First Educational Chat: #ELLChat

My first Educational Chat was quite an experience. I participated in the #ELLCHAT, which took place on April 30, 2012. The topic was on getting English Language Learners to think critically. There was a lot of discussion on Bloom's Taxonomy and how asking higher order thinking questions is key to getting ELLs to think critically. The chat was very slow paced compared to other chats that I have heard other people participate in. Often times, I would try to contribute to the conversation, however, with very little experience on teaching ELLs, I found it difficult. There were many experts joining in on the conversation and they were helpful in giving us beginners, such as myself, strategies to utilize in the classroom. Overall, I believe the educational chats are beneficial in so many ways. I find myself utilizing this helpful tool more often to assist me in the classroom.