Why are Instructional Videos a Good Vehicle for Learning?

Instructional videos can serve many purposes in the classroom. For starters, they can help hook the audience (your students) on a new topic. Lead into a new unit with a video clip and have the students guess what you will be studying next. Additionally, instructional videos help to increase student engagement during all parts of a unit. They can help otherwise dull content come to life, they can help students who are uninterested connect to the material, and they can add variety to a lesson. Not to mention that videos can be used for any subject, any grade level, and any type of learner.

Learning Strategies for Instructional Video Viewing

There are many learning strategies for using instructional videos. They can be used to differentiate the material being taught. Students with no prior exposure to the concept at hand can be assigned an intro video while students with prior knowledge can watch a more detailed or complex clip. Videos are also nice for differentiation because students can pause, rewind, or stop the video so that it is running at their desired pace. This also allows for students to watch the video multiple times if they just aren’t understanding what they are supposed to be learning or need to take a second look.

Instructional videos can also be more engaging for students than listening to a long lecture for a few different reasons. For starters, it helps break up the lesson. Instructional videos can include exciting graphics, clarifying captions, and filters that draw the audience in. When used during instruction, this can help refocus students and keep them engaged.

Simply playing an instructional video may not be enough to engage students. Educators will need to be specific with their purposes for implementing a video. Before playing the instructional video, turn students’ attention to the goal at hand. “While you watch, pay attention to…” Teachers can require students to take notes, write down key ideas, or look for a specific topic that is mentioned. This helps keep students from zoning out and gives them a clear purpose for why they need to watch.

Instructional Video Tools

Vialogue

There are many web tools available out there to help you get the most out of the instructional videos you choose to use in the classroom. One such tool is called Vialogues. Vialogue, which stands for ‘video plus dialogue’, is for online videos but includes a group discussion feature. Students can interact with the videos by adding comments that appear in a time stamped order. Teachers can use this as a way for students to respond to posted questions, reflect on what they see, or comment with any thoughts they have. It is also unique because not only can users add their own videos, but they can search for videos (climate change, wars, even Beyonce…) and add comments to those videos too.

Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle is a fan favorite among many in the educational world. It holds students accountable by tracking if they are actually watching their assigned video, how long they spend in different sections, and if they are comprehending what they are learning. Teachers can add voice comments and questions throughout the video that students need to pause and answer before going to the next section. Users are able to upload their own videos, or use already made videos (Khan Academy, YouTube, etc). This website’s basic version is free for teachers and students.

Hapyak

Another great instructional video tool is called Hapyak. This engaging video tool allows users to annotate their videos from YouTube or Vimeo and create multiple choice quizzes or free-text questions. You are able to add text anywhere in your video, insert links, or overlay an image. You can also share commentaries and link any specific moment in your video for easy viewing.

Blubbr

Blubbr is one last instructional video tool that deserves a nod. This tool lets users create quizzes on top of YouTube videos. These quizzes, which are called Trivs, can be designed to be used while the students are watching the clip or after it is over. What is unique about Blubbr is that feedback is given to students after every question they answer. This way students can monitor their own understanding of the content and know if they need to focus a bit deeper on the material at hand.

The use of videos in the classroom can be an effective tool to better engage students on the material they are learning. The visual aspect of videos allows the teacher to do less telling and more showing. Videos not only deepen student understanding, but spark interest and help to clarify questions. They are a great vehicle for learning and worth implementing into any lesson, on any subject, on any given day.

The post How to Learn from Videos appeared first on TeachHUB.

English Language Learners (ELLs) are students whose first and primary language is other than English. These students can be identified through the school enrollment process as able to benefit from English Language Development (ELD) Programming. Those students are then eligible for ESL (English as a Second Language) or English Language Acquisition (ELA) instruction.

Depending on the school and district, students may receive ELD support in a variety of ways. There are two basic models of for ELD programs: the first uses English and another language, the second is English-only. In the United States, English-only ELD programs are much more prevalent.

Frequently, students who are identified as “Level I” on the WIDA Access Screener receive services through Sheltered English Instruction, which means that they receive English instruction directly and solely from a teacher with an ESL certification or degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages)/TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Students who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and score greater than one on the screener may receive English support from an ESL-certified teacher within the regular education classroom following the co-teaching model.

How is an ESL Classroom Different from a Non-ESL Classroom?

Since ELD programs can encompass different ESL classroom structures, it is important to understand the differences between a classroom with ELs and one without so that we can best meet their instructional needs. Instruction in an ESL classroom should include as many of the following strategies as possible.

English Language Learner Strategies for the Classroom

Scaffolding

As learners, we all come from different backgrounds than each other. English language learners are no different, but have even greater needs for scaffolding than most first language English-speakers. If “systematically building on students’ experiences and knowledge” is a key to scaffolding, knowledge of students is of even greater importance.

How can we help our students get to where they need to be if we don’t meet them where they are in the beginning? Scaffolding can even the playing field for those who bring different background knowledge to the classroom. For example, the English language is packed with idioms – where the actual meanings of individual words do not add up to the meaning of the words collectively. Idioms are extremely difficult for English Language Learners to identify and interpret. This is because all language learners translate their second language back to their base/first language in order to comprehend meaning. Intention of non-literal meaning of words is nearly impossible to identify in a speaker or writer. To help English learners with this, educators must use scaffolding in every grade level and classroom.

Teaching Academic Language across Curriculum

English learners acquire vocabulary words and language skills not only in English class, but all academic subjects. Teachers of science, social studies, math, and other subjects need to ensure that their instruction includes explicit vocabulary instruction so that students can comprehend reading and writing within their curricular content.

Explicit vocabulary instruction is a purposeful and concise study of two or three vocabulary words at a time during instruction daily. ELs need to learn vocabulary words at a rate much higher in frequency than their native English-speaking peers. Vocabulary instruction is key for reading and writing comprehension. In order to understand text in science, math, and social studies, vocabulary instruction in these subjects is imperative. One helpful strategy is to label everything in the classroom, as well. This visual helps support language acquisition and key vocabulary.

Interactive Notebooks

One way to increase student engagement in instruction is through interactive notebooks. This strategy involves a notebook and usually gluing charts and/or graphic organizers into the notebook to establish a way to structure and record vocabulary, definitions, notes, and graphics that support them.

Multi-modal learning helps students deepen their understanding of topics. Reading, writing, listening, speaking, and drawing are examples of ways that students can learn information in new ways. Interactive notebooks give teachers the opportunity to teach content using these different modalities. Students can draw pictures that go with vocabulary words, complete sentence stems, and practice reading and spelling. It also helps students find a way to structure and outline concepts.

Instructional Games

Instructional games have become much more easily accessible over the past few years. They are available in physical offline format and also for free online. Websites like ESL Games World and ESL Games Plus can be used within instructional time or at home if students have internet access.

ESL classroom games are an interactive way to allow students to continue learning independently and can be incorporated into a rotation during center time, as an intervention, or during indoor recess. I’ve personally used these as a reward when students finished their work early. There are also printable board games available for both free and for a small cost on TeachersPayTeachers.

Be Culturally Responsive & Attentive to Individual Needs

Understanding that students who speak the same first language may have drastically different cultures is imperative. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries. Each of these countries has their own uniqueness that create a culture unlike another’s, although possibly similar. Recognizing this and showing an interest in individual student backgrounds lays the groundwork for developing positive, authentic relationships between teacher and student.

In addition, recognizing that depending on each student’s cultural background, their beliefs and traditions may unveil what motivates them as learners is also crucial. Being sensitive to the journey of language acquisition that ELs are on can mean restructuring your own classroom routines to make those students feel safe to take risks in learning.

For example, providing extended wait time when asking students to answer questions or share aloud is a best practice. When a question is posed in English, students need time to translate the question into their first language, process their thinking into a response, translate their response back to English, and then state their answer aloud. Keep in mind that answering questions aloud in English many times is a huge risk for students, as they are nervous about saying something wrong and often being made fun of. Being attentive to individual student needs with strategies such as extended wait time is an example of being culturally responsive.

There are many more useful learning strategies to implement in an ESL classroom and with ELs in the regular education setting with an inclusive model. These five strategies can help teachers take a huge leap forward in their practice with ELs.

The post Learning Strategies for the ESL Classroom appeared first on TeachHUB.