How can teachers have a voice to be heard in a discourse community?

     Are teachers’ experiences meaningful sources for knowledge generating? Peripheral participation is closely connected with the notion of discourse community and their implications seem to have a salient role in academic contexts (Leve & Wenger, 1991; cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to explain the concepts of discourse community and peripheral participation and how they are related. 

     Peripheral participation is a concept used to refer to the less equal opportunity new members of a discourse community hold to legitimize their knowledge within the community (Leve & Wenger, 1991; cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010). Whereas the term discourse community refers to a group of people that gathers together to share views, experiences, and use specific language conventions related to a particular field of knowledge (Bizzel, 1992; Harris, 1989; as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010).

     According to Wenzlaff and Weiseman (2004), group work and cohort-based programs can provide instances for teachers to be part of their own learning process and have their voices to be heard. Teachers believe themselves empowered to generate knowledge, following academia requirements, by having authentic experiences and reflecting upon their teaching practices. Therefore, empowering teachers with opportunities to have a voice not only provides them with opportunities to sense community membership but also to define discourse within the community (Clark, 1994; cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004).

     All in all, promoting self-reflection not only would it help teachers to grow professionally but also it would provide an opportunity to legitimate knowledge, and thus a right to be heard within a community (Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles & Lopez-Torres, 2003; Kelly-Kleese, 2001). To sum up, the implication of the notions of discourse community and peripheral participation is inherently related to foster knowledge making in academic settings.

Reference

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved September 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s Choice: An Open Memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2010, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2010, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Pintos, V., Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 1: Building up a community of teachers and prospective researchers. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved September 2010, from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=6856

Wenzlanff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved September 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n934940 5

A critique about the implications graphic organizers may have in content-based instruction

    In the article Q & A: What’s the big deal with graphic organizers? Ellis (2004) depicts the most frequent uses of Graphic Organizers (GOs) and their effectiveness in content-based classrooms. After conducting research work in educational settings for almost 30 years, Professor Ellis (2004) addresses his last findings to educators who are enthused to implement visual devices in content-based classrooms. This article appears to be an easy-reading source that helps the reader to have an overview of the benefits of GOs in instructional contexts.

    The layout of the article is structured with headings which are written in the form of frequently-asked questions. In so doing, Ellis (2004) clarifies the doubts many of the teachers commonly pose about the regular uses and implications of GOs in content-based classes. Even though the presentation of his conclusions seems to be clearly organized and well-structured, he does not include visual input to make his findings visually appealing. It would have been more eye-catching if Ellis (2004) had included examples of GOs to have illustrations of how they look like. However, an involved reader may refer to his website where he posts resourceful instructional materials for teachers to implement in their practices.

    Throughout this exploratory article, Ellis (2004) limits the scope of his research work to the pedagogical benefits GOs have for the development of reading comprehension strategies. Ellis (2004) explains that using GOs in content-based classes assists learners “to grapple with core ideas of the content and develop… understandings of [the content]” (p.1). Besides, he highlights that not only do visual learners benefit from using GOs but also auditory learners respond positively in reading comprehension lessons. He states that implementing GOs aids students to grasp the meaning of content through illustrations accompanied by the aural explanation provided by the teacher (Ellis, 2004).

    Whereas the discussion of this article centers on the topic of increasing reading strategies in content-based learning environments by means of GOs, little are the implications drawn in relation to the effectiveness of GOs in other language skills. Scholars and researchers such as Hall and Strangman (2002) broaden the scope of the application of GOs to develop written strategies and vocabulary expansion, for instance. At this point, Ellis (2004) does not particularize much but briefly explains further uses of GOs to brainstorm ideas at the beginning of the writing process, for example, as “they serve as effective devices for helping students focus on the relationships between main ideas and details” (p.3). Despite his concise explanations, the reader is invited to further explore following a list of selected works provided at the end of the article. 

    All in all, this is a commendable article for teachers interested in implementing GOs as another pedagogical tool to encourage strategic processes in reading comprehension and content learning. The clearly well-structured presentation of this article appears to favour an easy-reading source of information to be up-to-date with the last contributions in language teaching. The author also provides a list of useful resources for those eager to on-going survey. Even though this article delves into the most frequently-used applications of GOs, it is a noteworthy teaching resource so as to have the first explorations of the implementation of GOs in learning contexts.

References

Ellis, E. (2004). Q&A: What’s the big deal about graphic organizers? Makes sense strategies. Retrieved October 2010 from http://www.graphicorganizers.com/images/stories/pdf/Q&AGraphicOrganizers.pdf

Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. National center of accessible instructional materials. Retrieved October 2010 from http://aim.cast.org/sites/aim.cast.org/files/NCACgo.pdf

My first unexpected challenges with adult learners

It was my first experience as a graduate teacher of English and I felt almost shaking to meet new students. The first lesson began, sparking eyes and doubting faces were staring at me, my first students. We had lessons two days a week very late in the evening. There were about 40 adult learners from low social classes and with out-of-school commitments to fulfill. I expected to find obstacles in the classroom, as we may always have in any school. At first I thought that the generation gap between my students and I could be a difference to reconcile and that students with mixed abilities were common features in adults; however new challenges were set.

Regularly, the number of students per class was thirty out of forty. Absences had become a common issue after a month. Sometimes some of them missed two consecutive lessons and other times they were absent for a fortnight. Even though the problem persisted, I felt it was time for an exam. I came to the decision to set a date for the first test in English. The day finally came and the test was submitted, but, as I expected, many of the students were absent that day.  Despite the quite good results in the test, I noticed that many of my students could not follow my lessons due to their periodic absences. Undoubtedly, neither generation gap nor language knowledge was my challenge any longer; quite the opposite, absentees emerged as conflicting situations to tackle necessarily.

The first term had passed, and yet, the problem continued. I could not see progress in my students; on the contrary, they became de-motivated and even frustrated. I sought help and informed the principal about the situation. As he heard attentively the problem I had, he commented that it was a common encumbrance my colleagues also faced. He also added to continue with my lessons and innovative strategies were welcomed. I started to promote self-paced learning by constant rehearsal and recycling. I brought supplementary activities for those who missed some lessons to complement the absence of face-to-face language instruction. Little by little, changes were introduced.

For the second term, I aimed at enriching our bonds, and as a teaching goal I tried to enhance social interaction through group work and games. I also opted to recycle the contents we had been dealing with during the first term by exposing them to varied input materials. I could see that exposure helped those who were absent not to feel at a loss. My learning objective was for them to see language as a tool for communication and to have, through English, some fun after a hard working day for most of them. Although many of them missed a number of lessons, the constant recycling and the variety of tasks aided them to start noticing progress.

Progress could be smoothly perceived in their attitudes in the class as well, they felt motivated and we enjoyed our lessons. My students and I strengthened our relationship and we started to feel like a tiny community of great adults. We shared day-to-day experiences and sometimes we even spent the breaks eating biscuits with mate. Surprisingly, one of those evenings, I received an invitation from them. A field trip had been organized by the teacher of History and I was invited to accompany the group. I felt so glad to travel with them that I eagerly accepted. It was the most enjoyable school outing and memorable experience I had ever had in my first year as a teacher.

I learned a lot from this experience. Problems always arise in any teaching context. Missing lessons due to absentees in the evening-shift schools is one of the foremost challenges a teacher may cope with. Regardless the subject one teaches, we, teachers, are individuals capable of constructing great learning communities. I also learned that we can shape and build up small classroom identities to make the most of our students and our teaching practices.