Schoolwide Preparation for English Language Learners:

Teacher Community and Inquiry-Based Professional

Development

Purpose of the Presentation

• Summary of the professional development project

• Tools for inquiry professional development focusing on English language learners

• Lessons learned about fostering change in teachers’ instruction for English language learners

SPELL• OELA Professional Development Grant

• Goals:– to foster school improvement for culturally and

linguistically diverse students and to increase the educational opportunities for English language learners

– To increase teachers’ ability to make instructional decisions for ELLs

– To develop critical inquiry communities

SPELL Foundations• Method: Inquiry based professional development • Goal: School improvement for culturally and

linguistically diverse students• Content:

– Inquiry Research– Issues of Language and Culture– Effective instructional techniques based on CREDE

Standards (5 Standards: Joint productive activity, Developing language across the curriculum, Making meaning, teaching complex thinking, teaching through conversation)

– Differentiating instruction– Evaluation & looking at student work

Inquiry Based Professional Development

• Construct deep understandings of the learning and teaching process by engaging in authentic problem solving (Evans, 2001)

• Small scale (Grossman, Wineberg & Woolworth, 2001)

• Exploring personal ideologies (Little, 1990

• Contextually based, creative and ambitious (Olsen & Craig, 2001; Stritkus & Garcia, 2003)

• Develop expert knowledge as well as a critical base.

• Accountable for student learning (Grossman, Wineberg &

Woolworth, 2001; Wood, 2007)

School Improvement

• Available to all teachers (Gandara, 1999)

• Develop a strong knowledge base (Little, 1993)

• Address structural, ideological, pedagogical issues within the school (August &

Hakuta, 1997)

SPELL…Y1 Y2 Y3

Focus Strategies and instruction Language and culture Standards & Instructional decision makingSchool structure

Materials Action Planning Worksheets

Action Planning Worksheets

Innovative Teaching Plan

Meeting Protocols

Portfolio Planning

Observation Protocol

Support 3 day Summer seminarFall Workshop2 observations

8 Weeks

2 day summer seminar

Fall & winter workshop

Monthly observation

1 Year

2 day summer seminar

Fall workshop

Weekly team meeting monthly observation

1 Year

Participants 10 Schools

10 Teams

53 participants

10 Schools

13 teams

74 participants

11 elementary schools

11 teams

55 participants

Literature Action researchStrategies for ELL

Professional DevelopmentStrategies for ELLElements of SIOP Second Language AcquisitionNative Language and Culture

Inquiry Research

Looking at Student work

Language and Culture

Summary of Changes

• Long-term support of SPELL teams

• Focus on site based issues

• Development of reflective process

• Increase the administrative support

• Focus on student work

• Develop teacher leaders

What’s an ITP?• An ITP is a collaborative project to investigate some

question you have about altering your teaching to better address the needs of English language learners at your school.

• Your ITP can focus on increasing the academic, social, or cultural dimensions of learning (or some combination of them).

• The ITP should be ‘additive,’ valuing and building upon the resources ELLs bring to school.

Defining the Innovative Teacher Plan

How do we get started?• The ITP begins with a big, guiding question: “How can

we. . . ?”

• To develop your question, the team will discuss areas of teaching and instruction that you would like to invigorate.

• The ITP is an opportunity for you to design a personalized learning program – What are your strengths? What do you want to know? What are some of your challenges in teaching? Where do you think your pedagogy with ELLs could use a little extra help?

• Your facilitator will guide you through a discussion to help prioritize your ideas, think through the possible plans of action, and set realistic expectations.

Developing an ITP

How do I fit in?

Innovative Teaching Plan: In the idea bubble write the big question you have for the year. Off to the side, brainstorm some smaller questions that you might want to address. In the boxes at the bottom, each team member should be able to identify what role they will play.

Big Question:

Additional Questions

Your ITP: Group Work

• Work with two or three people sitting near you.

• Begin with introductionsWho are you?

What context do you work in? Perennial/persistent issues around ELLs.

Efforts/strategies/programs you’ve tried.

• Brainstorm possible big questions for your context

Sharing ITPs

• What are some big questions you came up with?

• What did you think about the process of developing a big questions?

• What are some questions you have about the innovative teaching plan/big question?

Big Question Examples

• How can we increase the vocabulary levels of all our students?

• How can we improve the writing of our ELL students?

• How can we improve our program services?• How can we ensure that ELL students will

actively acquire core content so that they can communicate their understanding and knowledge?

• All ITPs should have an element of further learning involved. Your facilitator will be sharing articles and resources. All participants can keep an eye out for anything to share with the group. As we tell our students, learning is a process – we don’t expect you to know everything.

• YOUR PLAN WILL CHANGE!! As you get to know your students and learn more, your plan will change course. See the monthly meeting protocol for more information

• The implementation of the ITP expects everyone to be critically reflective of their teaching practices. To do this, you will be analyzing student work, writing journal reflections about new teaching practices, and collaboratively problem solving.

Implementing the ITP

Team Meeting Protocol Worksheet

I. Plan Review:• What’s working or not working in the classroom according

to your innovative teaching plan (ITP)? (e.g. targeted students, instructional strategies, assessments, collaboration/communication among team members.)

II. Student Work Analysis:• What are the students’ main strengths and areas of need?

III. Plan Amendment/Next Steps:• How will the team address the students’ needs (e.g. what

instructional strategies will be utilized?) What resources (human or material) are needed? How will collaboration occur?

Evaluation Measures

• Survey of knowledge and skills gained

• Classroom observations

• Reflective journal

• Portfolio

• Team meetings

Successes

• Contextual site-based issues

• Teacher empowerment

• Collaborative work

• Reflective process

• Meaningful interaction with an outside facilitator

• Teacher use of research literature

Challenges

• Teacher resistance to change

• Desire for prepackaged curriculum

• Development of long term vision

Moving forward…

• Development of internal support system

• Increase duration

• Integrate with whole school staff

• Research focus