The ETNI Staff decided several months ago to explore the world of our learners--which talents or “intelligences” they bring to the classroom, their preferred learning styles and how teachers meet the challenges that “learner-focused” instruction raises. And once again, we asked for input about creative work that is being done around the country in the form of a questionnaire. Some of the responses were so comprehensive that they became features. And here’s a few projects that may catch your eye. 

 ETNI News asked: Multi-media curriculum...have you used texts that include video and other components? Any interesting experiences, lessons or material that you can share with us? 

Renee Wahl told us about a special project she initiated: 

"This year I invited Penny Witties to discuss the Multimedia program sponsored by The Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles and our Ministry of Ed, called Foreign Friends." 

"The aim of this program is to promote understanding and a feeling of mutual responsibility between the teenage communities of Israel and the Diaspora. The program includes a wonderfully rich teachers' guide with background material, lesson plans, activities, projects, unseens and worksheets as well as a 10 minute video showing Los Angeles teens of the various streams of Judaism, talking about what being Jewish means to them, how they feel about Israel, and other relevant topics."  

"I worked on this material for about a month with my 10th grade classes, and found it to be very stimulating and most effective. We did lots of pair and group work, the vocabulary enrichment from repeated entry was most effective, and the classroom discussions helped students clarify their views and get the other side's point of view. I wound up the unit by showing the video and was amazed to find that my students had no trouble understanding the pace/accent/content of what the American students had to say - they were so well prepared. Even my weakest students were delighted that they could enjoy the video without subtitles." 

"I highly recommend that you find out about this program (very inexpensive too). You can call Penny Witties at: 09-7716481." 

ETNI News asked: Content- or subject-based curriculum. Some of us believe that if you get away from teaching exercises, and take on subjects of interest to students, especially those that require experimentation and focus on asking questions, instead of answering them, that students are motivated and learn better. Let us hear from you.... 

Ellen Gefen, Shaar Hanegev Schools related an exciting project that she was involved in this year: 

"We did an experiment this year with our 9th grade classes called "Great Books". It's a Chicago based program, popular in the States and beginning here. Our staff went through a 4 day training session last August."  

"Kids are presented with authentic, original texts which were chosen because of their propensity to stimulate thought and discussion. Each of the stories can be interpreted in many ways leading to lively discussions that even the weakest kids seem to want to participate in. Stories are not taught, per se, but rather the meaning is unraveled through the students' questions to their peers. There are NO wrong answers as long as the kids can back up their ideas from the text, which is both confidence-building AND inspires creativity."  

"The teacher is in the role of facilitator, putting much of the responsibility on the students. This method teaches critical thinking and discussion skills (it doesn't work if you don't insist on tarbut hadiboor - sorely lacking in our kids) . We felt as though we really got a lot of language mileage out of each story: tons of new vocabulary, reading out loud, question making, oral expression, and compositions at the end. This experiment gave us a very positive window into the increasingly talked about world of content based learning." 

ETNI News asked: Those of us that teach learning disabled students are always in search of students' hidden talents...what have you learned to help students overcome their disabilities? 

Ellen Hoffenberg-Serfaty responded that, aside from using multi-sensory presentation and practice of material, it is important to incorporate “alternative production” methods for completion of assignments. In other words, students should be free to produce in the manner that best suits their talents, as long as they can exhibit their understanding of the material. 

"Learning disabled students who have trouble with reading should not only be able to listen to stories as they read, but they should be permitted to complete books tasks by taping their choice--an interview with the writer or character, a new ending for the story, etc. A student who is neither proficient at speaking or writing may choose to artistically or graphically design a poster or collage as a final project for a unit. Portfolio reflections need not be written: taped comments can accompany the student’s compilation of his work. Once method of production is viewed by the student as a choice of how she can put her best foot forward, the learning disabled student will generally take the responsibility for doing their work...and blossom during the effort." 

Ellen finds that students should not only have a choice of production method--they should be permitted to opt out of certain projects that they have very little interest in, despite efforts to motivate them. “When we did journals this year, a few students simply weren’t that interested--but they shined when asked to read/listen to a book and complete a book task. They might not do well with some homework assignments that do not jive with their talents or learning styles, but perform above and beyond on others.” That is why she uses a points system for accumulating grades on homework and projects--no student is required to complete every piece of work, and to try to amass ALL points for all work. “If I’ve assigned, for example, 2000 points for homework and projects during the semester, I might expect students to have completed 1500 to 1750 of the work if they want to receive maximum points for the percentage I assign to homework.”  

It is often difficult for the teacher to know how each student will best perform--that is where learning preference inventories and discussions about what kinds of work can be produced on a particular subject, are particularly useful. “My students know better than I what they like to do--but if we don’t ask, we won’t find out!” 

ETNI News asked: Learning in alternative ways is harder to assess and evaluate. How do you assess computer projects? class participation in multi-media events? How can alternative evaluation enhance student learning? 

Renee Wahl also shared her experiences in this area. She believes that alternative learning is not harder, "it just requires some rethinking." 

"On a powerpoint presentation of my students' extensive reading project, I had the students discuss and decide what proportion of their work would be assessed by whom. They decided on 10% self assessment, 20% peer assessment and 70% teacher assessment (you see, teachers aren't the only ones who don't like to rock the boat)." 

"We discussed the criteria as well, especially for peer assessment--I asked for a number grade but it had to be justified by comments and examples. The peer assessment was graded and included in the assessor’s grade as well - to make sure students related to this part seriously."  

"Having several presentations going on at once with students rotating from one to another in order to do the assessments, cut down on the number of class hours necessary for this activity." 

“I think my students learned that they could use a modern tool to support them while they were speaking uninterruptedly for 5-10 minutes. I'm sure it will be easier in the future to get them to speak for extended periods with or without this support. I think they learned a lot about the  
language of constructive criticism. And I think they learned how hard it is to do a fair and encouraging assessment."