What ELL Students Wish Teachers Knew

Although English Language Learners have been part of the fastest growing student subgroup in the United States for the past 10 years, many teachers report feeling unprepared to work with these students. Teachers are frustrated because of this, worrying about test averages and how to differentiate learning for these students. In a classroom project, Wendi Pillars, ELL teacher, asked her students what they wish other teachers knew about them and compiled a list. This list includes:

1. Remembering that ELL students are intelligent. Just because they aren't proficient in the English language—yet—doesn't mean they aren’t intelligent or don’t know how to pick up on body language/tone of voice. 
2. Being patient with ELL students. Giving them time to process, answer, complete their work, and think of the words they need. This will help them feel more confident and successful and let other students know they need to be patient with their peers as well.
3. Holding them accountable for their work and participation, providing constructive feedback and challenging them, not ignoring them or taking it easy on them.
4. Talking to them, or at least trying to. Talk to them about academics, but also non-academic things like their interests, dreams and goals. Don’t ignore them, build a relationship like you would with any other student. This helps us remember to see what they can do, rather than what they cannot do.

Pillars, W. (2016, June 22). What English-Language Learners Wish Teachers Knew. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25919971&bcid=25919971&rssid=25919961&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Ftm%2F%3Fuuid%3D891194C0-34C6-11E6-93DE-8E99B3743667

FAQ of Gifted Learners

https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-gifted-education

Gifted Education is a complex subject in the realm of special education in that it deals with students not requiring assistance to meet general education requirements but instead students requiring assistance to meet a higher proximal zone of development than average. For those who need a quick refresher lesson, this website offers answers to the more frequently asked questions about Gifted Learners in the American Education system.

The article covers subjects as: the general definition of being "gifted," the different ways gifted students receive service in the classroom, the level of teacher training on the subject of gifted students, federal funding and government programs for gifted students, and common myths about gifted learners. Each of these comes with sources and links to further information should one need more than the base knowledge.

Source: Frequently Asked Questions about Gifted Education. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2017, from https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-gifted-education

Easy Culturally Responsive Teaching Guidelines

Being culturally responsive in an educational setting shouldn't be impossible to do, it shouldn't even be that difficult to do. The competent teacher should understand that learning to be sensitive and understanding of student's cultures is important in providing them with a proper education. Therefore, "5 Steps to Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher" provides a great short reference for anyone looking to get a foothold onto the subject. It details 5 relatively easy methods of providing culturally appropriate teaching to a classroom, from understanding your own behavior to other cultures to adapting your style to types that need a different response. It's not an end all perfect reference for the subject, and any teacher looking to perfect the practice of cultural responsibility within their classroom should definitely search for more in depth searches to supplement this one. But, as a quick reference or starting point, this serves as an excellent source.

Source: Ferguson, Amanda. (2017, August 11). 5 steps to becoming a culturally responsive teacher. Retrieved October 06, 2017, from https://www.teachaway.com/2017/08/11/5-steps-becoming-culturally-responsive-teacher

Differentiation in Special Education

Differentiation in education is geared towards adapting your style so that every student can understand the curriculum. In some cases, teachers forget that even the children with IEPs can also fall under that umbrella with the rest of the class. The article "Differentiation in Special Education: Differentiating Instruction for Success" by Jerry Webster, goes over this idea in a way that gives examples of differentiation that gear themselves to work towards different types of exceptionalities in students. Things such as peer mentoring and multi-sensory approaches to reaching through student issues are all used within this article, functioning as a handy reference to the teacher who may need a quick idea to help a student with special needs who may need some extra assistance.

Source: Webster, J. (2017, April 23). How Can Special Ed Classes Be Most Successful? Retrieved October 06, 2017, from https://www.thoughtco.com/differentiation-instruction-in-special-education-3111026