Entry # 4- Reflective Fieldnotes

Blog entry # 4

What are your overall impressions of this observation?

I felt that interviewing a student was an interesting experience. I do personal interviews with my students after every grading period, but seldom ask them personal questions like their favorite family member, how they spend time together, etc… My interviews are always about their progress in my class and more related to my teaching and their learning. Making an observation on a student gave me so much information about the subtleties and abilities of her. She is a very good student, but very quite. I would have overlooked so many of her needs, because of her quietness.

What did you learn as a result of this fieldwork?

Since I started doing these observations I started looking deeper into my students and their habits. I now watch each student more closely and analyze their behavior. I also started analyzing my own teaching strategies and techniques to meet individual need of my students.

What is the value in case study research and analysis in terms of classroom practice?

The value of educators’ case studies and analyses is shown by how much can be learned about a student’s background, learning styles, and abilities. It is easier to overlook ESL students’ capabilities by being biased or ignorant of their past. Teachers can also analyze their own instructions and style to improve their teaching.

What is the value of the ethnographic narrative?

It helped me analyze my own teaching. I started being more patient with my ESL and Sp. Ed. students. It is easy for a teacher to not pay much attention on their own habits. This narrative made me evaluate my own personality and interaction with my students.

How will this information assist future teachers as well as yourself in meeting the needs of this particular second language learner?

This case study and her narrative will give her future teachers more information about her background, her interests and her likes and dislike. It will also help them to understand her better and would be able to meet her individual learning needs. She has a lot of potential, but could be easily get neglected because of her quiet nature.

MTSU Honor Statement:

This assessment/assignment was written solely by me. In no way have I plagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violated the copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violations of this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee State University and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me. 

Sariya Mohammed

10/27/2010

Action Research - Entry # 3

Thoughts about action research:

I believe that action research is a very brilliant approach. It gives firsthand experience and research to improve the quality of performance. The researcher or teacher is able to design their own onsite approach to improve their student’s progress, as opposed to other research, where the research is done by people who do not work in the classroom and deal with students directly and constantly. It is an inquiry process with data driven analysis to understand the strategies and techniques. Action research allows teachers to focus on the concerns that they deal with in their day to day instructions. It helps the educator evaluate their students’ needs, documenting the steps of inquiry, analyzing data, and making a decision about what they can implement for their students’ ongoing learning process.

Ideas generated as a result of my project:

My action research project was “Teaching Science to Middle School’. This project gave me ideas which I would not have implemented otherwise. When I was talking to my students in the form of personal interview I was able to get a lot of their background information. The students are more comfortable to talk to me on a one-on-one basis. This way, I was able to get to know their learning style and personal interests.

The students really like activities like making flip books and vocabulary in the form of puzzles and word searches rather than the old traditional method of doing worksheets.

They really love working on the computers! Making use of technology is the best instructional way to prepare our ESL students for the 21^st century classrooms. Some of the best science films are the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” movies which all of my students like.

Another important strategy that I think most science teachers already incorporate in their instructions is the use of experiments and labs. Students like to move around, so this can be very well included when reviewing vocabulary words. I made index cards with definitions on them and arranged them on different stations. Students have a minute to go to each index card and write the word for each definition.

Suggestions to other ESL teachers:

Modifications: based on their reading levels, the students need some modifications. Science textbooks have a very high reading level making learning hard for them if they are not grade level readers. It is important for the Science teacher to modify their work according to their reading level. We can also use alternate words for them to make it easy for them to comprehend the science concepts

When making teams, it is better to partner them with a student who is patient, helpful, and can work with them. Some students get frustrated if others are not to their level in their work. It is really important to pair them with someone who can work with them patiently.

Include topics from their native culture or country; it really works wonders in helping them make connections. Discuss about the scientists who made contribution in American histories, or in the world. It is great way of motivation and encouragement. 

MTSU Honor Statement:

This assessment/assignment was written solely by me. In no way have I plagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violated the copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violations of this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee State University and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me. 

Sariya Mohammed

10/13/2010