English Learners in STEM Subjects Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives (2018) / Chapter Skim
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6 Preparing the Educator Workforce for English Learners in STEM
6 Preparing the Educator Workforce for English Learners in STEM
Pages 165-206
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From page 165... ...
to challenge English learners (ELs) as successful learners of STEM subjects, the knowledge base is newer and not as deep, but there is a solid and rapidly expanding body of research to draw on (e.g., Buxton and Lee, 2014; Civil, 2014; Turner and Drake, 2016)
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From page 166... ...
, Mathematics Education and Young Dual Language Learners by Sylvia Celedón-Pattichis (2018) , Secondary Science Education for English Learners by Sara Tolbert (2018)
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From page 167... ...
study of preservice teachers' use of cultural resources in an after-school bilingual mathematics club pointed to how the nature of the activity influenced the degree to which the preservice teachers attempted to make cultural connections. When the activities looked less like formal schoolwork, preservice teachers made more frequent cultural connections.
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From page 168... ...
and Anhalt, Ondrus, and Horak (2007) presented similar experiences of engaging teachers in a mathematics lesson in a different language with the intent of eliciting participants' feelings about the experience and promoting discussion and reflection about implications for their own teaching of English learners (ELs)
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From page 169... ...
They also assumed that translating curriculum materials to the child's first language would be helpful, not realizing that some ELs may not be literate in the printed word in their native language, especially in the academic language of mathematics. Teacher preparation programs that include experiences specifically aimed at addressing the often implicit assumptions, beliefs, and expectations that teachers have in regard to working with ELs have the potential to address these and other misguided assumptions on the part of preservice teachers (Vomvoridi-Ivanovic and Chval, 2014)
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. Many of the promising possibilities for using field experiences to support preservice teachers learning to teach STEM subjects to ELs attempt to explicitly address the shortcomings of field experiences (Bollin, 2007)
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Further study is needed about how field-based work can be used to specifically support preservice teachers of STEM to work with ELs; however, the limited work in this area shows promise. Integration of Learning How to Teach Disciplinary Content and Disciplinary Language Preservice teachers often begin their preparation with limited views of what will be expected of them when it comes to teaching content to ELs.
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From page 172... ...
described a modified elementary science methods course that also included professional development for cooperating teachers to improve teacher practice and student learning both for ELs and for nonELs. The researchers concluded that the integration of science with language and literacy practices in an inquiry-driven process served to support preservice teachers in gaining skills to challenge ELs in their science classes while also improving the achievement of ELs in mastering science concepts and science writing.
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From page 173... ...
Bunch draws the distinction between pedagogical content knowledge about language, which represents the knowledge base possessed by effective teachers of a second language (i.e., ESL teachers) , and pedagogical language knowledge, which highlights the knowledge base needed by content area teachers for integrating disciplinary language support with the other supports that facilitate learning of disciplinary content.
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From page 174... ...
Although this model shows alignment between the central task of developing subject matter knowledge for teaching and the skill of identifying classroom language demands of particular disciplines, it does not differentiate among those disciplinary demands. Thus, while highlighting more general linguistically responsive tasks for teachers, such as developing tools for analyzing academic language, it does not specifically aid teachers of STEM subjects in identifying STEM-specific language demands and supports.
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From page 175... ...
created a set of standards that support ongoing professional development with a commitment to rigorous learning that enhances "the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs necessary to create high levels of learning for all students" (National Staff Development Council, 2001, p.
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Many professional development programs for science and mathematics teachers fall short in this regard because they fail to consider teacher background, experience, knowledge, beliefs, and needs, instead treating teacher professional learning needs as homogenous (Loucks-Horsley et al., 2003)
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From page 177... ...
showed that the 5E model can also serve to frame professional development for secondary science teachers who are explicitly focused on increasing the participation and learning of ELs. The researchers found that after experienced science teachers practiced implementing the 5E model with their ELs, these students increased their engagement and use of explanation, and had increased opportunities to elaborate their understanding of science content.
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. Molle considered these professional learning experiences through the lenses of partici pation, context, and content to highlight how the development of a professional development learning environment can serve to promote more equity-oriented teaching and learning.
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Research on teachers' beliefs about and self-efficacy regarding teaching ELs in classrooms points to a clear need for continued professional development efforts to help all teachers learn to take an asset-oriented approach. Pettit (2011)
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From page 180... ...
As such, the following themes for all teachers of STEM to consider include • Theme 1: Explicit Integration of STEM Content and Disciplinary Language • Theme 2: Use and Adaptation of Reform-Based Curriculum • Theme 3: Shared Professional Learning Experiences for ESL and STEM Content Teachers • Theme 4: Facilitation of Multilingual Instructional Approaches in STEM Classrooms • Theme 5: Engagement with Families • Theme 6: Use of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies and Explicit Attention to Equity • Theme 7: Targeted Teacher Learning around Common Societal Biases and Beliefs Explicit Integration of STEM Content and Disciplinary Language Teachers of STEM require additional education around using and facilitating disciplinary discourse and how this can be integrated into their
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studied the development of elementary teachers' knowledge of science content, their teaching for understanding, their teaching of science inquiry, and their support for English language development (ELD)
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. A 3-year professional development intervention by Chval, Pinnow, and Thomas (2015)
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From page 183... ...
designed and studied an intervention that combined ongoing professional development for middle school science teachers who worked with large numbers of ELs that was rooted in a series of integrated inquiry-based curriculum units. Teacher scaffolding embedded in the curriculum highlighted direct and explicit instruction in reading, writing, and vocabulary enrichment in English, take-home science activities for families, and review of lessons by university scientists to ensure rigorous, current, and accurate content.
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From page 184... ...
pointed out, teacher professional learning that is focused on supporting ELs often fails to attend to or to be explicitly aligned with reform-based curriculum. Further, when that teacher professional learning does align with reform-based curriculum, it may fail to extend beyond how to teach the disciplinary concepts and
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From page 185... ...
Shared Professional Learning Experiences for Teachers of STEM The dual challenge that teachers face of learning to teach their disciplinary content in new reform-oriented ways while also learning to use language in new ways to meet the needs of all students including ELs is a daunting task for most teachers of STEM content (de Oliveira and Wilcox,
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From page 186... ...
Particularly, elementary teachers working with ELs, who are taught methods in all subject areas, may get professional development with conflicting views about how best to support English language development and how to support STEM content area learning. The 5R Instructional Model was developed to problematize several key prac tices common in sheltered instruction, such as the frontloading of vocabulary and the deliberate discussion of lesson objectives, recognizing that these practices are problematic in science instruction but are common in second language instruc tion.
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From page 187... ...
Thus, conceptualizing teacher collaboration as an opportunity for shared learning may allow co-teaching to become a more regular and integral part of teacher preparation for both ESL specialists and contentarea teachers. However, it is important for ESL teachers collaborating with content teachers of STEM to have a shared vision for the integration of disciplinary content and language (Valdés, Kibler, and Walqui, 2014)
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. As discussed elsewhere in this report, key components of this professional development should include high-quality field experiences that provide scaffolded practice identifying and building on English learners' (ELs')
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From page 189... ...
Further, due to the selective pressures of accountability systems, most ESL teachers who work in content area classes tend to be assigned to language arts and mathematics classrooms, leaving science classrooms largely underserved. Although teacher educators are increasingly preparing general education teachers with some of the skills needed to work with ELs, this will not replace the need for more fully trained ESL teachers and the knowledge base that they possess (Liggett, 2010)
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From page 190... ...
found that teachers with at least three courses in EL-specific university preparation engaged in practices such as encouraging multilingual students to use all language resources with their classmates and seeking out multilingual materials for their students to a much greater extent than teachers without this preparation. Although a growing body of research on instructional strategies and student learning highlights the value of translanguaging approaches to support and challenge ELs in their STEM learning, there has been little appetite in U.S.
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From page 191... ...
. Students' interests and passions, which can often be traced to cultural or community-based practices, can be leveraged to build student interest in STEM content while providing examples to teachers of what culturally sustaining pedagogies can look like.
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Siegel found that this group of preservice teachers changed their understanding of equitable assessments from a simple view of equity as "fairness" to more sophisticated views of equity as actively providing the supports needed to motivate and challenge all students to share what they know, such as through the use of culturally relevant examples. These teachers' understanding of equitable assessments increased, but their actual assessment plans in their subsequent units often failed to demonstrate these new ideas about equity and cultural relevance.
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From page 193... ...
Although it seems that teachers with any professional development focused on teaching ELs feel better able to teach ELs than teachers with no such training, more research is needed to understand the impact of these differences, particularly in the STEM disciplines. PREPARATION OF TEACHER EDUCATORS In this section, we describe research that is specific to the work and preparation of the teacher educators who are preparing and supporting teachers who work with ELs.
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From page 194... ...
schools were quite different, and ELs were rarely present in mainstream STEM courses. Teacher Educators Need Their Own Professional Development Teacher preparation programs that successfully prepare teachers who are effective with ELs and other minoritized students integrate issues of cultural and linguistic diversity throughout their courses and field experiences, rather than relegating these topics to a stand-alone course.
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Teacher Educators Benefit from Collaboration Teacher educators can gain new insights about effective ways to prepare teachers for working with ELs by more systematically observing and describing the professional development processes of the effective teachers with whom they work. Hutchinson and Hadjioannou (2011)
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From page 196... ...
Despite the persistence of deficit views of ELs in STEM subjects, a number of powerful professional learning models exist to debunk deficit perspectives and to prepare teachers at all levels to challenge and support students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds to thrive in grade-appropriate STEM content classrooms. Many of these models have been described in this chapter, and many new models are currently being developed and studied.
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From page 197... ...
. The impact of professional development on elementary teachers' strategies for teaching science with diverse student groups in urban elementary schools.
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Paper commissioned for the Committee on Supporting English Learners in STEM Subjects. Board on Science Education and Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
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. Preservice teachers' assumptions about Latino/a English language learners.
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. Teacher education that works: Preparing second ary-level math and science teachers for success with English language learners through content-based instruction.
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. Video as a professional development tool to support novice teachers as they learn to teach English language learners.
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From page 202... ...
. Insights into professional development for teachers of English language learners: A focus on using students' native languages in the classroom.
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From page 203... ...
. Professional development of secondary science teachers of English learners in immigrant communities.
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From page 204... ...
. Improving science and literacy learning for English language learners: Evidence from a pre-service teacher preparation intervention.
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From page 205... ...
Paper commissioned for the Committee on Supporting English Learners in STEM Subjects. Board on Science Education and Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and So cial Sciences and Education.
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From page 206... ...
. Challenging beliefs and developing knowl edge in relation to teaching English language learners: Examples from mathematics teacher education.
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