Supporting Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education London Ontario DeCapua

Supporting Students with Limited or

Interrupted Formal Education

Thames Valley School District London, Ontario October 23, 2014

Andrea DeCapua, Ed.D.

MALP, LLC

drandreadecapua@gmail.com

Welcome and Warm-up Activity

•  Look at the chart paper around the room •  Write your first name and the first initial of

your last name under each sentence that describes you.

Agenda Topics

•  Welcome and Warm-up Activity •  Background to Understanding SLIFE •  Culturally Responsive Model: Mutually Adaptive

Learning Paradigm •  Using the MALP Teacher Planning Checklist •  MALP and Project-Based Learning •  MALP in Action •  Designing a MALP Project •  Planning for Change and . . .

break, lunch

Introductions

Layers of the Instructional Context

Curriculum, Instruc.on, and Assessment

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Societal Factors

Bedrock Layer

What is This?

2 Dimensional vs. 3 Dimensional

To think about:

Ways of thinking and lear2ing

are shaped by

prior lear2ing ex6eriences

Are unlike other ELs because

•  no, interrupted, or limited formal education •  new to literacy or have limited literacy skills •  lack content-knowledge of their peers •  unfamiliar with “doing school”

Teachers and learners assume that

1. the goals of K-12 instruction are to a) produce an independent learner b) prepare that learner for life after schooling

2. the learner is ready to

a)  engage in literacy-based, school-related tasks b)  participate and demonstrate mastery on an

individual basis

(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2011)

Three Underlying Differences

• Oral transmission – Written Word

• Collectivism - Individualism •  Informal Ways of Learning – Formal

Western-Style Education

•  “We” rather than “I” •  People see themselves as

part of an interconnected whole

•  “Web” of relationships •  Group is more important

than any single individual

Collectivism

•  Personal efforts praised, rewarded

•  Personal interests,

desires, primary •  Personal judgments •  Personal responsibility •  “Self-actualization”

Individualism

Informal Ways of Learning •  Revolves around

immediate needs of family, community

•  Grounded in observation, participation in sociocultural practices of family, community

•  Has immediate relevance

•  Centered on orality

(Gahunga, Gahunga, & Luseno, 2011; Paradise & Rogoff, 2009)

Formal Western-Style Education

•  Abstract knowledge

•  Scientific reasoning

•  Literacy is central

•  Formal school settings

•  Segmentation of knowledge

•  Age cohorts (Anderson-‐LeviK, 2003; Flynn, 2007;

Grigorenko, 2007; Ozmon & Carver, 2008 )

Academic Tasks

•  Definitions Ø What is a tree?

•  True/False Ø Vancouver is the capital of British Columbia. Ø Toronto is the capital of Ontario.

•  Classification

Ø Categorize these objects (see next slide)

(Luria, 1976)

Sample Question

What is the group? Which ITEM does not belong in the group?

•  Develop basic literacy skills

•  Learn basic and grade-level subject area concepts

•  Adapt to cultural differences in learning and teaching

•  Develop academic ways of thinking

Teachers and learners assume that

1. the goals of K-12 instruction are to a) produce an independent learner b) prepare that learner for life after schooling

2. the learner is ready to

a)  engage in literacy-based, school-related tasks b)  participate and demonstrate mastery on an

individual basis

(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2011)

Activity

Please take one

Schema Theory

Dictionary definition of schema:

An abstract structure representing concepts

stored in memory

Linguistic Schema

(James, 1987)

A B C D E F G H I

F M J E O T P Y X

➨ The batsmen were merciless against the bowlers. The bowlers placed their men in slips and covers. But to no avail. The batsmen hit one four after another with an occasional six. Not once did a ball look like it would hit their stumps or be caught.

Version #1

Content Schema

➨  The men were at bat against the bowlers. They did not show any pity. The bowlers placed their men in slips. They placed their men in covers. They hit some sixes. No ball hit the stumps. No ball was caught.

(Tierney & Pearson, 1985)

Version #2

Formal Schema

Please name the months of the year:

(James,1987)

TYPES of SCHEMATA

•  Linguistic Schemata

•  Content Schemata

•  Formal Schemata

The Power of Prior Knowledge

When information is missing or confusing,

we compensate by accessing our familiar schemata.

Observe the following:

Compensating Strategies Example #1

Ths sntnc s wrttn wth th vwl smbls lft t.

Our Father makes art in heaven Howdja know my name? Thy kingdom come, Thy Wimbledon, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this steak and jelly bread, And forgive us our trash baskets As we forgive those who put trash in our baskets. And lead a snot into Kemp's station, But deliver us from eagles, For mine is the kingdom, the flower, and the jewelry.

_____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ __________, __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _________. Ασδφγηκκ

(Adapted from Peregoy & Boyle, 2005)

FAMILIAR SCHEMATA

UNFAMILIAR SCHEMATA

Describing your favorite game in your first language or dialect

Writing a science lab report in academic English

(Ibarra, 2001)

MALP®

Mutually Adaptive

Learning Paradigm

SLIFE North American Classrooms

CONDITIONS

PROCESSES

ACTIVITIES

(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2009, 2011; Marshall, 1994,1998; Marshall & DeCapua, 2013)

Aspects of Learning

Two Different Learning Paradigms

Shared Responsibility

Individual Accountability

Pragmatic Tasks

Academic Task

Interconnectedness

Oral Transmission

Independence

Written Word

Future Relevance Immediate Relevance

Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm® - MALP®

ü Culturally Responsive Instructional Model

ü Elements from students’ learning paradigm

ü Elements from North American learning paradigm

ü Transitional approach to close achievement gap

(DeCapua & Marshall, 2010; 2011 )

Mutually Adap.ve Learning Paradigm® – MALP® Culturally Responsive Teaching Model

SLIFE North American Classrooms

Interconnectedness Independence

Shared Responsibility

Individual Accountability

PragmaWc Tasks

Academic Tasks

ACCEPT CONDITIONS

COMBINE PROCESSES

FOCUS on NEW ACTIVITIES with

familiar language & content

Immediate Relevance

Oral Transmission WriKen Word

Future Relevance

(DeCapua & Marshall, 2009, 2011; Marshall, 1994; Marshall & DeCapua, 2013)

A. Accept Conditions for Learning A1. I am making this lesson/project immediately relevant to my students.

A2. I am helping students develop and maintain interconnectedness.

B. Combine Processes for Learning B1. I am incorporating both shared responsibility and individual accountability.

B2. I am scaffolding the written word through oral interaction.

C. Focus on New Activities for Learning C1. I am focusing on tasks requiring academic ways of thinking.

C2. I am making these tasks accessible to my students with familiar language and content.

MALP Teacher Planning Checklist©

Lunch!

Scenarios

Directions: Using the MALP Checklist©, analyze your teacher. Refer to p. 78 in Breaking New Ground for specifics. Groups 1 & 5 Scenario A p. 79 Groups 2 & 6 Scenario B p. 80 Group 3 & 7 Scenario C p. 81 Groups 4 & 8 Scenario D p. 82

Project-Based Learning

•  Allows for differentiation

•  Promotes integration of literacy and content knowledge

•  Improves student engagement; learner-centered rather than teacher-centered

and… from a MALP® perspective

•  Provides immediate relevance

•  Fosters a sense of interconnectedness

•  Allows for both shared responsibility and individual accountability

•  Incorporates oral transmission with print

•  Develops academic ways of thinking

brainstorm

select focus

propose new

project

implement

delegate

idenWfy reflect &

evaluate

Project-Based Learning

What is a Project?

Prototypical MALP® Project Class Surveys

Characteristics that foster MALP

•  Interpersonal •  Relevant topics likely to emerge •  Natural movement from oral interaction to written

product

•  Provision for both group and individual task delegation •  Instruction in academic ways of thinking

Carol’s Class

Survey: Students’ Free Time

Bar Graph

Compare/Contrast: Student Venn Diagram

Oral and Written

Using the Poster Surveys

Looking at the surveys we did

at the beginning of the session, how could you use

information like this to develop projects for your SLIFE?

To Define is to Know

The most common question asked in classrooms in all subjects and at all levels:

WHAT IS ______?

Mystery Bag Activity

Questions to ask about the Mystery Bag

•  Do you know what it is? •  Do you know what it is called in your

language/another language? •  What do you do with it? What is it for? •  Do you like it? •  Give 4 words to describe it.

Checking Answers

•  One by one, check all the answers •  All participate in the checking

Ø Give answers - tabulate them Ø Write answers up as others give them Ø Copy down all descriptive words

Apple Collection

Benefits of Collections

•  Building definitions

•  Learning ways to categorize objects

•  Developing vocabulary Ø academic terms

Ø descriptive adjectives

•  Collaborating on a class project

Categorization

A/An _______________________

is a/an _______________________

Important: small before big!

Characteristics

•  with ___________________

•  that has ________________

Specific Descriptions

•  red •  good •  delicious •  round •  sweet •  plastic

•  wood •  so^ •  glass •  wax •  small •  soap

•  key chain •  potholder •  candle •  light •  magnet •  pin

Talking & Writing about Collection

Talk/write about the items in the collections using sentence frames

My apple is a/an ____key chain________. It is ___________, ___________ and ________. It is a/an ________, ________, _________ key chain.

1.  Opinion 2.  Size 3.  Shape 4.  Condition 5.  Age 6.  Color

7. Origin (where from)

8. Material (made of)

9. function (Used for)

small white light pretty cloth potholder

DeCapua, A. 2008. Grammar for Teacher. Boston: Springer