Essential Program Components for Meeting the Learning Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education

Closer Connections Conference / Sioux Falls, SD / Nov. 10, 2015Keynote address by Jill A. Watson, Ph.D.Watson Educational ConsultingAdjunct Graduate Faculty, Hamline University

Agenda1. Overview of SLIFE population

2. Learning challenges of SLIFE in schools

3. Key program components for meeting SLIFE learning needs

What is SLIFE educational background?

Prior to entering U.S. schools:

No or limited prior educationNo or very little literacy in ANY

languageNo or very little English

proficiencyOften, no or little academic or

literacy history in family “Refugee Experience” (CAPM, 2012)

How many SLIFE are there in schools?Minnesota: Exact figures impossible,

prior education data not collected in the past

A careful estimate: 15,000 – 25,000 SLIFE in MN schools

(Watson & Bigelow, 2014)

22 – 36% of all ELs in MN schools are SLIFE

Are SLIFE at risk?Trauma / PTSD: family loss, violence (WIDA,

2015)Acculuration challenges (WIDA, 2015)Limited English / literacy / academicsAge of initial literacy / schooling is major

factor in learning rate (Thomas & Collier, 1997, 2002)Poverty, vulnerable to crime, gangs (Ouk, 2015)High drop-out rate

25% of all HS drop-outs are ELs, 70% of EL drop-outs are SLIFE (Fry, 2005)

Low awareness of SLIFE needs in U.S. K-12 schools

Second Language Acquisition research, teacher preparation, and PD: focus on K-12 language learners with previous schooling and literacy in L1

(first language)

Recent increase in K-12 SLIFE focus Bigelow (2010); Bigelow & Watson (2012); Bigelow, Tarone, Hanson (2009); DeCapua & Marshall (2011), Freeman & Freeman (2002) , Menken (2013); Montero, Newmaster & Ledger, 2014); Watson (2010, 2012); WIDA Focus on SLIFE (2015)

Low awareness of SLIFE

Administrators & teachers (even ESL) are often unaware of the particular profile and needs of SLIFE

This group often not recognized as distinct from ELs with significant / age-level prior schooling

SLIFE recognition: A few exceptions

New York DoE: offical SLIFE guidelines Boston: consent decree to educate SLIFE: Hyde Park HS for SLIFE (Walsh, 1999)

Faribault, MN: specific SLIFE Newcomer Program (Ouk, 2015)

Minnesota: since 2014, official SLIFE definition and data collection requirement in MN law, per LEAPS Act

SLIFE: a unique learner profile

Have come of age in an oral paradigm rather than a paradigm of literacy.

Cognitive / social maturation in an oral paradigm brings with it characteristic orientations to learning and life.

(Akinnaso, 2001; Battiste & Henderson, 2000; Bigelow, 2012; Bigelow & Watson, 2012; Bryce Heath, 1983; DeCapua & Marshall, 2013; Mosha, 2000; Olson & Torrance, 1991; Ong, 1982; Tarone, Bigelow, & Hansen, 2009; Watson, 2010, 2012)

Affordances of OralitySpecific Skills

transfixed listening, oration, memorization

Favored Forms stories, proverbs, fixed expressions, long / epic poetry

Orality vs. Literacy Continuum: A cognitive, cultural, & axiological distinctionLiteracy-based education Orality-based

educationGrounded in sight, phonetic alphabetic literacy. Much learning is done alone: reading, writing. Lettered = educated, intelligent.

Grounded in sound, the oral-aural dimension. All learning is physically proximal, face-to-face, premised on mentoring.

Values definition, precision, abstraction, categorical thinking, formal syllogistic reasoning. Discursively sparse, favors detachment, objectivity, subject / object split.

Values contexual understanding, lived experience, practical relevance. Discourse is additive rather than concisely subordinative. Volubility, formulaïc, repeated expressions. Empathetic and participatory.

Knowledge based on referentiability to written authority and demonstrability via objective methods.

Knowledge based on authority of elders, family and kinship relations, lessons of experience, tradition.

Careful, sequential planning, pre-determined outcomes (objectives, standards), meeting goals.

Heuristic—trial and error, development of practical skill and judgment (phronesis).

Individualistic: individual performance

Collectivistic: the common good

Think about it…

Curriculum theorist James MacDonald once quoted Einstein’s question: “What does a fish know about the water in which he spends his life? (MacDonald, 1988, p. 102). From the literacy perspective, the fish knows nothing about water, not the chemical formula, not the temperature of freezing and boiling, not how to purify water or mix it with other substances, nor any of the scientific minutiae that are the province of hydrologists. From the orality perspective, the fish lives and breathes water, is enveloped by water, is born, finds a mate, gives birth in, and dies in water. A fish knows how to navigate water, sensing and responding to its slightest undulations every minute of its life. No one knows more about water than a fish. The difference is precisely to what extent knowledge is conceived as empathetic and participatory as opposed to something one has or wields from a state of separation. Both kinds may be considered knowledge, but not of the same thing, and not with the same costs and consequences (Watson, 2010, p. 201).

Top 3 learning challenges for SLIFE in U.S. schools

1. Learning based on abstraction & formal categories rather than experience, tradition, or the teaching of elders

Abecedary classification

Luria’s (1976) example: tools and wood

Put these objects into two groups:

What is money good for? The coin story

Top 3 Learning challenges for SLIFE in U.S. schools

2. Learning by definition: Meaning as contained in decontextualized vocabulary or formalities of definition rather than experience, tradition, or the teaching of elders

Dictionaries, textual, or technological authority

Establishing definitional proof

Is X really X?

Your mom says you are a T-rex, but are you really?

Determining definitional sufficiency

Does X count as an example of Y?

Classification tasks

Frayer model

Example of an activity practicing definitional sufficiency from ESL Sheltered Science (WIDA 1 & 2 combined, 75% LFS), MN high school

Top 3 learning challenges for SLIFE in U.S. schools

3. Learning that is based on formal reasoning and logic rather than experience, tradition, or the teaching of elders

Luria’s syllogism:

In the far north, where there is snow, all bears are white. Novaya Zembla is in the far north and there is always snow there.

What color are the bears in Novaya Zembla? (Luria, 1976)

The journey from orality to literacy

We all begin life in orality Only, ever, a one-way journey Not a mere matter of skills acquisition Journey across a vast semiotic abyss:

Leaving one noesis—an entire way of life—for another

Ong: “You have to die [to orality] to continue living [in literacy]” (1982)

A long way to travel from no school experience at all, or, for the lucky few, from a school like this one in Dadaab camp in Kenya:

Or this Karen school in a camp in Thailand:

Or this one in Mexico:

To the palaces of literacy we are accustomed to in the Western academic tradition…

The George Peabody Library, Baltimore, MD

Harper Memorial Library,University of Chicago

We live in a culture so saturated in artifacts of literacy that we find this stash of obsolete books, to be discarded, in a MN school basement…

Hyperliterate Culture (Smith, 2006)

Equitable, culturally responsive education for SLIFESLIFE education is an equity issue

as significant as race, gender, exceptionality, and other areas of equity focus.

Culturally responsive education is necessary to make the transition from orality to literacy and success in school and life in the U.S.

From SLIFE background to MN schools: A journey across a vast abyss (Watson, 2010)

What does it mean for educators in the receiving community to recognize this abyss?

What components should

appropriate instructional programs for SLIFE contain?

Key Program Components for Serving SLIFE

Not a yes / no issue!

Quality and routinization are paramount if the practices are

to benefit SLIFE

Key Component #1: Custom intake, assessment, initial services

English proficiency assessments W-APT (WIDA) Custom assessment for lowest literacy levels (eg. ELLA)

Native language literacy assessment

Content knowledgeContent knowledge assessment

math symbols, maps, charts concepts

Important: ensure that these assessments are not based on knowledge of English.

Prior education: how much, quality

Records (if any): interpret with care

Develop a custom prior education intake questionnaire (eg. Marshall, 2013)

Prior education: how much, quality

Informal family interviews in L1 interpretors required (not optional) don’t assume family literacy ask about: number of years, months per year, hours per day, which subjects, assessments, how many students in class, location (U.S., abroad, public / private / refugee camp)

SLIFE definition in MN law

An English learner with limited formal schooling is defined as a student who:

comes from a home where the language usually spoken is other than English, or usually speaks a language other than English

enters school in the United States after grade 6has at least two years less schooling than the

English learner's peers functions at least two years below expected

grade level in reading and mathematicsmay be preliterate in the English learner's native

language (HF 3062, 2014).  

Health concernsPsychological trauma: violence, family

loss or separation, flight / homelessness

Physical injury, malnutrition, illnesses

Exceptionality

Discuss in family interview, check health records

Develop student profile & connect with initial services (continuum)

Counseling: necessary for many SLIFE (WIDA, 2015)

Acculturation PTSD

School nurse (vision, hearing, general)

Special education referral Immediately if indicated, eg. clear MR, TBI Don’t delay up to 2 years– convene team

and move quickly to support students

Key Component #2: Truly connect with ethnic community, elders

Students in school with same or similar culture/language

Cultural liaison adults in school, district

Ethnic community organizations: create partnerships, in-school reps

Home visitsAdministrators, teachers

Summer, before school starts

During the year, as warranted

Schools who do home visits say: “Essential component for serving SLIFE”

Welcoming environment in school for SLIFE & families

Visuals: flags, posters, artwork

Cultural festivals in school Students perform, contribute Admin, teachers , staff attend

Conferences with interpretors, no literacy assumed Transportation for families

Integrate elders & traditionsLiaisons

Behavioral support

Elders in the classroom: experts, oral sources Elders as Fonts of Knowledge approach▪ Will discuss in follow-up session

Traditional practices, history included in content

Key Component #3: Appropriate curriculum, scheduling, support

Adolescent SLIFE need custom instruction & more time:Newcomer program, base on intake

profile: 1-2 year academy: acculturation, basic skills

Separate classes

5 – 6 year graduation plan (per profile)

Scheduling, courses

EL service: direct ELD through Level 4

Level 1 class: custom for SLIFE & non-SLIFE

Master scheduling preference (WIDA, 2015) Schedule early in process to ensure right teachers and courses for their pathway

Appropriately challenging: i + 1, ZPDGuiding principle: Challenge, not overwhelm

Courses in student’s i+ 1 (Krashen, 1988);;Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978); Match to student challenge level (Nebelsick, 2015)

Progressive, targeted, sheltered instruction: EL and content

Avoid premature co-teaching No evidence of effectiveness with SLIFE

(Honigsfeld, 2012)

Scheduling approaches▪ Immediate push-in: PE, Art, FCS,

Industrial / Ag Arts; modified grading, Pass / Fail

▪ Basic Skills focus in ESL classes: Math, Science, Social Studies

▪ Sheltered content for SLIFE Levels 1 & 2 ▪ Clustered scheduling in core content

when SLIFE ready: ESL teacher meaningfully co-teaching, or para support

Support Resource period in the day

Computer lab period: Imagine Learning, Rosetta Stone, Raz-kids reading, Accelerated Reader, etc. Read 180 is not ideal

After-school, summer tutoring

L1 support in and after class L1 literacy classes

Paras in newcomer & clustered classes

Key Component #4: Customized SLIFE instruction: ENL & content

Build from SLIFE affordances:

Orality - ListeningProverbs, stories, poetryElders, traditionsActual experience, practical relevanceCollectivistic culture (DeCapua & Marshall, 2010,

2012) SLIFE need face-to-face instruction, not only

or primarily on-line or technology-enabled

Language support: L1Plan and implement structures

for L1 use

Word / picture notebooks L1 oral turn-and-talk exchange:

negotiate meaning L1 stories translated to English L1 literacy class, content Consider: Imagine Learning, iLit

software

Language support: ENL DevelopmentGuided literacy instruction

Phonemic awareness (WIDA, 2015)

Structured dialog to literacy (Watson, 2014)

Running records (Montero, Newmaster, & Ledger, 2014)

PALS Partner reading (McMaster, Miura, Kao, & Watson, 2011)

Academic language Vocabulary AND structures needed to access content

Thematic / project-based instruction

Recall: SLIFE struggle with abstract, decontextualized definitions & content

Content – language integrationBridge from SLIFE approach to

academic mode (DeCapua & Marshall, 2011)Accomodates group work

(collectivist orientation)

Instructional supports

Realia (actual items)PicturesVideosCharts, concept mapsKey vocabulary lists that remain postedTotal Physical Response, role-playsLanguage Experience Approach

Visuals and movement are not just for elementary school!

Structured interaction: Crucial for SLIFE (oral background)

Routine, Integrated, Structured, Academic (RISA), (Watson, 2014)

Infuse into regular practice in all subjects

Routine formats minimize confusion

Structure it: Don’t just say, “Now talk…”

Watson’s law: “Instruction that uses only reading, writing, and the teacher talking dooms SLIFE to fail.”

Key Component #5: Build capacity of all staff to meet SLIFE needs

General PD on SLIFE for all staff

Custom, on-going, job-embedded PD for staff who work with SLIFE Teachers, counselors, nurse, coaches, administrators

Professional collaborationSLIFE PLC for relevant staff

4 - 6 times per year Invite community members, parents

Google doc or other format to share information

Accountability

Develop performance review procedures for administrators & teachers that evaluate readiness and skill to serve SLIFE appropriately

Include SLIFE skills on observation rubrics

Key Component #6: Plan for post-high school transition

Many SLIFE face the age-out limit: 21 years old in MN

Resist pressures to rush graduation

HS diplomas not based on actual skills are meaningless

Many (diploma’d) SLIFE flounder after HS

Facilitate transition to ABE

ABE teacher visit HS class

Tour ABE facility

As appropriate, tell SLIFE and families upon intake that they may end up completing their diploma in Adult Ed

Post-secondary options

During SLIFE HS experience, through courses and counseling, support students in exploring:

Realistic employment optionsVocational education (Krashen, 2015)Community collegeUniversity

Come!

You’re 18 years old, don’t know English, and didn’t have a chance to attend school or learn to read before?

Come! (cf: Nebelsick, 2015)

Be a SLIFE educational leader

SLIFE education is one of the most under-recognized, but most urgent school equity issues

SLIFE futures depend on your leadership and advocacy!

MinneSLIFE Spring Mini-Conference Saturday, April 23, 2016

4th annual event, put on my MinneSLIFE– Standing committee of MinneTESOL

Held at Hamline Univeristy, St. Paul 1:00 – 5:00 pm (approx.) Refreshments included Keynote + breakout sessions, all on SLIFE issues Teacher clock hours (CEUs) available Registration is appreciated but not required Free -- all are welcome Website: https://sites.google.com/site/minneslife/ Contact me (Jill Watson) for more info

Thank you for your participation!

Jill A. Watson, Ph.D. Watson Educational ConsultingAdjunct Graduate Faculty,Hamline University

Website: www.watsoneducationalconsulting.comEmail: watsoneducationalconsulting@gmail.comTelephone: 763.458.1167