Integrating Aesthetics within Professional Development for Eeachers of English Learners

The emphasis on testing in curricular content areas has left little room in most U.S. schools for education in the arts. Yet research supports the pedagogical value of aesthetic education, particularly for English learners (ELs), whose representation in schools continues to increase. This article presents a qualitative action research study intended to contribute to the understanding of the impact of incorporating aesthetic education into the training protocol for teachers of ELs. Twenty‐three graduate education students at a private university in Queens, New York, participated in an artist‐led workshop rooted in the aesthetic education theories of Maxine Greene (1995, 2011, 2007) and structured around the four‐stage knowledge acquisition schemas of Torbert (2006) and Heron and Reason (2006). Thereafter, the trainees experimented with using arts‐based lessons in their own classrooms, which included ELs. Interviews conducted after the workshop and again after the practice attempts showed that participants gained confidence and facility in integrating arts and aesthetics into their teaching. Participants\u27 reflections also support research that suggests that arts‐based education is an excellent means to develop the cognitive, linguistic, and cultural abilities of ELs. These findings are supplemented with recommendations for implementation and with a sample rubric for an EL‐friendly aesthetic education unit

Immigrant Children in the Age of Educational Reform

Immigrant children are the fastest growing subgroup among United States schoolchildren today. This paper explores how the new testing movement affects these students, many of which are English language learners.The passage of new federal laws mandating that all students be tested within one year of entrance into a U.S. school is refuted by long standing research. Studies have demonstrated that it takes five to seven years for students to attain the academic language necessary to achieve success in educational settings.This paper explores the instructional program options for immigrant students and advocates for changes in the current testing protocol for them

Teachers’ Beliefs About English Learners: Adding Linguistic Support to Enhance Academic Rigor

A persistent achievement gap for English learners (ELs) has prompted educators to search for contributing factors and pedagogical solutions. Our research shows teachers’ beliefs about rigor of curriculum may contribute to the problem; teachers supported less rigorous curriculum for ELs, evincing a “rigor gap” likely to exacerbate the EL achievement gap. We suggest that systematic analysis of the linguistic demands of classroom tasks can facilitate the design of appropriate linguistic supports, allowing ELs to engage in academically rigorous instruction comparable to that afforded English-proficient students. Counteracting the rigor gap as such has promise to ameliorate the EL achievement gap

The Effect of Dual-Language and Transitional-Bilingual Education Instructional Models on Spanish Proficiency for English Language Learners

The effects of “transitional bilingual” and “dual language” educational models on proficiency in students’ home language (Spanish) were examined in a study of English language learners in the first and second grades in a large urban elementary school. In each grade, students were taught with either a transitional-bilingual model or a dual-language one, with a Spanish proficiency assessment administered on a pre/post basis. ANOVA results showed that both models produced significant increases in multiple dimensions of Spanish proficiency (alphabet/sight words, reading, writing, listening, and verbal expression). However, second-grade students in dual-language classrooms (who had longer exposure to the instructional model relative to first graders) scored significantly higher in verbal expression skills. In light of research linking proficiency in the home language with achievement in English language skills and content learning, dual-language instruction appears to be more effective than transitional-bilingual education, although the advantage is limited to the facilitation of home-language verbal expression associated with the dual-language model

Teachers’ Perceptions of the Implementation of the Literacy Common Core State Standards for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities

This qualitative study explored the experiences of U.S. teachers of English language learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs) as they sought to align the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) with previously used standards and instructional approaches during the first year of CCSS implementation. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 20 ELL and SWD literacy teachers to investigate (1) the teachers’ experiences as they began the alignment of their curriculum and teaching methods with the CCSS, (2) the teachers’ perceptions of the support that they received and that they still require, and (3) the teachers’ perceptions of the challenges to and potential for implementation. Four themes emerged from analysis of the interview data: alignment to the CCSS, teacher comfort level, best teaching practices, and challenges of teaching literacy. The authors conclude that broad-based alliances across schools, districts, and communities are needed to support professional development that responds authentically to the challenges revealed, as well as understanding at all levels that time and support are critical for teachers of special needs students

Administrators\u27 Sense of Self-Efficacy in Supervision of Teachers of English as a Second Language

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. school population, which means schools are hiring significant numbers of new ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. This burgeoning pool of ESL teachers must be supervised by administrative staff, and the stakes are considerably higher now that teacher-evaluation policies frequently require teachers to make the grade or lose their jobs. But most administrators’ educational experiences are remote from ESL instruction; few administrators are former ESL teachers, and supervisory training routinely fails to encompass ESL pedagogy. Hence, it remains unclear whether the administrators who supervise ESL teachers feel competent to do so. It seems plausible that the increasing ESL population is causing a supervision problem in modern schools: more and more ESL teachers whom administrators feel unprepared to supervise. To test this theory, a study was conducted focused on administrators’ self-efficacy beliefs in supervision of ESL teachers. We designed a new survey instrument and evaluated its psychometric characteristics with a sample of 75 administrators, with linear regression performed to explore factors that predict administrators’ self-efficacy beliefs in ESL teacher supervision. Results indicate that the more ESL teachers an administrator supervises, the lower the self-efficacy the administrator reports in supervising these teachers. So the increasing quantity of ESL teachers is in fact producing a growing problem in schools, indicating an urgent need for more extensive and higher-quality training for administrators in the objectives and methods of ESL instruction

Growing Pains: The Effect of Common Core State Standards on Perceived Teacher Effectiveness

Survey research tested the hypothesis that teachers support less rigorous curriculum for English language learners (ELLs) than for general-education (GE) students. Participating teachers (n = 205) worked in urban schools with large populations of ELLs whose home language is Spanish. Eighty-seven were randomly assigned to respond about ELLs and 118 about GE students. Teachers rated descriptions of instructional activities that differed in demand for critical thinking (CT), a proxy for rigor of curriculum. In within-subjects analyses, teachers asked about ELLs rated low-CT activities over high-CT ones, but teachers asked about GE students produced no difference. In between-subjects analyses, teachers asked about ELLs rated high-CT activities lower than did teachers asked about GEs, but these teacher groups did not differ in ratings of low-CT activities. No effects were associated with teachers’ gender, ethnicity, age, educational attainment, teaching experience, or administrative experience, or if they held ESL or bilingual certification. Teachers favored less rigorous curriculum for ELL students, especially concerning high-CT activities. Beliefs as such would likely contribute to achievement gaps between ELLs and GE students