Caitlin Seguin
High School English Teacher & Instructional Designer
Bachelors Degree
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Secondary English Education- Butler University
Masters Degree
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Learning, Technology and Design- Central Michigan University
Email: caitgenord@gmail.com
Teaching Diverse Student Populations
Image of a Learner
For an education course, we were asked to create an 'Image of a Learner.' This is supposed to be a metaphor for how we see our students.
For my image of a learner, I created a colorful and abstract looking apple tree. The full grown apple tree represents an active learner who has learned to use their background and changes occurring in their life as nourishment. The image embraces that students may grow differently or produce a different crop. But, the apple tree is a positive ideal for educator’s who seek to change the lives of their students by helping them to develop and provide for others.
To help students grow apples is my goal as an educator!
Critical Literacy Invitation
Critical literacy is new education theory that is particularly valuable in the modern classroom, where students encounter a multitude of different resources each day. Classrooms that are rich in critical literacy practice, encourage students to think profoundly about our world and the information we interact with each day. Invitations are a critical literacy practice that presents students with multiple perspectives on a controversial topic and invites students to develop their own opinions and beliefs. I created an Invitation for Race in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that includes four different activities using different informational sources for students to encounter. The Invitation uses videos, photographs, and scholarly articles to introduce students to the much disputed issue of race in Mark Twain's classic American novel. Please take a look at my critical literacy Invitation by following the link provided. This is an example of my innovative approach to teaching and my creative lesson planning which targets student interest's.
Content Literacy
Content Literacy seems to be a habitual standard expected of English teachers. However, the true significance of the word literacy is not what is being taught in most secondary English classrooms today. Most new teachers assume that their students have the proper comprehension skills to understand complex texts. The result is students who only gain a surface level interpretation of important concepts instead of learning to apply the deeper meaning of literature to their lives. True readers learn to apply what they already know in order to draw inferences from the text and become familiar with the bigger meaning. In the English classroom, literacy goes above and beyond the basic understanding of literature and writing. Literacy gives students the fundamental opportunity to make meaning. The English teacher must provide students with the tools to make connections to text in order to draw out ethical meaning. Students are more likely to be encouraged to become lifelong readers and writers if they are able to give meaning to their reading assignments.
For one of my education courses on Content Literacy, I spent a semester at Shortridge Magnet High School tutoring a 7th grade student in English/Language Arts. At the start of the semester we became acquainted with the school and the student data. . This one-on-one experience with a student who particularly struggled with her schoolwork helped me to understand the importance of knowing student's on an individual basis. I was able give my student a purpose for reading and writing which helped the student make personal connections to the material. It was beneficial to work hands on with a student because I could create lesson plans that targeted her individualized needs.
Experience with ENL Students
I have had the opportunity through my coursework at Butler University to work with English as a New Language students. This has been a very useful experience because it has taught me how to accommodate students from various backgrounds. I am aware of the increasing diversity of American schools and am equipped with the proper knowledge and training to cater to a diverse student population.
I have attached a video of an interview I did with an ENL student. This interview helped me to gain important insights about what it is like to be an ENL student. I now know how essential it is to foster personal relationships with ENL students so that I am able to accomodate their needs in my classroom.
I have also included a document called Lesson Plan Plus. This detailed lesson plan is an example of how student diversity should be reflected in the lesson planning process. I have planned this lesson as if I have three ENL students in my classroom. I have outlined anticipated challenges and neccessary accomdations I will need to make as their classroom teacher. I feel prepared to accomodate students with limited English Language Proficiency in my classroom!
Please check out my Lesson Plan Plus for more evidence of my ability to teach students from diverse backgrounds.