abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore and report on the impact of coaching as an embedded part of professional development has on teacher learning and practice in the context of educating English Language Learners (ELLs). A close examination was made of what teachers, coaches and principals believe to be effective professional development and how the relationship between a coach and teacher affects understanding of and classroom practice with a specific population of students. The research questions were (a) How can coaching support implementation of professional development goals over traditional development activities as reported by the teacher, coach and administrator? (b) What is the relationship between the coach and teacher? (c) How does the coaching process relate to self- reported coach and teacher knowledge of instruction and practice in the ELL context? I used a qualitative approach to gather data through classroom observations and in-depth interviews. The 17 participants came from Title 1 elementary schools with high ELL populations located in the central and west valley of Phoenix, Arizona. I analyzed the data deductively then coded and categorized participant responses in relation to the literature on professional development and coaching. The findings indicated that those involved perceived embedded coaching as an effective component of professional development. What I have now termed based on my study as Professional Development Praxis (PPD). They agreed that with a structured system of coaching in place, both teachers and coaches increased their knowledge of how to best instruct ELLs as well as enhanced their ability to put research-based strategies into classroom practice. The recommendation of this study is that districts, schools and professional developers provide training and support for educators in a meaningful, effective and student centered way. Professional development were educators are provided knowledge about ELLs, opportunities for practice of what they are learning in and out of training sessions and on-going collaboration and support as they work with their students. It is the job of everyone involved in the system to better prepare educators to meet the critical needs of students who come to school with specific linguistic and academic needs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

<p> Schools in the United States have more students who are English learners (ELs) than at any point in recent decades. Academic performance for these students, as measured by standardized tests, falls below that of their native English-speaking peers and, on some measures, is not making the sorts of gains that other groups appear to be making. Of the various program delivery models for ELs found in schools in the U.S., dual language has received a great deal of attention and interest in recent years due to some impressive long-term student achievement results. There is a great deal of research regarding the effectiveness of dual language and practices that have been shown to support that effectiveness. However, there is little in the research focusing on the perspective of dual language principals and listening to their voices. </p><p> This qualitative study involving interviews of 15 elementary principals of dual language schools in the Eastern United States region was focused on understanding their experience as they contextualized best practices to meet the needs of their specific student population. The study drew on conceptual frameworks of transformative leadership theory, Fowler&rsquo;s initiative implementation, and Cummins&rsquo;s interdependence hypothesis. </p><p> Analysis of the interview data revealed that dual language principals frequently found themselves playing a balancing act between two groups of people within their school. Another finding was that the dual language principal&rsquo;s responsibilities are more complex than those of their colleagues in more traditional elementary schools. It was also learned that dual language best practices are generally followed faithfully. The final finding was that, despite the extra complications, dual language principals find the rewards to be worth the extra effort. The study reveals that dual language programs offer a powerful vehicle for transformative leaders to build community across language and culture. </p><p> Implications for policy include recommendations for school systems to coordinate efforts to find qualified bilingual staff and appropriate bilingual materials. Future research is suggested to explore the perceptions that different language and cultural parent groups have about dual language. Several implications are outlined for practice, including creating meaningful and purposeful cross-cultural experiences for students and parents.</p><p>

<p> For nearly four decades, research has documented positive correlations between metacognitive abilities and student growth. Teachers who wish to cultivate metacognitive thinking should encourage their students to plan, investigate, and expand on the concepts they learn in class (Fisher, Frey, &amp; Hattie, 2016; Flavell, 1979). This mixed-methods study sought to investigate the effects of the Drive My Brain Model ([DMB], Gomez, 2016) on English language learners&rsquo; (ELLs) metacognition. The sample for the quantitative portion of this study was comprised of 54 fifth-grade ELLs from a public elementary school located in Orange County, California. The qualitative sample consisted of 12 students that represented a proportional sample of the students at the school, and two teachers. A quasi-experimental design was used for this study. The treatment group received roughly 30 minutes of Drive My Brain (DMB) Model activities each day over eight weeks, receiving a total of 1,155 minutes of intervention. Two pre-developed, validated surveys were used as pre-test/post-test for both groups. Survey scores for both groups were compared using a Chi-square test. Results indicated that statistically significant growth was achieved by the treatment group. Additional quantitative measures included an observation checklist, student task rubrics, and a student Likert survey questionnaire. Results indicated that students, who felt the DMB Model was easy to use, performed better on content tasks. Qualitative analysis supported quantitative findings. Student task artifacts revealed that students in the treatment group used more metacognitive and cognitive strategies. Additionally, student and teacher interviews found the DMB Model to be easy to use. </p><p>

<p> This study of the assets that international graduate students bring to the process of learning English academic writing in the US has two purposes. The primary purpose is to develop the Translingual Graduate Writers&rsquo; Inventory of Strengths (TGWIS) and to test its reliability and validity as a tool to determine the particular strengths and resources of international graduate writers. The second purpose is to describe the academic writing strategies used by translingual graduate writers in order to suggest a conceptual framework of graduate academic writing in English and to promote teaching and learning of graduate academic writing in English for international graduate students based on positive psychology and translingualism. </p><p> Previous studies of L2 learning have paid more attention to negative psychological and affective dimensions such as foreign language learning anxiety and writing apprehension. In response tothe need particularly psychological and social dimensions of international graduate academic writers in English, the TGWIS was developed. Based on the conceptual frameworks of translingualism (Canagarajah, 2013a), embodied self (Kramsch, 2009), Strength-Centered Therapy (Wong, 2006a), positive psychological perspectives (Lopez, Pedrotti &amp; Snyder, 2015; Nakamura &amp; Cs&iacute;kszentmih&aacute;lyi, 2002, 2009; Seligman, 2002), and growth mindset (Dweck, 2000, 2006, 2008, 2010; Dweck &amp; Master, 2009), the TGWIS V.10 was developed with eight psychological and social components (<i>N</i>=509). I tested the validity and reliability of the TGWIS as an instrument to promote a positive perspective on translingual academic writers by employing exploratory factor analysis (<i>n</i>=249) and confirmatory factor analysis (<i>n</i>=260). The final measurement model of the TGWIS V.10 is consisted of four factors with16 items: Interest and motivation to pursue graduate academic writing (GAW) in English (5 items; &alpha; = .84), self-confidence in GAW in English (5 items; &alpha; = .80), perceived professional value of GAW in English (3 items; &alpha; = .73), and using translingual resources in GAW in English (3 items; &alpha; = .74). </p><p> The major contribution of this study is to inform stakeholders in US graduate education programs of the perspectives of international graduate students and to inform efforts to provide customized graduate level writing assistance. These aspirations can be fulfilled in a &ldquo;nested&rdquo; environment with affective and social supports, validating their strengths as translingual writers. </p><p>

<p> Many institutions of higher education (IHE) students in Taiwan now need to meet the English proficiency requirement to earn their higher education degrees. In this case study, I intended to a) provide the opportunity for IHE students with hearing loss in Taiwan to share their opinions, thoughts, and experiences of learning English as a foreign language in higher education institutes; and b) understand how English as a foreign language policies and educational practices contribute to create opportunities and barriers for IHE students with hearing loss. The research question I intended to examine was &ldquo;what are the perceptions of the lived experiences of students with hearing loss in a Taiwanese IHE within the policy environment of English as a gatekeeper?&rdquo; The focuses of the study were a) how do Taiwanese IHE students with hearing loss perceive their experiences learning English as a foreign language in IHEs; and b) how do the current policies and educational practices related to learning English as a foreign language serve to construct barriers and opportunities for IHE students with hearing loss? </p><p> I conducted two interviews with two primary participants who were current Taiwanese students with hearing loss at one IHE and one interview with each of secondary participants who were associated with the primary participants&rsquo; English learning. These secondary participants were the English teacher of the alternative English class, the English teacher of the general English class, one Chinese teacher, one tutor, two resource center staff members, and two study peers. I also performed three classroom observations at the alternative English class and collected documents that were related to these students&rsquo; English learning. I used thematic analysis to analyze the data and the major findings of this study were: (a) the hegemony of English, (b) audism, (c) inequity of educational policy, and (d) accommodations for students with hearing loss at this university.</p><p>

<p> This quantitative, quasi-experimental, <i>ex post facto</i> analysis examined the relationship between the English proficiency level (ELP) attained by English Learners in the state of Georgia in 2016 and 2017 and their performance on standardized core content assessments administered entirely in English. From the theoretical perspective of validity theory, the researcher investigated the alternative hypothesis that the results of standardized content assessments administered in English to English Learner students yield little meaningful data that can be interpreted and used with validity in and of themselves. To investigate this interpretation, the researcher analyzed 176,941 individual 2016 and 2017 Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) assessment records (N = 102,312 for 2016; 74,649 for 2017) matched to the corresponding ACCESS for ELLs scores (N = 34,420 for 2016; 35,805 for 2017), employing linear regression to quantify the degree to which ELP influenced English Learner students&rsquo; performance on standardized assessments in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies and to define the threshold proficiency level at which the preponderance of English Learners were able to score at the Developing and Proficient levels on the content assessments. </p><p>

<p> This quantitative study investigated the effects of one school district&rsquo;s use of the Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words (SIPPS) program and professional development (PD) and coaching on ELL and non-ELL students&rsquo; literacy skills. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) data of two cohorts of students from 12 elementary schools in a large Southern California district were examined. The teachers of one cohort taught the SIPPS program and received PD and coaching for two school years, while the second cohort served as a waitlist control group and only participated in one year of SIPPS instruction, PD, and coaching. Results indicated that students who received two years of SIPPS instruction had higher reading fluency scores than students who received one year of SIPPS instruction. Despite convergent research on the contrary, no significant findings were found for the effects of PD and coaching on student achievement. </p><p>

<p> The language and communication skills of foreign students have long been a concern in U.S. universities. The majority of U.S. universities require foreign students for whom English is not their native language to take English language proficiency tests such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as part of admission requirements. Some universities have included interventions to increase the success of Chinese students against their struggle to understand English course content. One such program is the Gateway to Successful Tomorrow Bilingual Degree Program (GST). The gap to be addressed on this study was that the effectiveness of GST has not been formally evaluated among foreign students particularly overseas Chinese students studying at U.S. universities. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the GST among overseas Chinese students studying at U.S. universities as measured through students&rsquo; grade point averages (GPA) and TOEFL scores. The theoretical framework that guided this study was the Vygotsky&rsquo;s sociocultural theory. The quantitative study used a causal comparative design to gather quantitative data from student achievement records and TOEFL scores. Pearson&rsquo;s correlation analysis and analysis of variance were conducted to predict if underlying relationships exist among variables. Key findings of the analyses showed that GST students had a significantly higher GPA than non-GST student. However, results also indicated that there was no evidence that the GST program significantly improved TOEFL scores. The GST program had an overall positive impact on the international Chinese students&rsquo; academic performance and with continued research international students stand to gain even more from this program. </p><p>

abstract: This mixed methods classroom research examined if accountability groups in the lower proficiency levels of a university intensive English program would improve students’ language acquisition. Students were assigned partners for the study period with whom they completed assignments inside and outside of class, as well as set goals for use of language in their own context. Based in the ecological perspective and socio- cultural theory, activities reinforced social bonds, scaffolded the learning objectives in a communicative way, modeled the transfer of knowledge to the world outside the classroom, and allowed students to create new affordances in which to practice and use the language. Analysis of qualitative data from interviews, text messages, exit slips, and field notes, as well as quantitative data from student academic records, pre and post tests of curricular objectives, and pre and post attitudinal surveys, showed that students were developing a stronger sense of autonomy in their language learning. They viewed their peers and themselves as knowledgeable others, helping one another to learn vocabulary and structures in each student’s zone of proximal development. Learner engagement in the treatment groups, as measured by classroom attendance, increased over a control group, as did overall grade averages in all courses. Students with no previous time in the program showed more improvement than those who had been in the program for at least one session prior. Students also showed increased fluency, as measured by the word count on a constructive task in the pre- and post-test of curricular objectives. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2017

abstract: ABSTRACT This research is a study of the relationship between language acquisition and the status of equity. The history of the Maya people in Guatemala gives strong evidence that their failure to acquire competence in Spanish, which is the national language of their nation, has resulted in their failure to compete in the social, economic, and political components of their society. It also shows that they have failed to maintain their competence in Mayan, their own language, as a result of mistreatment from their conquerors who have shown a determination to eliminate their use of Mayan. Many Maya have left Guatemala and entered the United States in hope of finding the status of equity which has evaded them for hundreds of years. The key to overcoming their poverty and loss of civil rights can be found in the US through compensatory programs offering them the opportunity of competency in English along with the opportunity to maintain their Mayan language. The US legal system guarantees equal rights for a quality educations for students who are learning English. This study offers some suggestions for integrating the Guatemalan Maya into mainstream activities of the economy and social life of this country. It offers the idea of sustaining and increasing their competency in Mayan as a long-range possibility. The status of equity is available for the children of the Guatemalan refugees who enter the United States as they exercise their rights to a quality education. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2017