ED498 Field Work

Field work is an essential part of ED498 as it offers a bridge between theory and practice, enabling you to
apply what you have learned through course texts to real classroom settings. Ideally, you will be
conducting this field work in a space where you are already connected; however, because students
enrolled in ED498 have different levels of access to multilingual learners (MLLs), you should plan to
work with your ED498 instructor to determine the best site for you.

Here are the common expectations for your ED498 field work. You should identify a site where you can:
● Spend at least 10-12 hours working closely with a consistent group of MLLs, whether a whole
class or a small group.
● Gather samples of student work to analyze within a “can-do” framework.
● Create and teach lessons for these MLLs, applying your understanding of second language
acquisition theories to your practice.

You will be working on your Teaching Multilingual Learners Portfolio as you work in the field. Below,
you will find a table that will act as a log for documenting your time in the field as well as the connections
you are noticing between the theoretical ideas explored in our modules and their practical application in
your field site.

It might be helpful to recall that during:

● hours 1-3 you should be spent working on Part 2 of your portfolio (“Getting to Know Your
MLLs”)
● hours 4-8 you should be working on Part 3 of your portfolio (“Lesson Planning and Assessment”)
● hours 9-12 you should be working on Part 4 of your portfolio (“Collaborative Inquiry”)

Field Work Log

Date Time Spent Brief Overview Theory to Practice Connections
with MLLs [who, what, where, when, why] [Create links between what you are experiencing in the field and what
[should total 10-12 you are reading about in our online modules]
hours by the end of the
semester]

EXAMPL 30 minutes During my prep period, I worked with a small The purpose of the KWL chart was to help
E group of MLLs from my colleague’s 7th grade activate the MLLs’ background knowledge and to
language arts class. The students in this group help them make schematic connections prior to
were at either level 2 or 3 in their language reading the article (Colorin Colorado, 2021;
proficiency. I supported them in completing Ferlazzo & Sypnieski, 2018).
the “K” and “W” parts of a KWL chart before
they read an article about the first female One way we could have improved the use of the
baseball coach to coach on the field during a KWL chart was offering a scaffold of
Major League game. This was part of a larger baseball-related visuals to help activate their
nonfiction unit the students were working on. schema and help them to talk about what they
already know about baseball.

2/13 8:45- 10:30 During my first visit to the Newcomer

1.75 hr School, I observed Block 2, which is
 comprised of 8th graders. Smart board has
written instructions, they're allowed to
work with a partner, students spoke
primarily spanish
• when time is running out, she verbally
called out a 2 min, I min, 30 sec, & 5 sec
warnings
• going over the activity answer, she
routinely checks for understanding &
comprehension
• the class read the new objectives for the
unit out loud together
• When a student can't find the right word
in English, she gave him a minute to
translate the answer
• the classroom itself is full of visuals &
bright colors
• learning about change & adaptation
• another activity is done in pairs
• random phrases like "holy moly" are
explained to them
• all but 1 students are spanish speakers,
& they can speak in English, but often
don't
• made a data table / graph as a class
(again, more visuals)
• after the lesson, they work on
vocabulary → they work on a diagram
that looks like this:

2/29 8:45- 10:30 • Students are learning about DNA and

1.75 hr transcription and guanine, thymine,
adenine, and cytosine
• Sprinkled in with science terms, Cathy
works with them on the pronunciation of
things, like reminding them “create” has a
long A and a silent E
• they are doing more vocabulary charts
like last class
• The seating arrangement is different
from last time, and it looks like they were
given the autonomy of choosing their own
seats
• Cathy breaks down the word “DNA”
very slowly, checking for understanding,
and does the same with the word “trait”
• When the students are talking with each
other and the class gets loud, Cathy does
not tell them to stop talking, just to get
quieter (I feel like her word choice here is
 deliberate)
• They watch a youtube video as a class,
and after a minute the subtitles are turned
on. The speed is also on a slower setting
• Before students start on a worksheet
Cathy models how to do the assignment a
few times
• We worked one-on-one with students on
said worksheet, but the girl I was with,
Adixia, needed very little guidance and
seemed annoyed that I was there
•The students seem to work in pairs very
often

3/7 8:45- 10:30 • There’s two new students since last time, Total physical response
1.75 hr Cathy spends more one-on-one time with
them. She also came over to us to explain
that one new girl, Iman, is from Syria and
speaks Arabic but seems to understand
English. Camila, the second new girl,
speaks very little English and has a
developmental disability and has to start
from the very beginning for both
reading/writing, and will only be doing a
scientific color by number for today
•The class did a “find the hidden picture”
activity, followed by Cathy asking how
the hidden pictures are like traits, DNA,
and mutations
•Cathy does motions and pantomimes
along with words to make her meaning
clearer (TOTAL PHYSICAL
RESPONSE)
• with Camila, Cathy speaks primarily
Spanish and not English
• Cathy makes a point to introduce and
welcome both new students to the class
• when asking the students to jot notes
down in a KWL chart, Cathy tells them
they can write in any language
• When a student wouldn’t get off his
phone (after being asked time and again)
Cathy took it til the end of class

3/21 8:45-10:30 • a lot of spanish is being spoken today,

especially by Cathy
• Camila has an individual helper today
• they are doing a lot of independent work
today
• Camila talks out loud and the other
 students laugh - Cathy is mad and tells
them not to because it’s not nice. I can’t
tell what she’s saying, but I think it’s
small random harmless outbursts of
thought.
• they are going over a reading, and Cathy
projects the papers and shows what to
highlight
• Classroom management is really all over
the place today - they won’t stop talking
over her, even after asked repeatedly not
to. They only have one more day before
spring break, but the disrepespect is very
apparent
• today’s topic is nutrition
• they are specifically focusing on meal
planning
They are now playing jeopardy with food
and health trivia (they’re partnered up and
are writing their answers on white boards)

4/4 7:15-10:30 • There’s a new implemented phone

3.25 hr system-they have assigned pockets to put
it in, otherwise the phones have to stay
away or are takaen by Cathy
• The class opened with breakfast time,
then a slideshow asking “what is a fossil”
and it has pictures
• Cathy has everyone repeat after her
when doing “I will be able to” sentences
during the outlining of objectives and
agenda for the day
• She took down student definitions of
fossils on the class piece of paper, made
sure every voice was heard
• Students get scolded when many are
caught doing English homework in here,
she tells them to put it away because it’s
homework and that it should have already
been done and that’s not her problem
(frankly, I agree)
• They’re also looking at a specific fossil
to see how it changed over time… leading
to evolution
•When a student proves he can’t pay
attention where he is sitting, Cathy moves
him up to the front.
• They are now playing a true or false
game about fossil facts, and if the students
think the answer is true, they hold up a
thumbs up. If they think it’s false, thumbs
down.
• The second block does a different
activity where they get four opinions, and
based on which they believe, they go to a
certain corner of the room