Abstract:

The growing population of students from non-English speaking homes in the US creates an increasing need for teachers to be well trained to teach English learners (ELs) effectively. Many new teachers feel ill prepared to teach ELs (Durgunoglu & Hughes 2010). Unfortunately, state and federal policies and teacher preparation programs have not prioritized the training of content area teachers to adequately to meet the needs of the EL population (Quintero & Hansen, 2017; Reeves, 2006). As a result, most schools are not prepared to educate these students in an effective manner.

The US Department of Education has established the National Professional Development Grant, a large five-year grant that is given to highly effective teacher preparation programs in the US that use research-based approaches for preparing teachers to teach ELs. The University of Akron in Ohio has been the recipient of this grant for ten years. To prepare for this grant, a group of professors redesigned the university’s TESOL program from one that prepared ESL teachers who work solely with ELs to one that prepares content teachers to be highly qualified teachers of ELs. The strengths of this program are that it balances theory and practice, uses the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model as a framework, and emphasizes national standards and research-based practices for teaching academic language and subject areas.

The purpose of this presentation is to describe the evaluation of the redesigned TESOL program to determine its effectiveness. Two research goals guided this evaluation:
1. To improve the instructional practice of participating teachers
2. To improve the achievement of participating teachers’ ELs

In response to research goal 1, the following quantitative and qualitative data were collected from participating teachers:
(a) pre and post surveys to assess changes in perceived effectiveness following program participation and
(b) a post-survey containing questions regarding program outcomes such instruction provided, skill acquisition, confidence, and overall impact and impressions.

Preliminary data suggests participants felt the program was beneficial to themselves, their EL students, and their building/district. Further, teachers indicated an increased level of ability in effectively working with EL students.

In response to research goal 2, the following data were collected (a) OELPA scores of EL students taught by teachers participating in the program were compared to EL students of those not participating in the program and (b) when compared to EL students of non-participating teachers, did EL students of participating teachers demonstrate differential academic growth over the course of the school year, as measured by the MAP? A preliminary analysis of the data indicates there is some, but not overwhelming, evidence of the effectiveness of the program on EL student achievement as measured by the OELPA and MAP.

The data collected has practical implications for the content relevant design of teacher professional development. Teachers must recognize the different linguistic, cultural, and experiential backgrounds of students; moreover, they must view such differences as assets. In effect, K12 educators need to create an avenue for ELs to access their own funds of knowledge while maintaining their cultural identity and success.

Keywords:

English Learners, Teacher Preparation Programs, TESOL.