Improving curriculum and instruction to better serve English language learners
Date
2015
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
There is a significant achievement gap between English language learners
(ELLs) and the native-English speaking students (or non-ELLs). On average ELLs in
Delaware performed worse than ELLs in many other states according 2013-2014
NAEP report (see details in Appendix C). In addition, there is evidence that ELLs in
my district are struggling. According to Delaware Comprehensive Assessment
System reading scores from the 2013-2014 school year, Brandywine School District
(BSD) had the third largest achievement gap between ELLs and non-ELLs in the state.
The objective of my project was to minimize this achievement gap by
analyzing the relevant factors critical to the problem, devising improvement
approaches that could be implemented at current school settings, and testing them out
at my pilot school, Lombardy Elementary School (LES). The outcomes of my
improvement project are presented in this portfolio.
After an evaluation of the BSD's ELL Program, I found several possible causes
for the achievement gap between ELLs and the native English speaking students. The
controllable causes include: no systematic teacher training about providing
differentiated instruction to ELLs, potentially ineffective instruction provided by both
the ELL tutors and classroom teachers due to their limited knowledge about how to
work with ELLs, not monitoring students' academic progress regularly, and
insufficient curriculum and materials to use for teaching ELLs.
As the next step in my research, I conducted literature reviews on what
researchers had done and practitioners had tried and proved to be effective in the past for teaching upper elementary ELLs and how to provide effective instruction to ELLs.
Through the literature reviews, I found the following three strategies recommended for
instruction for ELL students: (1) combining collaborative learning and direct teaching,
(2) intensive instruction in word meaning acquisition, and (3) cognitive strategy
instruction, which includes engaging students in literacy-rich activities coupled with
explicit teaching of specific literacy components.
Based on the above research findings, I designed and carried out the following
improvements at LES: 1) I provided two workshops for teachers and the ELL tutor at
curriculum meetings on how to work with ELLs; 2) I designed a school-wide progress
monitoring schedule for teachers to follow to monitor the academic progress of ELLs;
3) I assisted teachers in analyzing progress monitoring data and grouping students
based on their needs; 4) I supported teachers with materials and instructional strategies
to meet the needs of ELLs; 5) I designed sample lesson plans to demonstrate how to
address ELLs' learning characteristics for teachers to try out; 6) I selected
supplemental materials and model lessons for the ELL tutor; and 7) I shared my
concerns about the lack of resources and training for teachers with the district's ELL
program supervisor.
Teachers at LES provided positive feedback about the two workshops I
presented. Selected classroom teachers tried the lesson plans with mixed reactions
about the lesson structure. The ELL tutor began to use the supplemental materials.
Finally, the ELL program supervisor at BSD provided the very first district-wide
training for teachers on the topic of how to teach ELLs with the Sheltered Instruction
Observation Protocol (SIOP) model/approach. The overall intervention results are mostly positive, but not yet as effective or
rapid as expected. These results highlight the urgent need for improvement in ELL
education, and reveals the lengthy time needed to attain significant and sustained
improvement. Further improvements can be made in many areas, including providing
teachers/tutors with more knowledge about how to teach ELLs, having materials and
programs that are more appropriate for ELLs, and using instructional routines and
structures that match ELLs' needs. As we move forward, we will continually strive to
find ways to improve ELLs' academic achievement at LES.