improving educational opportunities for latino students in catholic elementary schools
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Improving Educational Opportunities
for Latino Students in Catholic Elementary
Schools
Demographic Imperative
• Nationally:
– Fastest growing sectors: 2015: over half of our students will be from culturally diverse backgrounds
– Vast majority of students who are ELL are Latino, but many of other linguistic heritages
• Catholic Sector:
– Dioceses with highest number of empty seats are located around the largest metropolitan areas with large numbers of Latinos
– Number of Hispanics enrolled in Catholic schools has remained stagnant in past 15 years
Opening thought
Two necessary and sufficient ingredients for constructing social identities of achievement:
1) Normalize success (Membership = Achievement)
2) Scaffold necessary behaviors and practices
Theresa Perry
Overview
I. Linguistic diversity as an asset
II. Knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support bilingual students
III.Cultivating culturally responsive schools
I. Linguistic Diversity as an Asset
- English proficiency = common goal- Affirming the home language as a strength• Supports English proficiency• Affirms the parents as primary
educators• Creates new opportunities
What’s in a name?
• English language learners
• Limited English proficiency
• English as a second language
• Linguistically diverse families
• Spanish speakers
• Bilingual
Hows does this apply to schools?
a) How do schools communities (not just Catholic) treat linguistic diversity as an asset?
b) How do schools communities (not just Catholic) treat linguistic diversity as an deficit?
II. Supporting Bilingual Students
Dispositions- We are Catholic - All are
welcome - We expect success from all
students- We are all language teachers
II. Supporting Bilingual Students
Knowledge & Skills
- Knowledge of Language Acquisition
- Skills to support bilingual students
A) Stages of Language Acquisition
I) Pre-production –listening and repeating in the second language (500 words)
II) Early production – developing receptive and active vocabulary (1000 words)
III) Speech emergence – communicating with simple phrases and sentences (3000 words)
IV) Intermediate fluency – using more complex sentences in speaking and writing (6000 words)
V) Advanced fluency – achieving cognitive academic language proficiency
B) Socio-Cultural
I) Different registers of text (field, tenor, mode)
II) Registers fit contexts
• Developing school-related language is simply a matter of time and that it will be "picked up" eventually
B) Socio-Cultural
Viewing language development as a process of learning to control an increasing range of registers suggests that while all children are predisposed in a biological sense to learn language, whether or not they actually do, how well they learn to control it, and the range of registers and purposes for which they are able to use it are a matter of the social contexts in which they find themselves"
(Gibbons, 2002, p. 5)
Academic English Register
• “Academic English is a register of English… characterized by the specific linguistic features associated with academic disciplines…” (Scarcella, 2003, p. 9)
• Reading and writing:CritiquesSummariesReportsCase studies
Research projects Expository essays Narratives
Academic English
• Powerful –Where is academic English most
essential?
• Dynamic – Changing over time and setting–Not acquired once and for all
C) Scaffolding: Verbal
Student Independence
Teach
ModelPractic
e
Apply
Teachers use verbal scaffolding to prompt, guide, and support English language learners by using a variety of questioning techniques that promote higher levels of thinking as students develop their language skills.
Paraphrasing… Repetition… Questioning
C) Scaffolding: Procedural
Student Independence
Whole Class
Small Group
Paired/ Partner
Independent Work
Procedural scaffolding refers to the use of grouping configurations that provide different levels of support to students as they gain greater levels of language proficiency and skills.
Second Language Learning
(Cummins, 1981)Cognitively Demanding
Cognitively Undemanding
Context Embedded
(Concrete)
Context Reduced
(Abstract)
Developing survival vocabulary
Following demonstrated directions
Participating in hands-on science and mathematics activities
Making maps, models, charts, and graphs
Solving math computational problems
Engaging in telephone conversations
Reading and writing for personal purposes: notes, lists, sketches, etc.
Understanding academic presentations without visuals or demonstrations: lectures
Solving math word problems without illustrations
Taking standardized achievement tests
Review
Dispositions
• Catholic• Expect success • All teachers =
language teachers
Knowledge
A) Sequential
B) Socio-cultural context
C) Scaffolding
Skills to support bilingual students
Instruction– Accessing / building prior
knowledge– Small group work– Whole group work– Modifying texts and supporting
writing
Accessing Prior Knowledge
What is this?Relate background experiences and knowledge to the content being taught
Who cares?• Critical component in planning instruction• Linking new information to relevant prior knowledge• Learning should be made explicit so students
understand they are building on knowledge frameworks acquired through prior schooling and life experiences
Accessing Prior Knowledge
How do we do this?
• Charts• KWL• Lesson Connections• Student Journals• Questioning
22
Types of Prior Knowledge
• Academic– Background knowledge built on traditional
schooling in core subjects• Non-academic– Background knowledge built on survival
experiences, i.e. real life
- On one hand, explicitly building on cultural capital that students brings from home and life
- At the same time, need to recognize that all students do not come with the same privileges
Building Prior Knowledge
• Read alouds• Presenting the information explicitly-
concept definition maps• Generate & plan discussions about the
topic• Using pictures• Videos• Guest speakers• Field trips• Anchor charts
Strategic small group work
1. Redundancy in directions
2. Require talk
3. High cognitive demands / low English demands
4. Integrated into curriculum
5. Basic group dynamics
Find the difference game
Modifying Language in Whole Class Setting
• Use schema-building: Incorporate prior knowledge (general & specific) to
• make predictions• ask questions• visualize• draw inferences• confirm hypothesis• demonstrate understanding
Modifying Language in Whole Class Setting
• Clarify directions – Verbally and visually– Rewrite difficult texts into simpler terms– Define /explain new & difficult words
• Teacher-guided reporting–Use open questions – Slow pace of dialogue
Modifying Texts
• Aim toward appropriate Language Proficiency and Reading Levels
• Modify texts to make content more comprehensible for students by:–Using graphics–Using outlines–Using audio recordings– Providing demonstrations –Using alternate books or materials
Supporting Writing
1)Write aloud
2)Shared writing
3)Guided writing
4)Collaborative writing
5)Independent writing
III. Cultivating Culturally Responsive Schools
- What does culturally responsive mean?
- Students’ identities, life experiences, families, and backgrounds are resources for optimizing learning
- Sociocultural learning theory- Funds of knowledge
How does culturally responsive teaching fit with Catholic identity?
• Mission and vision• School philosophy• Parish identity or religious
charism
• How are we culturally responsive?–Cultural celebrations–Parent partnerships
Recap
I. Linguistic diversity =an asset
II. Knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support bilingual students
III.Cultivating culturally responsive schools
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact us:
Melodie Hessling–
Martin Scanlan –
GMCEC Website
hesslingm@njms.org
martin.scanlan@mu.edu
References• Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in
promoting educational success for language minority students. In "Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework." Los Angeles: California State University; Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center.
• Echevarria, J., Short, D., & Vogt, M. D. (2008). Implementing the SIOP Model through effective professional development and coaching. Boston: Allyn& Bacon.
• Garcia, E., Jensen, B., & Scribner, K. (2009). The demographic imperative. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 8-13.
• Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
• Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does - and does not - say. American Educator (Summer), 8-23, 42-44
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