Two are Better than One – Collaborative Instruction for ELLs

1. Two are Better than One – Collaborative Instruction for ELLs Don Bouchard Maine Department of Education ESL/Bilingual Programs Professional development online webinar May 6, 2010

2. Today’s Agenda: Instead of a monocle… The classroom teacher views the student through the lens of content knowledge. Content knowledge reflects the declarative (what) and procedural (how) knowledge associated with the content. The ELL teacher views the student through the lens of language mastery. Academic language proficiency involves language associated with the content.

3. . . .look through a pair of glasses Look at the ELL through the unified lens of content and language mastery. Collaboration is about both teachers looking through both lenses. It is about student learning language and content together.

4. Academic success is what it’s all about

5. Agenda 1. Why and what of collaboration 2. Tools to facilitate collaboration: student profile, scatterplot graph, lesson objective, GRR Model & instructional plan 3. Collaboration and the WIDA ELP Standards 4. Collaboration models 5. Recap on Collaboration: Challenges, effective characteristics, & roles & responsibilities

6. Why collaborate?

7. Rationale for Collaboration As schools and districts incorporate the Push-In model: • The ELL teacher can expect to be held accountable for aligning ELL instruction to the general education district and state standards. • The general classroom teacher will need to use ELP standards in the mainstream classroom. COLLABORATION becomes central to student achievement.

8. Also. . . Teaching ELLs to meet learning targets and to obtain evidence of learning in a standards-based environment is collaborative process: mainstream teachers provide knowledge of content; ELL teachers provide knowledge of language and culture.

9. Think about this.. . • L2 acquisition is not a linear process; 2. ELP levels of ELLs do not connote similar academic and linguistic profiles; 3. Meaning-based instruction helps ELLs to connect content with their backgrounds and identities; and 4. Consistent attention to embedding of language through tasks that are cognitively demanding is crucial for ELLs.

10. Therefore . . . Collaboration becomes an important means of ‘marrying’ content and language for the benefit of English Language Learners’ academic growth and success.

11. Collaboration requires . . .shared goals . . .sense of belonging . . .leadership . . .norms and finalization of structures

12. Collaboration must counter notions . . . . . .of the unequal status of ELL teachers as support people . . .of the notion that ALL pull-out is bad and ALL push-in is good . . .that collaboration requires teachers working together in the classroom . . .of the one-sided dependency on contacting parents

13. DISCUSSION Think about your circumstances and what you will need to do to promote collaboration. • How do you see your role? • How can you share your expertise with the teachers with whom you are working? • What do you bring to the table? • How will you be taken seriously? • How will you gain their respect for your knowledge?

14. Contexts for Collaboration PASSIVE RESISTANCE Implicit or explicit rejection of collaboration; preference for the status quo after a short trial period; little or no real investment of time or understanding; no positive outcomes recognized; expectation that “this too shall pass.”

15. Contexts for Collaboration COMPLIANCE Positive attitude and expressions of good intent; efforts made to implement roles and responsibilities, but model seen as externally imposed; frustration and stress due to conflicting demands; expectations of practical and teacher-specific external professional development on external rewards.

16. Contexts for Collaboration ACCOMMODATION Positive attitude and willingness to experiment; efforts made to accommodate coteacher’s perceived needs; conflicts seen as unnecessary or avoidable if coteaching is implemented correctly; achievements seen mainly in terms of strategies and techniques.

17. Contexts for Collaboration CONVERGENCE Highly positive attitude, embracing opportunities to learn from each other; efforts made to engage with coteacher’s ideas and initiate dialogue and experimentation; some adopting of other’s ideas and strategies, and increasing satisfaction with rewards of collaboration; increasingly seeking opportunities for peer interaction.

18. Contexts for Collaboration CREATIVE CO-CONSTRUCTION Highly positive attitudes; coteaching seen as preferred approach for working with ELLs; teachers’ roles are more interchangeable, yet still distinct; responsibilities and roles are constantly negotiated; teachers engage in action research and critical reflection on their coteaching.

19. DISCUSSION What is your context for collaborating?

20. WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN YOU COLLABORATE RE: ELLS?

21. Collaboration Cycle 1. DEVELOP STUDENT PROFILE 2. DETERMINE GOALS FOR LANGUAGE & CONTENT 3. ESTABLISH APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENTS FOR CONTENT AND LANGUAGE

22. Collaboration Cycle cont’d 4. CREATE AN INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN 5. CLARIFY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 6. REFLECT

23. 1. DEVELOP STUDENT PROFILE *STUDENT PROFILE *ACCESS SCORE REPORTS *OTHER ASSESSMENT DATA

24. Collaboration over student profile Creates a social environment more conducive to student academic success.

25. Collaboration over ACCESS and other data . . . makes content comprehensible through DIFFERENTIATION in delivering instruction across the language domains (listening, speaking, reading, writing): - CAN DO descriptors - lesson planning and delivery

26. Two are better than one Information about your students = more informed instructional decision making

27. 2. DETERMINE GOALS FOR LANGUAGE & CONTENT * WIDA ELP STANDARDS AND CAN DO DESCRIPTORS * COMMON CONTENT AND LANGUAGE GOALS

28. Categories for Language Focus Collaboration Linguistic ComplexityVocabulary UsageLanguage Control - sentence types - common, high freq. words - phonological - transition signals - content specific words (pronunciation) - voice (active/passive) - technical words (rhythm, pitch, intonation) - organization - word choice - semantic - cohesion - affixation (word derivations) - genres - collocation - syntactic - text features - polysemy, synonomy, (grammar, register) antonomy - root forms

29. Two are better than one. COMMONALITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSE = MORE TARGETED AND STRATEGIC DELIVERY

30. 3. ESTABLISH APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENTS * CONTENT * LANGUAGE * DELIVERY MODE

31. Content ELL teachers need to have a better understanding of learning targets and grade appropriate conceptual demands of content.

32. Language Mainstream teachers need to have a better understanding of the role of cultural and language on learning.

33. Two are better than one THE GRADUAL RELEASE MODEL OF INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY + FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS = COMPREHENSIBLE LEARNING

34. 4. CREATE AN INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN * CONTENT OBJECTIVE * LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE * LESSON TASKS & ACTIVITIES * FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

35. INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN In talking with the classroom teacher, the conversation should focus on these questions: • What is the key vocabulary needed to understand the content? • What prior learning might we tap into or knowledge and skills must we pre-teach? • What is considered essential to understanding the content? • What “product” or assessment will serve to measure student comprehension? • What is the student’s PL level in each of the four domains of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing?

36. Instructional Plan CONTENT LANGUAGE LESSON FORMATIVE OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENTS Content Intentional Listening, Aspects of Knowledge language speaking, content and to be focus reading, language learned as inherent in writing observation determined the lesson task(s) with aligned to by the or necessary appropriate GRR model state for ELL support (lang. and to the standard growth in obj. & PIs) language proficiency domains

37. Two are better than one COLLABORATIVE GOAL SETTING = EFFICIENT INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY

38. 5. CLARIFY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES * MODELS OF COLLABORATION

39. Models Consulting Lead & support Duet Speak & add Stationing Learning style Parallel teaching Complementary Adapting

40. Pitfalls 1. “Bathroom stall planning” 2. “Leaving on a jet plane” 3. “Tightening the corset” 4. “Too many cooks” 5. “Can you hear me now?” (Adapted from Anne Beninghof)

41. Translation • “Bathroom stall planning” - no regularly scheduled meetings 2. “Leaving on a jet plane” - failure to debrief • “Tightening the corset” - lack of flexibility 4. “Too many cooks” - role confusion 5. “Can you hear me now?” - lack of clear goals

42. Two are better than one COLLABORATION IS COMPLEX; THERE IS NO ONE PREFERRED WAY TO DO IT.

43. 6. REFLECT * CHALLENGES * SHARED ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES

44. Challenges 1. Not a partnership, but guerilla warfare (!) • Not systematic language development, but technical support for content area 3. Not integrated long-term curriculum development, but one-lesson-level activities 4. Not interaction of equals, but subordination of ELL to content

45. Challenges cont’d 5. Different (often conflicting) interpretations of the task 6. “Content” needs given priority over language needs 7. Lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities 8. Insufficient (and ineffective use of) time for liaison and planning 9. Uncertain theoretical basis for the selection and sequencing of language input in a content-oriented curriculum 10. Rigid and/or imposed program structures 11. Unrealistic expectations (by co-teachers, heads, students and parents) 12. Inadequate support/leadership

46. Shared Roles/Responsibilities ELL Teacher Establish and nurture / foster the collaborative process and maintain effective communication Content Teacher Establish and nurture / foster the collaborative process and maintain effective communication

47. Shared roles cont’d ELL Teacher Establish clear language focus for unit Content Teacher Establish clear content focus for unit

48. Shared roles cont’d ELL Teacher Bring ESL issues to planning meetings and participate in planning and preparation as equals Content Teacher Participate in planning and preparation as equals

49. Shared roles cont’d ELL Teacher Negotiate flexible, regular teaching role in classroom Content Teacher Negotiate responsibilities for classroom overall management/direction of class

50. Shared roles cont’d ELL Teacher Give priority to ESL identified students, but be willing to provide language support to all Content Teacher Take responsibility for students’ overall development in the content area