Which Treats of the Character and Pursuits of the Not So Famous Spanish Teacher From Alexandria
I am the Foreign Language Department Chair and a Spanish teacher at an independent school in Alexandria, VA. We work with average to gifted students who have organizational, attentional, or learning differences. In addition to working on SET Lab research, I am also finishing a certificate in Executive Function and LD at Landmark College. One of my professional interests is using technology to make language learning accessible to all types of learners.
The implementation of a school-wide BYOD program has been a game changer with respect to creating an executive function friendly classroom, meeting varied student needs, and increasing student engagement. Unfortunately, it also has the drawback of being a constant temptation, distraction, and detractor to students who even on the best of days struggle with executive function and self regulation. The time I spend policing screens could be spent on more positive and productive student interactions. Banning or limiting technology isn’t the answer for high school. As educators we are preparing them to be independent as they manage college or a career. They need a place to practice with guidance and support. My desire is to create a classroom culture where students take ownership over their technology use and self-monitor, rather than rely on teacher cues to stay on track.
As with the laptop program, implementation of executive function coaching has also enhanced the student experience at our school. When teachers use open ended coaching questions, students feel empowered to make choices that will help them meet their goals. It gives them a sense of control. Pushing the responsibility of self-management back to the student gives them the ability to make productive choices, even when there is no supervision. My research this year will look at the intersection of technology use and coaching questions.
How can I use coaching strategies to cultivate a system where students take ownership of their technology use and work toward self regulation? That will be my research question this year. I hypothesize that if students can identify why they are going off-task on their computers, the use of coaching questions can help them choose and deploy a replacement strategy to get back on task.
I will chronicle this journey on this blog and also on Twitter. Follow me on Medium or look for the hashtags #setlab, #educationscientist, and #changebydesign to follow my progress.
