Kelly Pallavaram and Kaitlin Michael
Some students use the buddy system when attending Messiah’s School of Graduate Studies. Kelly Pallavaram, M.Ed. ’21 and Kaitlin Michael, M.Ed. ’21 both pursued the teaching language and content track of the Master of Education degree.
Both English as a second language (ESL) teachers at Chambersburg Area School District in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, they first met Jan Dormer, Messiah’s associate professor of TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) at a seminar in 2018 for their district.
“Through her, we learned about the teaching language and content graduate program at Messiah,” said Pallavaram. “We enrolled together and took most of our classes together with Dr. Dormer’s steadfast guidance along the way as our advisor. Kaitlin and I shared resources, gave each other feedback and, most importantly, encouraged one another to keep going.”
Pandemic learning curve
The pandemic coincided with the teachers’ studies, giving them valuable—and unparalleled—experience they never would’ve received otherwise.
Pallavaram adapted her capstone to incorporate the COVID-driven shift to compulsory online learning for all children into her project.
“Rather than abandoning my passion for in-person classroom contexts, I was able to view language learning through the lens of the pandemic and examine the ways virtual learning affects young ELs (English learners), their second language acquisition and their ability to access grade-level academic content. The end result was a capstone project that was more relevant and useful than I had initially imagined,” she said.
For Michael, the pandemic hit in the middle of her field experience semester, so she had to get creative. Thankfully, she had a handful of students willing to record online Zoom lessons with her, which prepared her for a full year of virtual and hybrid teaching the following year.
“I teach middle school to ELs in our district, and the pandemic was hard on them,” said Michael. “They had to begin learning English virtually, and many of them had never used a computer before. The first few weeks in August were tough for all of us, but my students were resilient and they pushed through and learned a lot this year. We didn’t get through as much content as previous years, but my students know how to navigate a computer much better now than my students in the past and took great strides in their language learning despite the majority of their school year being virtual.”
Becoming the experts
When their supervisor found out about Pallavaram’s capstone project and Michael’s thesis, she asked them to share their findings with their school district through a professional development flex day at the end of the school year.
“We were able to share our research with 50 teachers and support staff from the district,” said Michael. “Kelly shared about how to support our returning ESL students after a year of hybrid and virtual learning as well as teaching our colleagues how to read a WIDA [World- Class Instructional Design and Assessment] report and understand areas of strength and need for individual students. I took my research, interviewing my own newcomer students about virtual learning, and was able to share what students want from their teachers in the classroom and how best to support them, in person and virtually.”
After completing their degrees, both women say the collaboration and their friendship have made them better teachers.
“Messiah educated me in the most current and relevant best practices for TESOL. I now truly feel like an expert in my field,” said Pallavaram. “I am better prepared to serve my ESL pupils and their families as they navigate American school experiences. Messiah has made me a stronger and more qualified educator.”