Group One Final Showcase

Group Members	Roles	Commented On
Misael Arrieta	Post to Facebook, Script for Video File.	Group 4
Hagan Lawson	Video File	Group 2
Rachel Wise	Multi media -Prezi with Input from all	Group 4
Barbara Holly	Script for video reflection Audio file with input from all. Post to Blog	Group 3

Group One Final Showcase.

Video Reflection

https://youtu.be/rgtXaLa0KMg

Video Script

Hi everyone, today we are going to cover the implementation of our syllabus for Adult English A, which is an ESL class and we are also going to discuss how the class we’re taking has provided us with the tools to help us succeed as adult educators.

Adult English A serves as an introduction for adult English Language Learners. In our course, students will be provided with the resources and skills needed, which will be built upon in future studies of the English language.

After completing Adult English A, students will be able to ask questions for basic needs, such as “where is the bathroom” and be able to respond to those answers. Furthermore, students will be able to engage in introductory conversations, whether they be verbal or written. Students will be able to write with the correct grammar, and verbally communicate in various tenses. Lastly, students will be introduced to various prefixes and suffixes to develop a meaning for unfamiliar words.

The format of this class will be only and serves as a typical 16-week course. Office hours are incredibly important for online courses, so the office hours for this course are Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, or by email.

This is a description of the required textbook for this class. This textbook will be used to develop the necessary knowledge for the online discussions, dialogue chats and audio assignment.

For the online discussions, students must post each week in the discussion module for the appropriate week. Each discussion post helps students practice their written English skills and grammar skills. Students must also respond to one other student’s post, which serves as a proper response for typical life.

Students will be placed into Skype groups for dialogue chats. Students will be provided with various prompts or topics to practice their verbal communication skills. As long as students complete the assignment for the appropriate week, they are able to choose when works best for them for the scheduling.

The audio assignments are required per module. This requires a one-minute audio clip regarding a prompt or question that is posed to them. This pushes students to practice their English pronunciations and sounds that are associated with the English language. The facilitator will provide timely feedback to assist in their learning.

Now we are going to discuss how our syllabus design benefits various types of learners. Auditory learners perform best when listening to information, which can be as audio recordings, lectures or videos.

Visual learners perform best by seeing information, which can be through videos, PowerPoint presentations, photos or text.
Language learners prefer to learn information through visual or auditory cues, such as written or audio books, lectures and/or presentations.

The dialogue chats, videos and auditory recordings will benefit learners the to a large degree. This occurs when learners use their own and other classmates dialogue chats to practice their English skills. They will also be listening to other classmates’ recordings and provide a conversation. This will help organize their speech sounds.

The online discussions and readings will assist in their writing and grammar skills. This emphasizes typical real-world conversations pieces, which will help deepen their knowledge in English. This will permit students to practice visually seeing the words, which will assist in their understanding of basic words and sentence structure.

The dialogue chats will also allow students to practice speaking and writing in English. This will push students to practice daily conversations that can be used in their daily lives as English speakers.

Now we are going to discuss the five phases of learning, and how this course highlights each learning style.

First, is the modeling phase. This occurs when the educator completes the necessary skills and requirements that is asked of the learners. In this course, English will be spoken across Skype for the students to hear.

Second, is the scaffolding phase. This occurs when students attempt toe perform the necessary task while the facilitator observes and provides feedback. In this course, students record their conversations so the facilitator can hear their current skills and provide suggestions to better their skills.

Third, is the fading phase. This is when the learner uses their skills in real-life situations. In this course, students speak English in a real situation, which involves using Skype/phone conversations with a classmate.

Fourth, involves a solo performance. In this course, the student speakers English to the educator using an audio performance.

Fifth, is the reflection phase, which is when the facilitator and the student discuss what was learned by the activity. In this course, the facilitator provides feedback after an audio assessment.


Now we are going to discuss the assignments and readings associated with this course. Week 1, students are expected to read through the syllabus. In week 2, a half page reflection on week 2 is due. This enhances written skill. After, an audio assignment is due, which enhances verbal skills. Week 4, there is a test that will be open for 1 week. Week 5, a family tree worksheet is due. Week 6 is a worksheet that helps learners order and describe food. The following week, another audio recording is due. There is another test the following week. Week 9, students develop skills of describing themselves and create an online dating profile. Week 10, students have a one-on-one conversation via Skype that builds upon everyday verbiage and vocabulary. The following week, another test opens with Thanksgiving break to follow. They then have a reflection paper based on a nearby article that they need to read, with them creating a news article the following week. Their last week, they have a final exam period. This tests their reading, writing, and verbal English skills.


Now we will discuss how this course allowed us to make educated decisions to create this course. It is incredibly important to understand the learning styles of the students so that the optimal amount of learning can be reaching. This course delved into many different learning styles, which included the completion of online discussions, reading and audio assignments. Students must have these skills to build upon their knowledge of the English language.
One idea that we learned from our class with Dr. Chang was Kolb’s learning styles. Our group thought that Our group thought that Kolb’s idea of a learning style cycle particularly applied to the adult learner category. This cycle started with concrete experience, then observation and reflection, then generalization and abstraction, then applying and testing what you have learned. Kolb’s Learning Styles also broke down the types of learners as accommodator, diverger, assimilator, and converger. We thought that these styles reflected the attitudes and learning cycle of an adult student in particular. The theory review assignment was an opportunity to do research on learning styles, a subject of high interest for our group. The literature we reviewed provided an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast the different views on learning and the impact of different learning styles. We also noticed some commonalities among the readings. There was much information about
the different learning styles advocated by various individuals such as Kolb, MacKeracher, Dunn & Dunn, and Curry to name a few. There was also a lot of varying opinions about whether learning styles were important for students or not. The syllabus assignment was a great way to put this information together and create a product that actually used learning styles. Working with a group on this provided an opportunity to see what it takes to complete a project for adult learners, firsthand. After we decided on what type of class we were going to have, we had to integrate various aspects of learning styles into the plan for the class. It was clear that there is a lot to be considered when planning a class. You must have an organizational plan in place. From looking at the other groups syllabi it can be seen that the syllabus design can be a valuable selling point for a program. The online discussions, group projects and this course in general was an excellent course to take for understanding the adult learner. The group project was very useful because it demonstrates how an adult learner operate when given a group assignment. The syllabus assignments that we looked at had some good ideas on organization and content. This is useful because we all have had to come up with a similar document at one time or another. The online discussions were interesting and provided a snapshot of how other students related the discussed topics to real life. We really do not have an opportunity for real face to face content in an online course and the discussion boards helped provide that contact with other students and the instructor. It was a good learning experience to be able to work with different students on the group projects. In our collaboration, it could be seen that we had some different ideas about how this would work. This was a good practice on what is needed to finish a group project successfully, whether in a work or school environment. It was also a good experience to learn about and use the various activities using technology. After taking this course we learned how to create and post a self-video, use Blogger, and create a shared Google document. We also learned about the variety of resources that are out there to help teachers and learners through the video clips and PowerPoints we looked at. The projects we did really helped with understanding and applications of learning styles. The theory reviews that we did helped nail down the basic theory behind various versions of learning styles. There is a lot of information out there about learning styles and it helps to look at literature about this and then try to summarize
it. Since we also looked at the blogs of the other groups which included Environment and Learning Context, Brain and Learning, and Relationship in Learning, we were able to include learning about those ideas also. The syllabus we did was good practice in being able to include these ideas in something we would actually be able to use in the work or classroom environment. It is harder to actually try to create something with a group that will actually be used in the real world. Since our group was learning styles, we wanted to implement some of the things we learned in the class we designed. This required a review of the theories and how certain aspects of that could be applied to learning activities and assessments for our adult students. It is really easy to look at theory and say that you understand it. It is much more difficult to apply this to a concrete project. The different types of learning resource in the weekly discussion were very useful. The written resource of the text was useful to have a basic guideline of the theories being discussed. The diagrams helped with understanding the various cycles and theories. The videos that were presented for each theory were very useful also. For example, when we were discussing relationships in learning were videos that helped explain the pros and cons of relational learning. There were PowerPoints and audio files to help review the topics as well as present the various theories. There were also direct links to resources on the web and videos showing how that particular theory could be used in the classroom. The variety really helped with understanding and being able to apply the theories presented. Sometimes it is much easier to understand a concept when you can see it applied in a real situation or classroom. And of course, this did address the various learning styles that we learned about in our group. This was an excellent class about adult learners and theories of learning. We were able to use multiple formats to learn about and show what we have learned about the theories. The discussion boards were interesting and provided some contact with the other students. Perhaps another application activity such as a lesson plan spotlighting adult learner could have been added. It would have been useful to have more information about Blogger and how to set it up with illustrations, editing, and so forth. For future students I would suggest taking the time to review the information in all of the blogs including the theory reviews. This really helped with understanding the topics.


Audio File

Audio File

Multi Media Prezi

https://prezi.com/view/sIs80j2p5fsgsfl2saNs/