Abstract:

Currently, Arizona’s public schools serve an estimated 85,000 English learners (ELs; Arizona Department of Education, 2014). This high number of ELs has brought about the necessity to ensure the educational experiences of these students, both linguistically and academically are of high quality and are effective. Research by Vaughn, et al. (2009), and Hinde, et al. (2011) all demonstrate the impact in English language development through content instruction. The intent of this project is to further the research in EL support through STEMSS (science, technology, engineering, math, and social studies) instruction by teachers who work with diverse populations utilizing a series of strategies that target academic language development through scaffolded content instruction.

ELL students are continuing to fall further behind their counterparts in both language and content instruction (Jimenez-Silva, Gomez, & Cisneros, 2014). de Jong, Arias, & Sanchez, (2010) reported that teacher preparation to support ELLs in Arizona has been significantly reduced since the establishment of restrictive policies at the K-12 level in the state. De Jong and colleagues (2010) explain that the effects of new teacher preparation practices established after Proposition 203 include the reduction of curricular requirements. This new number accounts for less than 10% of the preparation needed to effectively serve ELLs (de Jong, et al. 2010). Because of these reduced requirements, professional development offered by local colleges, districts, and organizations are often provided to support TLLs as they navigate planning, instructing, and evaluating this population of students with whom they work. The STEMSS PD addresses this need with research and documentation on the effectiveness of the training.

The PD (Professional Development) intervention was informed by Shulman’s (2013) Knowledge Growth in Teaching framework; looking at the three types of knowledge: content, pedagogical, and curricular knowledge. The PD intervention was also informed by Lucas and Villegas’ (2013) Linguistically Responsive Teacher Education model. This research emphasized the need to move from conversational English skill development to academic language skill development through purposeful lessons that teach content and language in tandem. This work informs the need to specifically teach strategies to develop academic vocabulary, model strategies that are effective in supporting language acquisition during the content experiences, and to have teachers transfer this knowledge by developing lessons using these strategies to bring them to their classroom. Lucas and Villegas’ (2013) work also informed the measurement and analysis of the innovation’s effectiveness. To ensure teachers gained knowledge in meeting the needs of ELLs, understanding of how to do this effectively through classroom instruction, and confidence in doing so as teachers change their pedagogical methods, three types of assessments were conducted. Beginning and end-of-year observations, pre, post, and maintenance surveys, and a focus group was conducted to gain quantitative and qualitative details about the application and implications of the PD on the TLLs’ teaching practices. These three data sources were analyzed for knowledge, understanding, and self-efficacy in teaching ELLs and findings will be presented.

Keywords:

STEM, Geography Education, EL, PD.