Best Practices in Instruction

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TESL 0100
Unit 5 Reflection 

 I have been working in the field of education for quite a while and have used a wide variety of teaching methods, depending on the context I was working in. I have worked with students from pre-school to adult, and I have worked in public school as well as private institutes. Sometimes the teaching methods were dictated and other times I had more choice in how I conducted my class. For example, in an Intensive Reading class at a middle school in Florida I had to use a scripted text, where I read lines directly from a Teacher's Manual. In contrast, in an Advanced Reading class that I taught at the same school I was able to select a novel of my choice to study with the class and was able to prepare materials that I felt suited the needs of the students. 
Over time, as various methodologies have come and gone, there are some teaching practices that have withstood the test of time and have come to be known as "best practice." Many of these are also what are recommended for Inclusive Education, as I studied in some recent courses at the U of M. I believe that most of these best practices would also be suitable in a second language classroom, and many of the key ideas exist in TESL pedagogy. Some "best practices" that could be applied to second language instruction include:
1. Use data to inform instruction - use diagnostic assessments, needs assessments, and anecdotal notes to determine where to go next in instruction.
2. Use flexible groupings - vary the types of groups in which students work, sometimes working in homogeneous groups and other times in heterogeneous groups.
3. Allow for student choice - give students the option of a couple of different activities or forms to demonstrate their understanding of a concept.
4. Consider different learning styles - since students learn in many different ways, present information and incorporate activities that incorporate the varied learning styles and multiple intelligences in your classroom.
5. Differentiate instruction - within any classroom there will be a range of levels and interests. Differentiating the content, process and final product for students will allow everyone to be successful. 
These are a few of the best practices that I plan to apply in my own EAL classroom in the future.

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