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00:00:03

[Will Rixon]

Paola Palomino.

[Paola Palomino]

Hello, hello, thank you.

[Will Rixon]

Welcome, how are you?

[Paola Palomino]

I am great, thank you. Uh, it's lovely to be here with you today.

Thank you so much for joining me. I am really, really happy to have this opportunity, you know, to share a few ideas and experiences with you.

[Will Rixon]

Great, well, it's great, it's good to have you. Thank you very much for putting yourself forward. You are an English teacher, and it's the first time I've said this, you're an English teacher and an architect.

[Paola Palomino]

Yes.

[Will Rixon]

I'm sorry, you're going to have to do a bit of explaining there, Paola. You're an architect and an English teacher.

[Paola Palomino]

Yes, exactly. I studied architecture and management at the beginning, but then when the pandemic started, I, well, I decided to be a teacher, an English teacher.

And well, I discovered a lot of things while I was in a classroom. I discovered that there is a diversity with the students, and I think that it's something that I have explored and that has led me to find some interesting features and things with our classmates and students.

00:01:10

[Will Rixon]

Absolutely. Well, that's what, that's what, that's why we want you to be here. Thank you very much for doing it, Paula, and we'll, I'll see you in about 15 minutes or so.

[Paola Palomino]

Okay, thank you very much. So let me share.

I'm not sure if you're able to see me now.

[Will Rixon]

Perfect.

[Paola Palomino]

Thank you.

[Will Rixon]

Just fine, just fine.

[Paola Palomino]

Okay, perfect.

So, well, guys, before we begin, I'd like to hear from you. So think about your English classroom for a moment. So do you sometimes have students?

00:01:58

Okay, so do you have students who never speak? Maybe that have— who have find it difficult to participate? If your answer is yes, just send a a smiley face in the chat, and if your answer is no, send a sad face.

Let's see.

Yes, I know, right? Well, so what is the hidden barrier? I figured it out. I know we have a lot of this kind of students, right? So what is the hidden barrier?

Imagine that you planned a perfect English lesson. The objectives are clear, the materials are ready, the activities are engaging.

00:02:46

But then something happens because some students never participate, you know, maybe other students understand the question but they do not speak. Some know the answer but they cannot show what they know, and some students participate all the time while others slowly disappear in the background, you know. So maybe the problem is not the student. Maybe the problem is the way that we have designed the classroom, and sometimes we create classrooms with only one way to participate, show and learning, or succeed. And when that way, let's say, that doesn't create like the, the good atmosphere for, for the students, well, that's when, when the learner appears to be the problem.

00:03:39

So what if inclusion is not about changing the learning goal but about creating more ways to reach it?

So to explore with this idea, we are going to enter an escape room, you know, of an English, of an English classroom. And there are 3 locks, and your mission is, of course, to unlock an inclusive English lesson. The participation lock, which is one way to participate. The assessment lock, one way to show learning. And the group work lock, one way to succeed in group work.

So let's unlock the first door. We have door 1. It's the participation lock. And let's imagine this, fíjate en esto. Imagine I walk into your English classrooms and I say, discuss your opinion about social media.

It sounds like a perfectly good speaking activity. Students know about social media. I think it's a very easy and familiar topic. But watch what happens. Student A immediately starts talking.

00:04:50

Student B has an idea but says nothing. Maybe Student C understands the question but needs more time to formulate an answer in English. And Student D will probably participate if they had some language support. So how can we make sure that every student has a voice? Because the answer is not necessarily to tell students, hey, come on, participate, you know, because that is easy, right?

But participation cannot simply be demanded because participation has to be designed. And one strategy that can help us to do this is Think, Pair, and Share. Think, Pair, and Share is a simple 3-stage strategy because the students first think individually, then they discuss with a partner, and finally they share with a wider group. But in an inclusive ELT classroom, I will go one step further. Okay, so first we think, okay, we give students private thinking time because, for example, if I say, hey guys, take 1 minute, write down 3 ideas about social media.

00:06:05

Well, this small step matters because immediate whole class fast speaking creates pressure. You know, the fastest student has an advantage, the most confident student has an advantage, and the student who can formulate ideas quickly has an advantage. But when we give students time to think, we give them an opportunity to prepare, you know, and then it comes pair because then students can discuss their ideas with a partner and the audience becomes smaller. Instead of speaking in front of 25 people, students speak to one person and they can test an idea. They can make a mistake, they can reformulate, they can ask a question, they can even ask, hey, how do you say, you know?

00:06:50

This is particularly important in language learning because communication is not only about knowing the answer, it is also about having the confidence and the language resources to express it. So research on think, pair, share has reported benefits from classroom participation and interaction, including opportunities for students who may be less confident or more hesitant to contribute, you know. And then it comes share. And only after she— after thinking and practicing do students share with the class. So instead of think on your feet, speak in public, we create think, rehearse, and share.

And this is a very different experience. But think, pair, and share is only the beginning because we can create even more entry into the same speaking task. So, well, the objective remains the same: students express an opinion about social media, but we can give or we can provide different ways to access the activity. So maybe we have the path number 1, which is speaking immediately with a partner. Maybe number— path number 2, writing 3 ideas about before speaking.

00:08:10

Path number 3, listening to partner's idea and respond to it. And And path number 4, using visual support, maybe an image or to explain an opinion, you know. So notice something important, guys, because we have not lowered the learning objective. We haven't said, uh, some students do not need to speak in English. Instead, we have asked what barriers are preventing students from accessing the speaking task.

This connects strongly with Universal Design for Learning, or better known as UDL, because this recognizes that learners differ in how they engage, how they access information, and how they express what they know. Therefore, instruction should anticipate learner variability rather than design for one typical learner. So our first key is that participation is designed, not expected. Okay, so in that way, our first door is unlocked. And then we have a number 2, door number 2, the assessment log.

00:09:22

Now let's move to this door and imagine your students have learned vocabulary about food. And then you ask, how can your students show what they have learned? And well, the traditional answer might be write a paragraph about your favorite food, right? It's the easiest one. That seems reasonable, but let's stop for a moment because what are we assessing?

What are we actually assessing? Is the objective that students can describe food using the target vocabulary, or is it the objective that students can write a paragraph. These are not necessarily the same thing because a student might know the vocabulary very well but struggle with extended writing, while another may communicate more effectively orally or maybe visually. So we need to separate, and the learning goal from the product used to demonstrate that goal is that we have single different products and the learning objective, again, remains the same. Um, I can't— the learning goal remains the same, right?

00:10:37

Students can describe food using target vocabulary, but we can offer different products. We can create a menu. We can record a restaurant review, perform a waiter and customer dialogue, design a food advertisement, because every student is still using target vocabulary. Every student is still demonstrating understanding. The output can vary because this is not about making the task easier.

It is about removing an unnecessary barrier. Okay, so we need to distinguish between different expectations and different pathways. Inclusive teaching doesn't mean that we— that every student has to complete a completely different task. It can mean that we are working toward the same destination, but we are not all have to use exactly the same road. And that gives us our second key: different outputs, same learning goal.

00:11:30

And then our second door is unlocked. But then it comes door number 3, the group work log. And now the third door. And let me ask you something. Have you ever had a group activity where one student does everything?

Type 1 if, if you have had that student before. So writing on the chat 1 if you have had a student who does does all the work when, when it comes to teamwork. So yes, one student speaks, one student writes, one student has all the ideas, and the two students that are left are basically passengers. And we call it group work. But is it really collaborative learning?

Because if participation is not structured, group work can reproduce the same inequalities we were trying to solve. So instead of simply saying work in groups of four, we can give every learner a meaningful role. Imagine a speaking activity with 4 students.

00:12:31

Well, this time each student has a mission. We have the observer who listens for useful language. For example, "I heard someone use 'in my opinion.'" You know, then we have the idea creator who generates possible arguments or examples, and then we have a speaker who shares the group's ideas. Maybe we can have a language coach who helps with vocabulary, expressions, language accuracy.

Because now something is changing. We're no longer asking who is the strongest student in the group. We are asking what is your contribution to the group? And that distinction is crucial because a role should not become a permanent label. We should not decide you are the weak student, so you can be the observer.

No. Instead, roles should rotate. And today I might be the speaker. Tomorrow I might be the language coach. Maybe next week I might be the idea creator, and This gives the students opportunities to develop different skills.

00:13:33

It also creates interdependence. Students need one another to complete the task. This is consistent with UDL's emphasis on collaboration, collective learning, and belonging. So our third key is every learner needs a role, not a label. So our third door is unlock.

Okay, so, well, this is our final code, and, and we have opened 3 doors so far. Let's put these 3 keys together. You know, the door 1 is participation, and we discovered that participation is designed, not expected. And in this case, we can use think, pair, and share, so we can provide multiple entry points, right? And then we have the door number 2, the assessment door, and we discovered a different output.

00:14:27

Products can have the same learning goal, and students can demonstrate learning through different products while working toward the same objective. And then we have the door number 3, which is group work, and we discovered that every learner needs a role, not a label. We structure collaboration so that everyone has a meaningful contribution. So what is the final code? Inclusive ELT classrooms: single plus different paths plus meaningful participation.

That is our code. But there is one more thing I want to emphasize, the real meaning of inclusion, because an inclusive classroom doesn't mean that we got to create different classrooms for every student. It means looking at our lesson and asking, where might a learner get locked out? The teacher's job is not to remove the challenge. The challenge should remain.

00:15:25

We are learning English. Students still need to communicate. They need to use vocabulary to think and to interact, but we can remove unnecessary barriers that have nothing to do with the learning objective. And that is the difference between lowering the bar and building a better bridge to the bar. Okay, so what is a hidden barrier?

Perhaps the most important question for an English teacher is not why isn't this student participating, but what can I change in the design so that the participation becomes possible? Because inclusion is not about creating different classrooms for different students, as I said before. It is about creating different ways for every student to access the same learning experience. And if we can unlock that, we do not just create more inclusive classrooms, we create classrooms where more students can actually use English. OK, so thank you so much for your time.

00:16:26

I hope that you find something valuable in this presentation, and thank you for being here. I hope that this leaves with at least one idea that you can use in your classrooms.

[Will Rixon]

Thank you so much, Paula. Absolutely wonderful. What a well-designed talk. It was just so beautifully designed. The, um, just the doors.

I like analogies like that. I think it really helps me to access learning, if you know what I mean. I like that sort of thing.

[Paola Palomino]

Yes.

[Will Rixon]

It helps me personally.

Talking of inclusion, it's helped me.

Thank you very much. See you next time.

[Will Rixon]

Bye, Paula.