In the Classroom

In this episode, I discuss content curation as an instructor. #edchat

In this episode, I’ll provide an overview of a few technologies I plan to use next semester.

In this episode, I discuss a few assumptions that instructors might consider as it relates to how zero grades are issued.

In this episode, I discuss the basics of task-based language learning (TBLL) - using Office 365 - and share a grammar class I plan to teach next semester.

This is an interview (in Spanish) conducted at the radio station at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes - El Gis, recorded September 25, 2019, from 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM.

In this episode I discuss two recent writing assignments from this week (at Notion.so) and address illocutionary force in terms of the impact the written word can have on the intended audience.

ShowNotes In the Classroom (Notion.so) Write, plan, collaborate and get organized with @NotionHQ. Sign up with this link and get $10 in credit: https://www.notion.so/?r=f6a748a954fd470f8ad4ff47806250a3

Socials - Grammar I Contact me Grammar MeWe Group Class page Show Notes Performance Tasks Learning Targets Understand grammar in context: morphological, syntactical, and lexical. Understand lexical categories: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, determines, conjunctions, and interjections. Understand word classes: open and closed. Understand phrases: noun, prepositional, verb, auxiliary, and compound. Note to Learners You will form partnerships (in pairs) to design a single class open grammar book that summarizes content convered throughout the course. The open grammar book, which is designed to provide a grammar reference for all subsequent courses taken in the BA, will be created in Pressbooks (pressbooks.com) and will include text, images, and links to learner-created videos. Each pair will present a grammar topic seen in class by developing two paragraphs (five-to-eight sentences for each paragraph), and each pair will prepare a 15-minute video that shows both paragraphs along with their analysis and explanation of the three aspects from grammar in context (i.e., meaning in context, forms and meanings, hypothetical meaning, collocations, and lexical chunks) and at least one example of each of the following functions: noun phrases, prepositional phrases, verb phrases, and compound phrases.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Show Notes In this episode I provide tips when developing a Results and Discussion section.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Show Notes In this episode I provide tips when developing a Results and Discussion section.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Show Notes In this episode I discuss teacher networking.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Show Notes In this episode I provide some random suggestions to learners who are finishing up their thesis paper and are preparing for their oral defense set in a couple of weeks.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Radio UAA: Ser Lumen Show Notes In this episode I share a recent discussion I had with my Thesis Seminar group as they transition from developing a literature review to collecting data for their own research.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Radio UAA: Ser Lumen Show Notes Avoid Passive voice with non-referential “it”: it has been found, etc. Overuse of the passive voice - active voice is preferred. Overuse of pronouns Overuse of capitalization (e.g., to emphasize or when abbreviations are used, etc.) Overuse of There is/are - In most cases, avoiding it will produce a better sentence - subject first, then a verb. There is/are in a topic sentence. Verb to be in a topic sentence. Overusing the same verbs: to be and to have are oftentimes overused. Overusing the semicolon Comma splice Sentence fragment Runon sentence A transition (see below) that begins a topic sentence (body paragraph) Bold text except for headings Bold, italics, and capitalization to emphasize words Obviously…, Clearly…, Absolutes: Always, never, everyone, etc. It is important, it is necessary, etc. Rhetorical questions Include Serial comma Dynamic (action) verbs Be consistent with key words or specific words that have certain meanings in education: activity, materials, techniques, methods, approaches, strategies, etc. A combination of sentence types: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences A cohesive text includes a transition, using any combination of the following: Rheme and theme to connect (bridge) ideas from one sentence to the next. Sentence connectors Introductory phrases Subordinating conjunction that begins a sentence (followed by a comma) MEAL plan for developing each body paragraph Citations serve as evidence Evidence precedes analysis sentence(s) Main idea (topic sentence) begins each body paragraph Final sentence serves as either a linking sentence or a summarizing sentence. Linking sentence links current main idea of the paragraph to the next main idea (topic sentence) of the following paragraph. Italicize foreign (non-English) words and when naming a term (e.g., “The word foreign is hard to spell.). Approximately five to eight sentences per paragraph

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed  Show Notes The Thesis Seminar (open courseware) website is still very much in progress at the time of this recording, so expect many changes over the course of the next few months.  If you wish to know more, contact me via Twitter (@bnleez).

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Mendeley Public Research Group: Applied Linguistics Radio UAA: Ser Lumen

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed  Show Notes In this episode, we discuss Ken Robinson and the notion of creativity in the classroom.

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Show Notes Context This group is a first-semester writing I class for pre-service English language teachers who are Spanish-speaking English language learners at an approximate A2 level of English proficiency. The excerpt found in this episode was from taken from week 14 of a 16-week course.  Each week learners address one essential question that usually relates to some content-based objective.  This week's essential question was more reflective in nature, and was designed to introduce a capstone project that provided an opportunity for learners to demonstrate knowledge and skills learned in each of the different subjects from the current semester: listening and speaking, reading, writing, grammar, and learning strategies. The term PROPE refers to courses that make up a propaedeutic year of courses designed to help learners gain a B1 level required to begin a four-year bachelor's degree program in English language teaching. All lessons from each week are posted to Google Classroom which loosely serves as a content management system where learners can freely access course content both during and outside of class. Lesson Essential Question: How do I express what I have learned so far this semester in PROPE? Instructions: This week we work in our PROPE project teams - event scheduled for November 23, 2018 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM). Overview: Form into your PROPE project groups and determine who will write each paragraph:1) describe your country by including at least three key question words: who, why, how, when, where, etc., 2) describe how you worked together this week to create all non-writing I outcomes for your PROPE project, 3) explain any team challenges that you overcame this semester in any of your PROPE classes, and 4) present two to four key successes that you achieved as a team this semester. Details: Each of the four points listed above should be developed as one unified, coherent, and cohesive paragraph with five to eight sentences.  A combination of the three different transitions discussed in class also should be included: sentence connectors, introductory phrases, and subordinating clauses. Each team member is responsible for one paragraph - if more than four members make up a team, then an additional topic should be developed as determined by team consensus and prior approval with your instructor.  Each team member is responsible for developing and analyzing their respective paragraph. Analyzing a paragraph: Analyzing a paragraph should include the following: All team members should follow the same system for analyzing their respective paragraphs: color-coding, annotations, footnotes, etc. Indicate different sentence types: simple, complex, compound, and complex-compound. Indicate different clauses types: main clauses, subordinating clauses, and relative clauses. Indicate different phrase types: noun, verb, prepositional, and participial. Indicate all parts of speech. When analyzing your paragraph, do not analyze every word.  Only analyze one-three examples of each of the grammatical structures listed in the above section, Analyzing a paragraph.  In other words, you need a paragraph that exemplifies at least one of the grammatical structures above in order to identify it. Team communication: This week requires good communication between each team member.  A successful week will include a team who maintains good communication in determining who is to do what.  At times this week you may work together as a team while other times you might need to work in pairs or individually - decide which works best for you individually and as a team.  Regardless how you work, make sure you communicate with your team members throughout this week so that everyone is on the same page throughout the entire process. Team Leaders: Team leaders have bee

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Show Notes Problem: Learners resist giving presentations and many other aspects of school-related activities, tasks, and performances.   Teens Are Protesting In-Class Presentations According to a recent survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, oral communication is one of the most sought-after skills in the workplace, with over 90 percent of hiring managers saying it’s important. a tweet posted by a 15-year-old high-school student declaring “Stop forcing students to present in front of the class and give them a choice not to” garnered more than 130,000 retweets and nearly half a million likes. A similar sentiment tweeted in January also racked up thousands of likes and retweets. And teachers are listening. “Nobody should be forced to do something that makes them uncomfortable,” says Ula, a 14-year-old in eighth grade, who, like all students quoted, asked to be referred to only by her first name. “Even though speaking in front of class is supposed to build your confidence and it’s part of your schoolwork, I think if a student is really unsettled and anxious because of it you should probably make it something less stressful. School isn’t something a student should fear.” It feels like presentations are often more graded on delivery when some people can’t help not being able to deliver it well, even if the content is the best presentation ever,” says Bennett, a 15-year-old in Massachusetts who strongly agrees with the idea that teachers should offer alternative options for students.   Students are resisting in-class presentations… by Annabelle Timsit According to the American Psychological Association, “When people are fearful of something, they tend to avoid the feared objects, activities or situations. Although this avoidance might help reduce feelings of fear in the short term, over the long term it can make the fear become even worse.” In her piece, Lorenz quotes a 14-year-old student named Ula, who says that “Nobody should be forced to do something that makes them uncomfortable.” But the best available science tells us that, if they want to be successful in life, maybe they should. Participatory Call to Action: How do you encourage learners who resist participating in your class?

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app. Leave comments via Transparent Teachings Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Show Notes Problem: Working in isolation - teacher burnout... Personal learning network: How do you engage in your own personal learning network? Define PLN: collection of social, material, and ideational connections or nodes designed for a specific (professional) purpose that has both historical (over time) and specific value. Twitter (@bnleez) Bidirectional/unidirectional communication Feedly/Buffer/Pocket Facebook Groups: In the Classroom | Workflow Ferrite for audio Lumafusion for video Google Docs: Show notes iPad Pro 10.5/Android smartphone Participatory Call to Action:  As an instructional leader, how you work against isolation?

Socials Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app.  Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Show Notes Problem: backwash effect: how assessment can influence instruction Readings in Methodology: A collection of articles on the teaching of English as a foreign language (2006) (pp. . What is portfolio writing assessement Self-regulation through portfolio assessment in writing classrooms Relationship between PA and the four phases of self-regulation (Figure 1, p. 5). Phase I: instruction and scaffolding Phase II: self-assessment, peer assessment, teacher feedback (first draft) Phase III: Teacher feedback (second-final draft) - cycles back to phase I Phase IV: error log and reflection; publish to eportfolio (decision-making process)      4. Participatory Call to Action: How do you incorporate portfolio assessment in your current teaching practice?

Socials Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bnleez  Leave comments via Podbean app. Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Show Notes In this episode, I provide an excerpt of a class that is designed to assist English language learners - at an A2 level - to complete a story (one paragraph long) that is inspired by an image (painting or a picture) of a cabin in nature.  Content Objectives Build vocabulary related to nature: objects, animals, emotions, five senses, etc. Gain awareness of paragraph unity (staying on topic), coherence (organizational patterns), and cohesion (transitions) Gain awareness of sentence types: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex Gain awareness of parts of speech, types of phrases, and types of clauses Gain awareness of comma usage: serial comma, compound sentence, complex sentence, sentence connectors, introductory phrases (five words or more), and appositives Language (Linguistic) Objectives Rheme and theme Transitions Comma usage Descriptive texts using adjectives and prepositional phrases Simple, compound, and complex sentences Pedagogical Notes

Socials Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bnleez  Leave comments via Podbean app. Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher: RSS Feed Show Notes Problem: Lean Teaching… how efficient, effective, and engaging is our teaching practice? Workflow... Keep in mind the following three things when considering one’s workflow: learner to learner engagement, instructor to learner engagement, and learner to outside expert engagement. Google Classroom Google Docs Google Gradebook Google Photos Eportfolio Sources: Lean Manufacturing - Wikipedia; Lean Thinking (Womack & Jones, 1996)

Socials Leave me questions/comments at my website, www.benjaminlstewart.org.  Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bnleez Leave comments via Podbean app.  Show Notes Instructional-learning episodes: knowledge-skill; metacognition-cognition; far (new context)-near (similar context) transfer; reproductive (less complex)-productive (more complex) Class Essential question: How does a song communicate with you? (far-near transfer) Brainstorm individually: emotions, people, events, etc. as a list. (knowledge - writing to understand) Convert brainstorming list to Mindmap and take a picture (Cognition, learning strategy, knowledge) Convert Mindmap to first and subsequent drafts Work/Upload information to Google docs Feedback - few students uploaded their paragraphs until the very end Sources: Elshout-Mohr, Hout-Wolters, & Broekkamp, 1999; Volman & Ten Dam, 2011

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom Show Notes How can a teacher decide whether to break down the input into step-by-step activities or start by challenging students by asking them to perform a task where input proficiency is required? (Bottom up, top down, task based, structural content based)   Task-based supplementation: Achieving high school textbook goals through form focused interaction: Conclusions: “Results” have historically been defined and measured by “objective” language tests - standardized tests.  However, focusing strictly on form (not meaning, use, discourse, culture, etc.) ignores the fact that we have no true way of knowing exactly what a learner does specifically that leads to language acquisition. Also, a learners’ internal grammar goes up and down… down in the case when internalizing new content.   Conclusions: Task-based learning extremely effective when attending the personal, affective, and social development of the learner. Instructional-learning episodes: reproductive (less complex)-productive (more complex), knowledge-skill, metacognition-cognition, far (new context)-near (similar context) transfer

Post your comments, questions, and suggestions to... Transparent Teachings Twitter (@bnleez) Podbean Website - Like, share, and/or leave comments (using Podbean mobile app.)` Add In the Classroom to your favorite podcatcher. In the Classroom: Why In the Classroom? In many ways, episode #25 is the “first” in the informal reflective discussions I have planned for this channel related to curriculum, assessment, instruction, and educational technologies.  My intention of this channel is to provide the means for me to share with the public my interests and perspectives around what I read (theory, research, internet, etc.) and my own teaching practice.  My hope is that others will voice additional perspectives on similar topics by addressing through line questions related to each episode.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss instructional-learning episodes (task-based learning) by way of example.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss different models of teacher reflection.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss teachers as reflective practitioners.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss establishing flow in the classroom.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss Google Classroom and WhatsApp in the classroom.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss starting the new school year.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we interview author/teacher Tyson Seburn about his book, Academic Reading Circles.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss WhatsApp in the classroom.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss Trello in the Classroom.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we interview faculty from the Universidad Panamericana (Aguascalientes) and their recent UPTC 2018 and research they conducted on the MUSIC Model.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this eposide we discuss the output-driven hypothesis.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss competency-based education and experiential learning.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we interview Adriana Macias and Cartoon Aidwork, a recent material design conference held at the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we interview pre-service English teachers and their recent experiences taking a practicum class.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we go deeper into performance tasks

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this eposide we discuss performance tasks and connecting with learners.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss the SIOP Model and teacher talk time.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss critical thinking and teacher talk time.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss how learners achieve deeper learning and meeting learning objectives.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we interview Ken Bauer where he shares his insights on various aspects of the flipped classroom.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss wisdom and time management in the classroom.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this episode we discuss personal learning networks (PLN) and Peer Learning Communities.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom In this of TLC, we discuss how not to take teaching personally, but do take it seriously.

TLC Socials Piry Herrera Benjamin L. Stewart Facebook | TLC playlist | TLC Classroom Teacher Learning Cast is a weekly show dedicated to all things education.  This was our first episode, recorded February 17, 2018.