Artifacts
Artifact 1
TE 845 - Narrative Sketch
Goals: 2
Standards: 1, 4
The Narrative Sketch assignment taught me that before I begin interacting with multilingual learners, I should have a vision of what my own language identity is. Thinking deeply about my experiences as a language learner reminded me to show empathy towards my students. I took on this journey of learning a new language when I moved to China because I wanted to have a stronger connection to my students.
I wanted to show my students that although we all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences, we can all come together and learn how to embrace and respect those differences. I took TE 845 during my first semester of the MATC program. This course and artifact was a great way to begin my journey in becoming a stronger multilingual teacher.
In order to successfully connect with multilingual learners and help them develop their identities as English speakers, I think it’s crucial that teachers unpack their own language identity. I learned a lot about myself and realized how so many little experiences have impacted the way I interact with my students and those around me.
Artifact 2
TE 892- Language Autobiography
Goals: 2
Standards: 1, 3, 4
As educators we influence the lives of our students every day. Day by day we don’t notice, but as we reflect back on our weeks, months or years as teachers, we are greatly affected by our students. As an international teacher, I’ve worked with students from all over the world and all of my students are multilingual learners. Most of my coworkers are bilingual and have a wealth of knowledge. While writing my language biography, I began to feel ashamed of myself. I’m truly only fluent in one language, English.
This artifact and course taught me about native speakerism and how this is something that people strive for as non-native English speakers. But what these multilingual learners don’t realize is that I want to be more like them. I was ashamed of being monolingual. This artifact shows my language background and my realization that I too am a language learner. I’d never thought so deeply about my own language identity until this assignment.
I realized that our language identities are shaped from birth and are constantly evolving based on who we interact with, where we live, and the languages we expose ourselves to. In my artifact I discuss how I’ve made stronger connections with my students now that they know I’m a language learner as well. This artifact has taught me the importance of being open and honest with multilingual learners and I’ve shown my students that we can learn from one another.
Artifact 3
TE 892- Dual Learner Case Study
Goals: 1, 2
Standards: 1, 2
The Dual Learner Case Study showed me the importance of getting to know my students as individuals. I had the opportunity to interview my students, their parents and previous teachers to learn more about their identities, family and community, language repertoire, background, attitude towards learning, and reasons for learning English. It was really interesting to hear both the parent and student’s perspective on the interview questions. With this information, I wrote a narrative portrait encompassing each student.
The goal of this assignment was to explore multilingualism and view the benefits of learning multiple languages. We not only focused on how this benefits individuals, but also how multilingual students can help monolingual students expand their knowledge and experiences as well. I learned that teachers need to be advocates for multilingualism and be an example within our classroom and school communities.
Most educators didn’t take courses focused on English language learners, therefore I can’t blame them for being misinformed at times. In order to be an advocate for multilingual learners, I can help inform my colleagues of the benefits of multilingualism and give them a new lens to view their students. Educators are typically open-minded but just need the professional development to take on new information. This artifact has helped me in being a stronger advocate for education for multilingual learners.
Artifact 4
TE 808- Action Research Project
Goals: 1, 2, 3
Standards: 1, 3, 4
I've read many action research projects throughout my education at MSU and have always thought they were typical research papers. While taking TE 808, I learned that an Action Research Project is a specific type of research paper that begins with guided inquiry questions that address an issue that a teacher sees within their own classroom. I chose to focus on teaching my students specific strategies that focus on communication, social, and conflict resolution skills in order to improve student relationships.
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To begin my action research project, I did a literature review. This was my first time and this component of the project really tested my knowledge of using various references and sources to gain new information about this topic while beginning to write my own literature review. This artifact demonstrates my ability to read and analyze professional literature. This project helped me to enhance my teaching and gave me confidence to share the knowledge I learned with others.
The action research project pushed me to try something new in my classroom. It was challenging to find extra time within my school days to implement these new lessons that weren’t focused on our curriculum, but I knew it would be worthwhile in the end. Students were excited to see that we were having our “skills & strategies hour” on our daily schedule. I encourage every teacher to take a closer look at issues they come across in their classrooms year to year and think about what action they can take and make a commitment to positive change.
Artifact 5
FLT 808- Assessment Design Project
Goals: 1, 2
Standards: 1, 2, 4
The assessment design project was an ongoing assignment that encompassed creating an assessment and rubric to assess and foreign language. My job was to create a grade level appropriate assessment with components for each aspect of literacy; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. From this project, I learned the importance of validity and reliability within assessments.
I now look at language assessments with a completely new perspective. I now have the basic knowledge and ability to critique language assessments and design assessments that specifically assess the domains of English accurately. Many assessments have various features that assess the domains of language, but are necessarily reliable because they address other aspects of language. For example, an assessment could include a speaking portion where students have to read a script. But in reality, that is assessing a students’ reading ability, not their speaking proficiency.
It is important to design assessments that foster student’s understanding, but it’s also important that teachers are getting valid information from their assessments. I think all teachers should begin to think about assessments with a critical lens, ensuring that you are assessing exactly what you intend and that you aren’t setting your students up for failure.
Artifact 6
TE 845- Final Project "Co-teaching & Collaboration" Presentation
Goals: 1, 3
Standards: 1, 2, 5, 6
This artifact made a huge impact on my attitude and mindset as a teacher. Before this final project, I really only saw myself as a classroom teacher focused on my students. Taking time to research more about a topic I was passionate about, co-teaching and collaboration. I learned a lot from my research and saw how this model of teaching can positively impact multilingual learners.
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After creating this presentation, I pushed myself to look at education beyond just my classroom. I started to share what I learned with my colleagues and as a grade level team, we took on co-teaching as our model for instruction reading and writing. Our literacy coordinator encouraged me to present my experiences and findings at the ACAMIS ELL Conference and paved my way towards becoming a teacher leader.
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The final project for this course gave me confidence as a professional inside and outside of the classroom. I learned that one small action can make a huge impact on my classroom and within my school. Taking the time to try a new model of instruction can be scary, but in the end it benefitted not only me but my students as well.