FINAL REFLECTION

What a great semester it has been!

Our four course strands of commumication, research, collaboration and became the means for our learning over time. From the beginning of our class, it was important for you to know my . This is experiential and is set up for optimal experiential learning as I become a learner beside you. You embraced our classroom culture and we became a comfortable community of friends, peers, coaches and teachers as we switched roles as needed.

 

The Chautauqua coaching provided valuable opportunities for connecting with students and coaching them over a period of time; and therefore watching their progress over time. You became more confident as you relied on your own ingenuity, resources, peers, prior knowledge and teachers (Charlotte and myself) in preparing your student(s) for the culminating Chautauqua performance.

 

Reading and presenting from the text chapters provided a better understanding of the content and another lens in which to discuss questions, ideas, experiences connected to them. Socratic Seminars introduced by Rebekah also enhanced the quality of our dialaog. I hope you feel you have skills and strategies to use as effective practices with "universal-ESL" students as Sarah puts it.

 

Everyone brought their prior knowledge to the table, so to speak (and we sat at a number of tables this semster) and each contributed in unique ways. We became a communityof learners as we listened, respected, acknowledged and learned from each other. Once we were able to take more quality time in class, we appreciated each chapter presentation which opened up more time for discussion, connections and questions. Eldadiana was a wonderful resouce in our class and I always enjoyed her perspective as she widened our lenses of awareness and sensitvity. 

 

The concepts, definitions, terms, strategies and background kbowledge from our text provided a basic foundation for thinking about all learners in addition to ESL learners, for all children are linguistically diverse. Our course text prepares us for the TESOL exam and the  provides authentic case study examples of effective classroom strategies. Our coaching sessions with Apache students also provided authetic practitcum experiences where we were able to put theory, skills and strategies into practice.

 

Our document our experiences this semester, which were rich opportunities to connect with the world outside of the classroom. I looked forward to our time together and I will continue to keep the community visits; invite more visitors, balance our content with our practicum time; continue to collaborate with resources within our community; and to become a better listener and provide students more opportunities to take charge of their own learning.

 

Thank you, Frances