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Virtual Field Experience Paper

1096 Words5 Pages

An increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students enter U.S. schools each year (Stritikus, 2010). As educators, we must meet the needs of all learners. As a middle school English teacher, developing language acquisition is my daily endeavor. This is especially important for English Language Learners (ELLs), students who are still acquiring conversational and/or academic English. To ensure constant development of language skills, I must create rich learning activities that offer students a chance to speak (Tharp, 2010). When students and teachers work together, the amount of learning is limitless. In the Virtual Field Experience: Read With Activity, Dr. Donald Bear administers an interactive reading lesson, on Pandas, to a small group of fourth graders. First and foremost, Bear exhibits a profound commitment to the …show more content…

As he constructed a graphic organizer on the students’ knowledge of Pandas, Bear created a conversation that allowed for his learning along with the students. He modeled for the students that even as the teacher, he is also a learner. As the group brainstormed information on Pandas, he validated all of their ideas. If the students came across a fact they were unsure about Bear would label it with a question mark, as a reminder to refer to this information later. Bear did not claim to know all the answers; his lesson was not about showing his knowledge of Pandas. His lesson focused on leading the students through their discovery of the knowledge. During the reflection, Bear states, that he continuously probes students with questions so they will problem-solve and think aloud as a group. Effective teachers must challenge students to think (Tharp, 2010). One effective critical-thinking strategy uses higher-level questioning. Throughout the lesson, Bear exhibited his use of questioning skills to model continuous teaching and

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