There are helpful tools of how to decode math problems even if you do not understand some words in it.
I have learned so many different pedagogical strategies and approaches in the MAT program. One of them was a social-emotional learning (SEL). And we learned how to think about SEL of our students and ourselves as well. During the pandemic, I feel that SEL became one of the most needed skills in the schools.
So, what do I think about SEL? I should admit that I am still learning about it. As a Korean woman who was raised in a Soviet society it is very hard to even think about my emotions and my mental health. Although I must say, that reading psychological books helped me to be more opened but there is still so much to learn.
I strongly agree that SEL is essential skill for every teacher. Not only because it allows him to help his students but also to reflect on his emotions as well. I think the burnout within teachers became real and worse during pandemic. But I cannot imagine a healthy society without good teachers and strong education system. That is why, I have a goal to learn about SEL constantly.
"I strongly agree that SEL is essential skill for every teacher. Not only because it allows him to help his students but also to reflect on his emotions as well."
Another important of SEL is a social justice. Unfortunately, many people do not see that students’ funds of knowledge like their culture, family, language, and traditions are building blocks of their SEL, especially when it comes to traumatized experience. As part of health classes, I have also learned how teachers also work as first responders and reporters of child abuse neglect. So, teacher should be able to help his student to somehow process that moment and more importantly be able to process it by himself. And he cannot do it without SEL skills.
"When I was preparing my lesson, I have learned that some ELL students prefer to skip the math problem if they do not understand it and they feel frustrated about their English language skills."
The other example of strong SEL skill is knowing your students as a whole. For my internship in of the elementary schools in Renton, I have developed the math lesson plan for 5th graders about solving math problems by decoding them. Half of the students in my host teacher class were emergent bilinguals (Garcia et el., 2017). Among them, seven students were in ELL programs. I was checking the class responses to math problem in a Google classroom and noticed that some students did not answer the questions fully. The wording in that math problem was complex even for an adult. So, I decided to have a lesson when they will be able to learn some helpful techniques how to decode math problems even when they do not understand some words in it.
When I was preparing my lesson, I have learned that some ELL students prefer to skip the math problem if they do not understand it and they feel frustrated about their English language skills. And this problem can become worse as a child grows. So, language is an important aspect of my students’ identities not only in their daily life but also in their ways to learn and absorb new knowledge. So, I want to learn about them by knowing them, their families, and their communities.
García, O., Johnson, S. I., & Seltzer, K. (2017). The Translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
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