provided to the presentation. Parents went home with a
tremendous amount of reading material and resources to use
with their children. I thought each group did fantastic and
each group gave a gift to the parents and children that
attended. We were definitely focused on the success of
children’s educational performance and giving parents the
support they need and deserve.
•
Overall, I really enjoyed the opportunity to become familiar
with the Glen Haven community through tutoring and our
presentations, and I plan on continuing my involvement with
the Glen Haven community.
7/27/2010
10
Thank you SCALE
7/27/2010
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