Findings+-+AMES+Team

=**//How did you create the conditions necessary to prompt student questions in your teaching?//**= = =

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Learning activities were often based around **group work** - as well as discussing the task, students would also talk about what they were doing, past experiences etc - getting to know each other. They were also practicing English language skills! **Regular excursions** gave even greater opportunity for less formal interaction. These frameworks made it easy to get to know our learners and for them to know us. Observation of students was vital as was understanding their cultural backgrounds. Research included reading the ISPLR data sheets, researching political history (Australia's immigration policies, world history), talking with other teachers and observation and discussion with students.
 * The key was creating a safe environment and then over time, getting to know each learner so we could relate the material to their experiences/knowledge**. We created a safe environment by letting students choose their seats. Students sharing a language and cultural background usually sat together and for some cultures, men sat separately from women. Occasionally students were asked to move to different groups for a specific activity. The objectives were explained and the request made - on one occasion students happily moved and enjoyed the activity, 2 weeks later with a different activity students moved to the new group reluctantly. As the activity would be enhanced by grouping students from different language backgrounds, students were encouraged to move and reassured they could shift after the completion of the activity. In this instance the students worked on the activity but the usual high level of comfort was diminished, during the activity and afterwards.=====
 * Safe environment / practicing pronunciation tensions**: Garry - For inclusivity all students were asked to engage in class participation throughout the lesson by **directed questioning**. James - After discussion with my mentor teacher about intermediate level learners needs I only sought volunteers to respond to questions. Reluctance to participate in class activities stems from the fear of embarassment in front of one's peers. In learning pronunciation this can be overcome by "drills" - having the whole class repeat the word or phrase together. It can be followed by asking each small group to repeat. This tactic was not as suitable for intermediate learners.

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 * Being available after class was critical.** Students would stay and wait to meet individually with the teacher. Students raised a range of questions that they could not comfortably raise in a public class situation. Questions included queries about the curriculum process, giving personal and family information to request leave, explain absences, asking for clarification of material raised in the lesson.=====

=**How did you embed student questions in your planning for learning?**=

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The mentor teacher had conducted a **survey of new students** at the commencement of the Certificate to determine which modules would be included. The learners ISPLR was also considered in making these choices, as was the **students' life goals** eg seeking employment. Over time the teacher had become aware of students circumstances and was able to choose material that would be of interest from the range of possibilities within each of the modules. **Teachers regularly asked students for their feedback**, often at the end of the lesson and certainly at the end of each major activity and always at the end of each two week module. **Teachers shared their findings with other teachers** and made notes on the various assessment activities. Some of the assessment activities required the assistance of a fellow teacher. In this way the community of teachers was very aware of students' interests and progress. AMES has a huge range of resources and teachers have a lot of **flexibility within the curriculum to use material that is relevant to their learners**. For example, for one class I supplemented my prepared lesson plan with internet access to a tourism website that gave changing pictures of Uluru (mentioned in the lesson material) and I found a news article in the Age on line that was based on the radio news report that I had listened to whilst driving to work that morning. As it was breaking news, it was simply written and suitable for my learners and it illustrated the lesson focus beautifully. By using the net in the class as an information source I was able to help students with accessing news on the internet (students had very different levels of computer skills and were keen to enhance computer use).=====

=**//How did you design learning that responds to your students questions?//**=

We found that regular feedback, finding out directly from students about what worked, what didn't supplemented our formative assessment such as ISPLR assessments and the various assessment tasks as well checking in with individuals and groups during the course of lessons. The **range of feedback methods** as well as **frequency** of considering feedback/ reflection was crucial to building an accurate appreciation of students questions. Being available outside of class to answer queries and questions on a one to one basis was critical. The **strong fellowship** and obvious respect of others talents among teachers **created a community of reflective learners who actively contributed to refining the curriculum to respond to students' needs.**