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No description available.

The goal of the most recent science education reform movement in the U.S. is science literacy for all Americans. Science literacy among U.S. students remains low, however, as compared with students in other industrialized countries, and is lowest among English Language Learner (ELL) students. Although there are barriers to developing science literacy for all adolescent students, ELL students often experience additional barriers that make developing science literacy even more challenging without support. Because textbooks are often heavily relied upon by secondary science teachers, the opportunity for many ELLs to develop science literacy may depend upon the support for these students included in science textbooks. Many textbook publishers have included textual tools for teaching ELLs in the teacher's editions of science textbooks they claim will help teachers support the learning of ELLs in the ways that are recommended by national standards, which describe appropriate science content, pedagogy, and language supports. These standards, referred to in this study as ELL standards, include the Benchmarks for Science Literacy, the CREDE standards, the WIDA standards, and the TIMSS standards. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative content analysis was to determine how the textual tools for teaching ELLs found in three widely used secondary biology textbooks in the U.S. are aligned with the ELL standards. All textual tools were read, reread, and coded using the ELL standards as a priori coding categories. The results indicate that some of the textual tools in the biology textbooks align with the ELL standards. However, the frequency of alignment between the textual tools and the ELL standards is not high. Further, many of the instances of alignment between the textual tools and the ELL standards are implicit, rather than explicit, indicating that the alignment between them is weak. Finally, many of the textual tools that are aligned with the ELL standards are only aligned with one of the categories within a given standard and ignore other, important, categories. It is recommended that textbook publishers update the textual tools for teaching ELLs in future editions of their textbooks to make them more aligned with the ELL standards. It is further recommended that secondary science teachers be better prepared so they will not have to rely on the textual tools for teaching ELLs in their instruction.

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This study examines the use of instructional coaching in one urban school as a form of professional development for teachers. The use of instructional coaches in the classroom has become more and more popular in many school districts across the nation as they look for ways to improve student performance by improving the performance of their teachers. With higher academic standards placed on schools, there is greater demand on teachers to make certain that all of their students are successful. The need for professional development and coaching for teachers of English language learners (ELLs) is discussed. The research site for this study, City View Middle School, is located in a large urban school district where approximately 176,000 students are English language learners. The participants include 1 principal, 14 teachers, and 2 coaches. At the school, all students are considered English language learners and 40% are also considered Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE). This case study employed qualitative methods in the form of observations and interviews of each participant. From the teachers' perspective, three themes emerged as their greatest challenges in working with English language learners. These included: student stressors related to adapting to a new country, the wide range of literacy levels in the classroom, and teaching academic language. Even with these challenges facing them, were teachers willing to work with coaches in an effort to improve their classroom practice? Were teachers receptive to the feedback they received from coaches? Were they willing to try new strategies? Were there any signs of teacher resistance? How were coaches able to create change? The coaches offered a professional development program that included training in the following areas: vocabulary, reading, writing/lesson planning, and cooperative learning strategies. Two types of coaching were implemented at the school: 1) peer observations and group debriefing sessions in Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs); and 2) individualized coaching sessions, which included: a one-on-one pre-meeting, an observation, and a one-on-one debriefing session. The results of this study suggest that there were several preconditions for change. In order for change to occur there were several interrelated factors that needed to take place in the coaching relationship. The professional and personal qualities of the coaches became key factors in how coaching was established at the school. These qualities affected the ways in which they established trust, how they set the tone for their work at the school, how they provided teachers feedback and opportunities for reflective dialogue, and how they created a supportive and nurturing environment. These elements of coaching allowed teachers to feel comfortable to: ask questions, seek help, change their perceptions about what works and what does not work with ELLs, and the confidence to try something new. The support from the principal was also a key element in creating change. Without the principal's support, coaches would not have been able to accomplish their goals with the teachers. This study contributes to our understanding of how schools can support teachers who are experiencing an increasing number of English language learners in their classrooms and do not have the credentials to effectively teach them. / Urban Education

This study investigated the relationship between teacher support, internalizing symptoms, and academic achievement in a sample of English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-English Language Learners (non-ELLs). Participants were middle school students from a culturally and linguistically diverse suburban school district. Linear regressions were used to examine mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation models of teacher support on internalizing symptoms and academic achievement. The results showed that increased teacher support was related to higher classroom grades, particularly for non-ELLs, and decreased internalizing symptoms for both ELLs and non-ELLs. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. / School Psychology

This qualitative case study examined how volunteer tutors are interacting with at-risk adolescent ELL students in one-on-one tutoring sessions. This study also investigated how volunteer tutors are supporting vocabulary acquisition within tutoring sessions with adolescent ELLs. As a non-participant observer, I used ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews, and document analysis to understand how three tutors were interacting in sessions and how they were supporting vocabulary acquisition over seven weeks. The following questions guided the research: How do volunteer tutors interact in one-on-one tutoring sessions with at-risk adolescent ELLs? How are volunteer tutors supporting vocabulary acquisition for adolescent ELLs in one-on-one tutoring sessions? Data were analyzed to determine how volunteer tutors were interacting in sessions and supporting vocabulary. Six themes emerged to explain how tutors were interacting in sessions and three ‘a-priori’ themes explained how tutors were supporting vocabulary acquisition. The results of this study are used to inform schools who institute volunteer tutoring programs for at-risk populations, researchers interested in vocabulary acquisition and adolescent ELLs, and faculty or staff members who work with at-risk populations. Furthermore, recommendations for future research are discussed for the field of education. / Literacy & Learners

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This dissertation examines the question how do ESL teachers perceive the prereferral process for identifying adolescent Latino English language learners with specific learning disabilities? The study fits within the Latino Critical Race Theory framework and employs an interpretive phenomenological qualitative research approach. Participants were six secondary-level ESL teachers from two school districts with small ELL populations. Data consisted of in-depth interviews, researcher notes, and analytical memos. Phenomenological data analysis procedures followed recommendations by Colaizzi (1978) and Smith, Flowers, and Larkin (2009). Data validity measures included second-researcher review and member-checking. Results of the study are presented as descriptions of how participants perceived the prereferral processes for identifying adolescent Latino English language learners with suspected specific learning disabilities. Nine categories emerged from the interviews: (a) Characteristics and behaviors; (b) instructional supports and interventions; (c) progress-monitoring; (d) use of RTI; (e) prereferral outcomes; (f) parental participation; (g) special education department response; (h) identification challenges; and (i) recommendations. Implications of the study findings for policy, research, and educator practice are noted.

Administrators and teachers are concerned that English Language Learners (ELLs) in an urban elementary school in a southern part of the United States are not meeting required state standards in reading. Teachers have indicated that they do not always know how to differentiate instruction for ELLs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate teachers' implementation of differentiated instruction for ELLs. This research study was guided by the conceptual framework of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and Tomlinson's theory of implementing differentiated instruction. The research questions investigated teachers' perceptions of differentiated instruction and their professional development for mediating instruction for ELLs. Six teachers from Grades 1 to 3 who teach ELLs with limited English-speaking ability and 2 ELL teachers participated in the study. Data were collected from transcribed interviews, open-ended surveys, and lesson plans. Inductive analysis was used to identify themes and commonalities within the collected data. The major themes included that differentiation is crucial for ELL instruction, teachers use varied instructional strategies to meet ELLs' individual needs, and teachers want purposeful and relevant professional development to meet ELLs' academic needs. The findings indicated a need for a professional development that include a systematic approach to differentiated instructional strategies to improve academic achievement for ELLs. A 3-day professional development was designed. The findings of this study and professional development may contribute to positive social change by increasing teachers' use of instructional strategies that align with the district's guidelines to improve learning and achievement for ELLs.