Who Are My Students?

The goal of this page is to offer instructors a guide to their student's cultural and academic backgrounds in order to best understand student's learning histories and needs.
Sections on this page are:
- Student levels
- Learning in the U.S.
- Learning Styles
- Learning Disabilities


Student Levels
English as a Second Language (ESL) Students
Learn about ESL teaching theories in this handy quick reference guide about popular learning theories:
http://media.waol.org/15057/mod4_eslinstruction.pdf

Interested in finding out your ESL students reading and writing levels? Here are some links to the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. Most ESL students enrolled in an I-BEST program are at levels 4, 5, or 6.
*ESL Reading Standards (all levels)
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/abepds/wa_esl_reading_continuum_2009.pdf

*ESL Writing Standards (all levels)
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/abepds/wa_esl_writing_continuum_2009.pdf

Adult Basic Education (ABE Students)
Are you interested in learning more about your ABE students' reading, writing, and math levels. Here are the links to the State Board's website where you can learn more about their levels. Most ABE students enrolled in an I-BEST program are at levels 4 or above.
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/_e-abe_learningstandards.aspx

*Reading Standards:
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/abepds/wa_abe_reading_continuum_2009.pdf
*Writing Learning Standards:
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/abepds/wa_abe_writing_continuum_2009.pdf
*Math Learning Standards:
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/abepds/wa_abe_math_continuum_2009.pdf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Learning in the U.S.
I-BEST students come from a variety of countries, cultures, and academic history, much more varied than a typical community college student. This page offers several references to help you as a teacher understand where your students are coming from in order to better meet their needs. Here are some examples:

Coming to the U.S. as a Refugee
Many ESL students came to the U.S. as refugees and may have spent years in a refugee camp (resource)
Here's a story about the refugee experience for many newcomers to Seattle. Some of the refugees mentioned in this article are Seattle Central students:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009950622_burundifarmxxm.html

For many students who lived in refugee camps, they had little or no access to education. This is more true for the women, many of whom have low literacy rates. Once a student has achieved the English literacy level required to enter an I-BEST program, they have gone through years of work to learn to read and write in English. (Resources)

Since many refugees lack literacy skills, teachers of limited english proficient students may often mistake a need for literacy skills for a learning disability. Check out this article for information on this topic:
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_limited.html

As an Immigrant:
Immigrants to the U.S. come from a variety of educational backgrounds. Students in your I-BEST class may have already earned a post-secondary degree or certificate from their own country, or they might have attended school only through the 6th grade. Since most professional degrees are not transferable in the U.S. students may be starting over in their career in your class.
Learning in China:
http://www.theworld.org/2009/09/30/created-in-china-part-iii/


Adult Basic Education Students:
Diversity of education and expectations in the classroom. Some background and questions to ponder:
http://media.waol.org/15057/mod6_diversity.pdf

http://media.waol.org/15057/mod7_independence.pdf

Learning Disabilities
Updated website regarding learning disabilities:
http://www.teachingld.org/understanding/default.htm

Learning disabilities and adults:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learning Styles
From the I-BEST team teaching modules developed by the Team Teaching Guides:
1) http://media.waol.org/15057/mod8_learningstyles.pdf
2) http://media.waol.org/15057/mod5_preacademicstudent.pdf

Teaching to diverse needs: Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a blueprint for creating flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences."Universal" does not imply a single optimal solution for everyone. Instead, it is meant to underscore the need for multiple approaches to meet the needs of diverse learners. UDL mirrors the universal design movement in architecture and product development. Think of speakerphones, curb cuts, and close-captioned television—all universally designed to accommodate a wide variety of users, including those with disabilities.Embedded features that help those with disabilities eventually benefit everyone. UDL uses technology's power and flexibility to make education more inclusive and effective for all. Recent research in neuroscience shows that each brain processes information differently. The way we learn is as individual as DNA or fingerprints. In its research, CAST has identified three primary brain networks and the roles they play in learning.

Multiple Intelligences
Conceived by Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences are seven different ways to demonstrate intellectual ability. Source: Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligence, http://www.ldpride.net/

Visual/Spatial Intelligence
• ability to perceive the visual . These learners tend to think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information. They enjoy looking at maps, charts, pictures, videos, and movies.
• Their skills include : Puzzle building, reading, writing, understanding charts and graphs, a good sense of direction, sketching, painting, creating visual metaphors and analogies (perhaps through the visual arts), manipulating images, constructing, fixing, designing practical objects, interpreting visual images

Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence
• ability to use words and language. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and are generally elegant speakers. They think in words rather than pictures.
• Their skills include : Listening, speaking, writing, story telling, explaining, teaching, using humor, understanding the syntax and meaning of words, remembering information, convincing someone of their point of view, analyzing language usage
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
• ability to use reason, logic and numbers. These learners think conceptually in logical and numerical patterns making connections between pieces of information. Always curious about the world around them, these learners ask lots of questions and like to do experiments.
• Their skills include : Problem solving, classifying and categorizing information, working with abstract concepts to figure out the relationship of each to the other, handling long chains of reason to make local progressions, doing controlled experiments, questioning and wondering about natural events, performing complex mathematical calculations, working with geometric shapes
Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence
• ability to control body movements and handle objects skillfully. These learners express themselves through movement. They have a good sense of balance and eye-hand co-ordination. (e.g. ball play, balancing beams). Through interacting with the space around them, they are able to remember and process information.
• Their skills include : Dancing, physical co-ordination, sports, hands on experimentation, using body language, crafts, acting, miming, using their hands to create or build, expressing emotions through the body
Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence
• ability to produce and appreciate music. These musically inclined learners think in sounds, rhythms and patterns. They immediately respond to music either appreciating or criticizing what they hear. Many of these learners are extremely sensitive to environmental sounds (e.g. crickets, bells, dripping taps).
• Their skills include : Singing, whistling, playing musical instruments, recognizing tonal patterns, composing music, remembering melodies, understanding the structure and rhythm of music.
Interpersonal Intelligence
• Ability to relate and understand others . These learners try to see things from other people's point of view in order to understand how they think and feel. They often have an uncanny ability to sense feelings, intentions and motivations. They are great organizers, although they sometimes resort to manipulation. Generally they try to maintain peace in group settings and encourage cooperation. They use both verbal (e.g. speaking) and non-verbal language (e.g. eye contact, body language) to open communication channels with others.
• Their skills include : Seeing things from other perspectives (dual-perspective), listening, using empathy, understanding other people's moods and feelings, counseling, co-operating with groups, noticing people's moods, motivations and intentions, communicating both verbally and non-verbally, building trust, peaceful conflict resolution, establishing positive relations with other people
Intrapersonal Intelligence
• ability to self-reflect and be aware of one's inner state of being. These learners try to understand their inner feelings, dreams, relationships with others, and strengths and weaknesses.
• Their Skills include : Recognizing their own strengths and weaknesses, reflecting and analyzing themselves, awareness of their inner feelings, desires and dreams, evaluating their thinking patterns, reasoning with themselves, understanding their role in relationship to others.