Advocating for English Learners

Advocating for ELs through Collaboration and Inclusive Teacher EvaluationDiane Staehr Fenner, Ph.D. | 5.27.15

@DStaehrFenner #Advocacy4ELs

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Session Components

• Defining advocacy for ELs

• Advocacy strategies:

– 1. Examining and reframing your current role within

Common Core Standards framework

– 2. Applying a collaborative approach to supporting ELs

– 3. Developing talking points to use in collaboration with

content teachers

– 4. Effectively co-planning instruction with content

teachers

– 5. Sharing responsibility through inclusive teacher

evaluation framework2

Advocating for English Learners

1. Need for Advocacy

2. Creating a Shared Sense of

Responsibility

3. How Teachers Can Collaborate

4. Advocacy Overview for Administrators

5. Increasing EL Families’ Involvement as

Advocates

6. Advocacy Through Effective Instruction

7. Advocating for ELs in Assessment

8. Advocacy for ELs’ Success Beyond Grade

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3Corwin/TESOL, 2014

blog.colorincolorado.org

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DEFINING ADVOCACY FOR ELS

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Defining EL Advocacy

How do you define EL

advocacy?

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Definitions of Advocacy

• Advocacy

• Comes from the Latin

advocatus, meaning

“one called to aid”

• Speaking or acting on

behalf of another

• Advocate cognates:

abogado, advogado, avocat

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My EL Advocacy Definition

• Working for ELs’ equitable and excellent education by

taking appropriate actions on their behalf

• Stepping in and providing a voice for those students—and

their families—who have not yet developed their own strong

voice in their education

• Having a deep understanding about each EL student’s and

family’s background to be able to know which appropriate

action to take

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Staehr Fenner, 2014

Scaffolded Advocacy

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• Advocacy needed dependent upon ELs’ background variables

• Gradually removing advocacy support• Goals - all educators advocate for ELs• ELs & families learn to advocate for

themselves

Scaffolded AdvocacyE

L a

nd

Fa

mil

y N

ee

ds

Amount of Advocacy

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ADVOCACY STRATEGY 1:

EXAMINING AND

REFRAMING YOUR

CURRENT ROLE

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Changing Role of the ESL Teacher

1. What are ESL teachers’ current

roles in implementing the CCSS

for ELs?

2. What should ESL teachers’

most effective roles be so that

ELs achieve with the CCSS?

3. What are the most promising

strategies to support ESL

teachers as they teach the

CCSS?

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ESL Teachers’ Current Roles

• Varying roles and status of ESL teachers

• Lack of recognition and uniformity in TESOL

field

• Content area teacher preparation

• ESL teachers’ degree of involvement in policy

• Importance of academic language

• Expertise of ESL educators

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A Vision for ESL Teachers’ Most Effective Roles

• Need to redefine ESL teachers’ roles

• ESL teachers as experts, advocates, and

consultants

• Role of the principal or administrator

TESOL International Association (2013). Implementing the Common Core State Standards for English Learners: The Changing Role

of the ESL Teacher

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ESL Teachers’ Changing Role

• Need program models that include

ESL teachers in intentional and

systematic ways

• Co-teaching and close

collaboration; push-in models

• Expectations that content teachers

will be both teachers of content

and teachers of language

• PD for content teachers in SLA and

best practices in supporting ELLs

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EL Equity AuditConsideration Questions to Ask: To What Degree… Action Items

Role of ESL teacher

Are ESL teachers working as experts and consultants & collaborating with general edteachers?

Instructional materials & curriculum

Are content instructional materials & curriculum appropriate for ELs? Do they integrate WIDA standards?

Professionaldevelopment

Does PD focus on preparing all teachers to teach challenging content to ELs?

Assessment Are teachers aware of demands of CCSS assessments for ELs & adjust instruction?

EL parentoutreach

Are EL parents aware of implications of CCSS and their assessments?

Teacher evaluation

Is teacher evaluation for all teachers inclusive of ELs accessing the CCSS?


APPLYING A

COLLABORATIVE

APPROACH TO

SUPPORTING ENGLISH

LEARNERS 17

Collaboration for EL Achievement

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Collaboration

ESL Teacher

Advocacy

Sharing Responsibility & Joy

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Sharing

responsibility

for ELs’

education

Educators’

reflection on

their own culture

and its impact

on their teaching

Educators’

beliefs and

expectations

about language

and working with

ELs

Empathy for ELs

and their

families

Collaboration

among ESL

teachers,

content

teachers, and

administrators

Building on Soft Skills to Advocate and Collaborate

• Respect content / general education teachers’ expertise

• Demonstrate empathy first

• Use public relations skills to model respect for ELs

• Showcase EL student achievement

• Begin slowly and thoughtfully

• Offer support & “goodies”

• Build alliances with those who seem open

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Your Sphere of Influence

• What do I have control over in my environment?

• What do I not have control over in my environment?

21Gorski, P. (2012)

ESL Teachers as Leaders

1. In what ways are you a leader in your context in

implementing the CCSS for ELs?

2. How would you describe your current sphere of influence

(classroom, grade level, school, district)?

3. With whom can you collaborate to widen your sphere

of influence in your context to further support ELs?

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ADVOCACY STRATEGY 3: DEVELOPING

TALKING POINTS TO USE IN

COLLABORATION WITH CONTENT

TEACHERS23

Talking Point Defined

What: A talking point is a succinct statement designed to

persuade or inform and an effective tool for preparing for

conversations.

Why: A set of talking points will facilitate more effective

interaction and engagement with content teachers. It will

also showcase your EL expertise.

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CCSS ESL Teacher Talking Points Overview

CCSS ELA Shift ESL Teacher Talking Points

Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

“I can analyze the academic language of the text you’re using and provide scaffolding for ELs at different levels of English proficiency so they can access it.” OR “How can I help you analyze…?”

Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text

“I can help you integrate the four domains into instruction and write-text dependent questions that are scaffolded for ELs.” OR “How can I help you integrate…?”

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

“I can determine an appropriate amount of concise background knowledge to teach ELs so they are better positioned to access information text.” OR “How can I help you determine…?”

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Developing Your Own Talking Points

• Think of one instructional strategy that would help your ELs

access the CCSS and would benefit the teachers with whom

you collaborate.

• Develop specific talking points you could use with a content

teacher to encourage use of the strategy.

– How would you articulate the need for the strategy?

– How would you explain or model the strategy?

– What would you do next so that the teacher is more likely

to use the strategy?

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ADVOCACY STRATEGY 4: EFFECTIVELY

CO-PLANNING INSTRUCTION WITH

CONTENT TEACHERS

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CCSS for ELs Curriculum Review Rubric

What: A tool to determine the extent to which lesson plans

based on the CCSS meet the educational needs of ELs of

varying proficiency levels*

Why: Use of this rubric will support teachers in identifying and

including key lesson components that support EL student

engagement and achievement within the CCSS framework

*Conceptualized as part of a NJ project

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CCSS Curriculum Review Rubric

29Staehr Fenner & Snyder, 2014

CCSS Curriculum Review Rubric Components

Lesson Criteria and Look-Fors 1 2 3

Alignment between lessons, tasks, CCSS, and WIDA ELD standards

Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

Assessment

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SHARING

RESPONSIBILITY

THROUGH INCLUSIVE

TEACHER EVALUATION31

Need for an Inclusive Teacher Evaluation Framework

• Bias in teacher evaluation

of diverse learners

• Need to recognize effective

teaching of ELs and

students with disabilities

• Lack of teacher

preparedness to teach

diverse learners

• Change the test and you

change the teaching

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Inclusive Teacher Evaluation and Support

1. Need for an Inclusive Teacher Evaluation

Framework

2. Foundations of EL Education

3. Foundations of Education of Students

with Disabilities

4. Principle 1: Committing to Equal Access

for all Learners

5. Principle 2: Preparing to Support Diverse

learners

6. Principle 3: Reflective Teaching Using

Evidence-Based Practices

7. Principle 4: Building a Culture of

Collaboration and Community

8. Empowering Educators through

Coaching

33Staehr Fenner, Kozik, & Cooper, 2015

Alignment of Inclusive Teacher Evaluation

Domain Inclusive Teacher

Evaluation Principles

Danielson Marzano

1 Committing to Equal Access

for All Learners

Planning and

Preparation

Classroom

Practices and

Strategies

2 Preparing to Support

Diverse Learners

The Classroom

Environment

Planning and

Preparing

3 Reflective Teaching Using

Evidence-Based Strategies

Instruction Reflecting on

Teaching

4 Building a Culture of

Collaboration and

Community

Professional

Responsibilities

Collegiality and

Professionalism

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Principle 1: Committing to Equal Access for All

Learners

Educators are aware of and adhere

to the laws and to the precedents

set in numerous court decisions

regarding full and equal access to

public education for all students.

Educators describe diverse learners’

full access to the curriculum and the

adaptations for unique learners an

observer can expect to see so that

all students are included in learning.

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Principle 1 Look-Fors for All Teachers of ELs

• Aware of what ELs’ home language(s) are and their literacy

skills in their home language(s)

• Knows ELs’ levels of English language proficiency and what

the levels mean for instruction and assessment

• Articulates types of language support services ELs receive

at the school

• Describes how instructional materials for ELs at different

levels of English language proficiency (ELP) are chosen,

created, or adapted

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Principle 2: Preparing to Support Diverse Learners

Educators demonstrate their

knowledge of individual student

backgrounds as well as the

strengths and advantages student

diversity brings. They articulate

rationales for using appropriate

instructional strategies to support

diverse learners so that every

student will be treated as a valued

individual capable of learning.

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• Articulates high expectations for ELs, including a nuanced

understanding of expectations for what ELs can do with

language at their English language proficiency level

• Articulates how ELs’ culture may influence their behavior

and conduct

• Describes configuration of classroom space so as to

support EL’s opportunities to participate in classroom

activities and their acquisition of English

• Describes plans for lowering students’ affective filter and

encouraging risk taking in English

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Principle 3: Reflective Teaching Using Evidence-

Based Strategies

Educators’ classroom instruction

embodies the tenets of Universal

Design for Learning. Instruction is

individualized, student-centered,

varied, appropriately challenging,

standards-based, and grounded in

evidence-based practice. Educators

build instruction around their

diverse students’ unique strengths,

challenges, backgrounds,

experiences, and needs.

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• Encourages students’ use of home language where

appropriate

• Uses analysis of the academic language in materials used

during instruction to explicitly teach the linguistic structures

ELs need to fully participate in the lesson

• Integrates a variety of appropriate scaffolding techniques

(e.g., sentence stems, word banks, glossaries, home

language materials) to support students of varying

proficiency levels

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Principle 4: Building a Culture of Collaboration and

Community

Educators focus on professional

relationships and connections to

culture and community in the

service of all students. They work

toward establishing a community

that is based on collaboration

among educators, students,

caregivers, families, neighbors, and

other relevant groups. They work

cooperatively, communicate

regularly, and share resources,

responsibilities, skills, decisions and

advocacy.

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• Communicates with families of ELs in a language and form

they understand

• Engages EL families in creative ways (e.g., making home

visits and/or visiting the work places of students’ families)

• Involves ELs in actively reflecting on and participating in the

process of their education

• Collaborates with others (e.g., content, ESL or bilingual

teachers) in lesson planning and implementation to support

ELs’ academic growth

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EL Advocacy Through Inclusive Teacher Evaluation

43Staehr Fenner, Kozik, & Cooper (2015)

1: Committing to

Equal Access for

All Learners

2: Preparing to

Support Diverse

Learners

4: Building a

Culture of

Collaboration &

Community

3: Reflective

Teaching Using

Evidence-Based

Strategies

Goal Setting

Drawing from today’s discussion, think of one or two ways you

would like to reframe your role within the CCSS framework to

ensure ELs are supported.

• How would you like to reframe your role?

• What steps do you need to take to achieve your goals?

• Which allies do you need?

• What types of support would helpful to you?

• How will your ELs benefit?

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Thank you!

[email protected]

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