Technology Education with Learning in other Subject Areas - Article Example

The educational system in the United s has witnessed drastic changes over the past decade. The wave of immigrants from all over the globe has challenged institutions to provide more enhanced services for international students. The traditional methods of teaching that impose endless hours of drills and the abuse of repetitive skill-based worksheets all have poses serious obstacles to enhancing the educational services for ESL students. As a result, international students have continued to struggle in their academic subjects since English is not their first language. Based on careful analysis, everyday conversational skills such as writing, reading and collaboration can truly solidify the foundation of the student’s cognitive and linguistic skills. In the process of learning an additional language, ESL students must keep up with the daily strains that are placed in their program of studies. Furthermore, ESL students must learn to excel in time management skills. Indisputably, each student has a unique set of literacy development needs. Most ESL students have a strict schedule and must be accommodated with personalized program of activities that is managed by the staff itself. One can only imagine the surreal experience of international students, who at times felt hopeless as a foreign student in a North American School. The point is to acknowledge that internationals students are faced with academic, social, and emotional challenges in every aspect of life, which makes learning English much more difficult. Learning and applying that knowledge is a fairly non-trivial challenge for the average American. But what of non-natives who are required to learn and master one of the most grammatically complex languages? This is a struggle which is unquantifiable and difficult to overcome. Many non-native English speakers who often feel confused, frustrated, and pressured to achieve in an environment of native English speakers are in continuous pressure to excel in academics. ELL students are faced with countless hours of practicing drills and grammar not only for English but for math, science and technology also. Without a doubt, it is a greatest obstacle has become but a mere hurdle for ELL students. It is a general taboo for students from abroad to seek help, especially for males. Clearly, it is vital that students should ask for help and set goals on how to overcome each issue. Therefore, “procedure” becomes a necessary element to facilitate student growth as the tutor advises them to set goals and helps them accomplish these goals. In addition, it affords students the opportunity to discuss with the tutor any concerns they have.              For majority of the ELL students, grammar is the biggest focal point. ESL students are often very knowledgeable in grammar yet fall into the trap of superfluity. ESL students are constantly struggling to write like their counterparts, yet they traditionally fall short because they approach the problem with a skewed mentality. ESL students aim for a high status instead of learning from experience.  The challenge of writing like a native English student extends beyond writing the ‘right’ word as the language itself contains multiple-word meanings. In addition, the American standard demands effective argumentation and synthesis at higher levels. This standard challenges students not only adapt to different writing styles, but to acknowledge other writing method - a seemingly painless task which is continuously compounded by a lack of familiarity with the language and its intricacies.             As a tutor, it is important to account for the differences in writing style prevalent between ESL and native English speakers. The lack of context and organization present in ESL students’ writing stems from an overemphasis on grammar. Nevertheless, these differences do not correspond to a deficiency. Most ESL students get so caught up by wanting to get their papers fixed that they fail to understand the objective of the tutoring session, which is to gradually improve their writing skills. The internal struggle for the tutors is not to become frustrated with the work of ESL students, even if their work contains many errors. Most tutors hesitate to work with ESL students because of their work presents a degree of uncertainty, which can overwhelm the tutors. Since many ESL writers are still in the process of learning and understanding the English language, they still struggle to write simple sentences or if they have some training, begin writing superfluously to match their counterparts. Most tutors make a difficult choice between conforming to the student’s request to focus on grammar or follow the paper looking for context, organization, and detail. Undoubtedly, there are no simple solutions but the writing center goal is to focus on higher-order concerns, which emphasizes aspects of holistic writing such as focus, development and organizational skills. To facilitate this difficult process, the readings suggest using the Socratic questioning technique, which consists of asking open-ending questions such that the student can implement the discussion in their writing. Therefore, my responsibility is to facilitate learning and focus on higher-concern orders when working with either ESL students. ESL teachers, generally focus on teaching their students the basic fundamentals of the language. Teachers can add academic value to these lessons by integrating mathematical concepts. While the steps needed are similar to teach math, science, and technology, the terms used to express an understanding of math differ greatly. By combining language learning with math instruction, tutors can be convinced that skills that are absorbed by the students extend beyond just learning the language. Incorporating math and science has to extend beyond the traditional methods of memorization. Christine Willig, author of “10 ways to help ELLs succeed in Math,” suggests that in order to engage ELL students to comprehend math, one must create a story line that challenges the students’ critical and analytical skills. Students are unable to comprehend any subject if it is not practical in their lives (Willig, 2010, pg.28). Creating story problems with simple English vocabulary can dramatically facilitate ESL student’s learning methods. The short stories also enhance their reading comprehension, which is extremely vital towards their learning curve (Willig, 2010, pg.28). If the student is capable of computing math problem, it shows that the student possesses the necessary comprehension skills. In addition to story problems and application methods, it is essential that students best practice their skills engaged in a group environment. Collaboration is a key aspect towards enhancing student’s learning methods (Willig, 2010, pg.32). Conducive research indicates that collaboration with other peers is crucial towards computing math problems and also encourages healthy conversation that teaches them the value of group work. Without a doubt, math is vital subject that should be taught in the ELL program. The question remains; how does one embed science in ELL program. Susan Piper and Edward Lewis, authors of Teaching Photosynthesis with ELL Students, discuss various methods and challenges that were present in teaching scientific method to ELL students (Piper & Lewis, 2010, pg.68). One of the most critical elements of teaching science to ELL students is to design experiments that are visual-oriented. Since ELL students have a complicated time grasping the true essence of vocabulary, it is essential that the teachers implement a method in which visual graphics are embedded in the program (Piper & Lewis, 2010, pg.72).The key is to slowly transition from visual graphics to more complicated experiments in which key words and context clues are utilized to challenge the students (Piper & Lewis, 2010, pg.72). In this particular study, the authors prompted the students to explain the process of photosynthesis using diagrams. Students were also encouraged to write a paragraph which coincides with their pictures. In assessing the ELLs, both authors insist that the most vital thing for the students is to enable them to demonstrate their comprehension of a subject matter without penalizing them for their English skills (Piper & Lewis, 2010, pg.76). Grammar, punctuation, spelling are all no doubt critical. However, they are labeled as “lower-order concerns,” as the student can improve on them throughout time. In these particular situations, it is crucial to utilize an alternative method of assessment to determine the students’ learning comprehension (Piper & Lewis, 2010, pg.80). This does pose as a challenge as tutors are unaware of what to expect from their students as the school outlines a different benchmark of standards. Hence, it is advisable to using forms of assessment such as essays, true and false questions, multiple choice problems that relied on context rather than linguistic skills are far superior forms of assessment. The digital era of technology has no doubt surpassed all limits and has now been incorporated in almost every classroom. Technology is critical for the facilitation of all students. ELL students face new challenges as they are exposed to technology since some of them come from diverse backgrounds. Implementing technology in an ELL environment must be done in a careful manner. Compatibility is one of the most vital issues when buying technology as investing in new technology can also be detrimental. Incorporating technology in ELL classrooms comes with patience (Goodine, 2011, pg.4). For instance, teaching an ELL student how to modify “rich formatting” in Microsoft Word must be done through either group or one-on-one basis. Moreover, giving students resources and guides can tremendously overcome any technological hurdles (Goodine, 2011, pg.5).. The message of any medium or software is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it facilitates the learning process of ELL students (Goodine, 2011, pg.4). He further on goes to state that PowerPoint did not develop the display of large print on a screen, but rather bullet-point lists type of formatting (Goodine, 2011, pg.5). Thus, teachers are able to teach a class to their ELL students through the facilitation of PowerPoint. The New York School department is implementing strong standards in order to raise the benchmark of secular education. The NYC department has incorporated “Performance Standards,” which has given a new meaning towards achieving higher means in education. For instance, most students need to earn at least 6 credits in mathematics in order to graduate from high school. Furthermore, the implementation of Regents exam has become a vital point towards graduation. A student must score at least 65 in this particular exam in order to graduate. To facilitate the learning process, all middle schools now have scientific calculators to assist them in computing complicated math problems. Another strong effort by the school officials was to emphasize the standards in the science department. A strong push has been made by the community to develop a more “hands-on approach” in the dynamic learning environment. Younger students are further engaged in a process of collaboration and discovery as they explore the new spheres of the environment. Clearly, a strong effort has been created to raise the scores and increase the level of competency in this region. Works Cited Goodine, J.. Comparing computer software programs: Determining the most efficient system for teaching English language learners. Ed.D. dissertation,Northcentral University, United States -- Arizona. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. AAT 3341279). Mathematics - Academics - New York City Department of Education . (n.d.). New York City Department of Education . Retrieved August 3, 2011, from http://schools.nyc.gov/Academi Piper, S., & Shaw, E.. (2010). Teaching Photosynthesis with ELL Students. Science Activities, 47(3), 68-74.  Retrieved August 1, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2075640101). Willig, C., Bresser, R., Melanese, K., Sphar, C., & Felux, C.. (2010, March). 10 WAYS TO HELP ELLS SUCCEED IN MATH. Instructor (1999), 119(5), 27-29.  Retrieved August 1, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1998413241). Read More