Case study #2
For the last several years, the principal and the teaching staff at Duck Run II Primary School have been happy to report their school’s high test scores on the PSE. The Roman Catholic management has spent countless dollars on professional development workshops for teachers. Officials from Belize’s Ministry of Education have presented valuable information on test taking strategies that bring positive results. Mrs. Chan, who teaches infant two, has faithfully attended all of the information packed presentations. She can now reap the benefits of her new approach to standardized testing. Her students’ scores last year far exceeded her expectations as a classroom teacher. Mrs. Chan was very pleased with the level of academic performance her students displayed on the end of year exams. Ironically, these latest scores arrived on the same day Mrs. Chan received her student list for the upcoming school year. After reviewing the names of her new infant two students, Mrs. Chan became quite concerned. The list of students revealed two last names that were obviously not typical names of people in the Duck Run area. After a brief conversation with the principal of her school, she learnt that the oil exploration business in the area had hired employees from other countries to join their company. As a result, new families were moving into the local community to work at this profitable industry. These specialized employees were moving their families into an unfamiliar country and culture in order to take advantage of an opportunity to work in Belize. The principal informed Mrs. Chan that these new students coming to the Duck Run II Primary School would be hearing the English language for the first time. The determined principal also relayed to Mrs. Chan the importance of maintaining their school’s reputation of producing high test scores. Mrs. Chan was now facing an unfamiliar task of teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) students and upholding high standardized assessment scores.
Reflection Questions:
1. Is Mrs. Chan’s assessment dilemma an unfamiliar situation in today’s educational system in Belize?
2. Was the principal of Duck Run II Primary School asking too much of Mrs. Chan? Provide a reason/s for your response.
3. How could Mrs. Chan prepare for her new ESL students?
#1 by aprillindee on September 30th, 2011
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If I gave you the answers to the questions, I think I would be doing you a great disservice. But I do have a hint for you: All the answers to those questions are in the reading.
#2 by dallas s on September 30th, 2011
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Here are the bare bones as I see it:
1. I think this is not an unfamiliar situation in many countries these days with the internationalisation of work.
2. Mrs Chan is being overloaded somewhat in that a/ she hasn’t any experience with TEFL and b/ she would need to bring her students up to scratch with the language before even attempting to raise their academic performance to the same level as the other students. c/ the new students would not find it easy to fit in if they don’t have the language skills of their peers.
3. Mrs C should go on a TEFL course; as a teacher already she would not find it too arduous, except that, presumably she would have to do this in the holidays. I’s sure she’d be delighted…