Currently I am student teaching a sheltered Algebra class. This class is 50% English language learners and 50% native English speakers. Working in a sheltered classroom has been one of my all-time favorite teaching experiences.
The other day I gave a chapter test and had some very interesting results. 15% of my students failed and I wanted to find out why. Further examination of the tests helped me realize NONE of my English Language Learners failed the test, it was all native English speakers. Very interesting.
These results were bitter-sweet. On the one hand, I am so proud of my English Language Learners and the effort they have been putting into this class. On the other hand, I am disappointed there is a whole group of students in my class I'm not reaching. So, as of Monday, I have rearranged the classroom seating chart. Everyone who received an F on the test is now in the front row. Everyone who received a D is in the second row. The students who received As are in the back. From now on, I will not even BEGIN to teach unless I am sure 100% of the students are engaged and ready to take notes. There will be no sleeping, daydreaming, texting or working on other homework in my class. During direct instruction, I will walk around and make sure everyone is following along with the lecture and working on the sample problems. I will attempt to keep all students engaged by calling on them randomly and asking them for input.
From now on, I will make sure I am teaching ALL my students. I don't want the next test results to indicate there is a large portion of students who aren't being taught. I will closely exam the scores on their next test and look for improvements.
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