Course-Taking Patterns and Graduation Outcomes for Dually Identified Students

ABSTRACTThis study examined the effectiveness and influence on validity of a computer-based pop-up English glossary accommodation for English learners (ELs) in grades 3 and 7. In a randomized controlled trial, we administered pop-up English glossaries with audio to students taking a statewide accountability English language arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments. As is typically found, EL students exhibited lower achievement scores than non-EL students in all portions of the test. The pop-up glossaries provided inconsistent benefit for EL students. There was some evidence that the pop-up English glossaries had a minimal inhibitory effect for 3rd-grade students on both the ELA and mathematics assessment. Furthermore, 7th-grade ELs also showed slightly inhibited performance when using the pop-up glossary on the mathematics assessment. However, 7th-grade EL students had a performance benefit when using the pop-up glossary on the ELA assessment. We discuss how increased cognitive load placed on younger students may play a role in diminishing performance when using pop-up glossaries. We explore potential explanations for the difference outcomes between mathematics and ELA in grade 7.

This study examined the nature and frequency of error in high school native English speaker (L1) and English learner (L2) writing. Four main research questions were addressed: Are there significant differences in students’ error rates in English language arts (ELA) and social studies? Do the most common errors made by students differ in ELA and social studies? Are there significant differences in the error rates between L1 and L2 students in ELA? Do L1 and L2 students differ in how frequently they make the most common errors in ELA? Written work of 10th and 12th grade students in five states was collected. The sample included 178 essays (120 in ELA and 58 in social studies) from 67 students (33 10th graders and 34 12th graders; 49 native English speaking students and 18 English learners). Results indicate that there were significant differences in the frequencies of errors between ELA and social studies, with higher error rates in social studies. In addition, L2 writers had significantly higher error rates than L1 writers in ELA. Aside from a few types of errors (spelling, capitalization, and some punctuation errors), most types of errors appear relatively infrequently in school-sponsored writing. Moreover, the eight most common errors accounted for a little more than half of all errors, and these did not differ significantly between ELA and social studies writing or between L1 and L2 writers.

In recent years, disciplinary literacy has been at the forefront of adolescent literacy research and practice but has largely focused on the four core content areas: English language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. Drawing on a physical education lens, this article is a call to expand the definitions, approaches, and framework of disciplinary literacy by examining three critical issues for disciplinary literacy: focus on the disciplinary expert (i.e., thinking like a historian, a mathematician, a scientist, etc.), emphasis on cognition over other forms of engagement and disciplinary practice, and notions of student participation and activity.

This article used a rich longitudinal data set from four school districts in California to study absenteeism patterns among students classified as an English learner (EL). We looked at absence patterns overall and disaggregated by EL classification, grade level, and pre/post COVID-19. When their demographic and school-level factors are considered, ELs have fewer absences and are less likely to be chronically absent than non-EL students. This finding is evident for all EL classified groups, although the differences in absenteeism for long-term EL (LTEL) and newcomer EL students are markedly smaller than for other EL subgroups. The negative absenteeism patterns for ELs shifted after the COVID-19 pandemic. EL-classified students experienced higher absenteeism rates during the pandemic even when holding other factors constant. This rising absenteeism trend is most evident for current ELs and LTELs.

<p>In recent decades, the landscape of the U.S. classroom has been drastically changing. Schools at every level are enrolling increasingly higher numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse learners, many in the process of learning English. These students, frequently called English language learners (ELLs), present new and unique challenges to educators. Many of these challenges concern language and the many ways it affects the educational experience. One concern of great interest involves better understanding the ways language and academic content interact. Language is a pivotal component of the learning experience, and likely to affect students’ perceptions of the classroom environment and themselves, as well as interactions with teachers and peers. This concern remains critical to consider in secondary mathematics, where language demands are high, but teachers may not be trained to attend to both language and content in the mainstream classroom. The present research used data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to investigate the secondary mathematics experiences of ELL and non-ELL students in two studies conducted at distinct levels: student and teacher.</p> <p>At the student-level, hierarchical linear modeling was used to compare the effects of several student variables on both access to and achievement in mathematics, as well as how these effects differed between ELL and non-ELL students. Findings indicated that both mathematics self-efficacy and interest in early coursework were positively related to access to and achievement in mathematics, and these relationships were significantly stronger for ELL students. Conversely, positive perceptions of the learning environment and classroom engagement were often related to gains in outcomes for non-ELL students, but decreases for ELL students. This study highlighted several key factors of the secondary mathematics experience that behaved differently for ELL and non-ELL students. Implications of these findings are further discussed in Chapter 2.</p> <p>At the teacher-level, hierarchical linear modeling was used to compare the effects of teacher experience, classroom practices, and perceptions of departmental support on the access to and achievement in mathematics of their students, and how these effects differed between ELL and non-ELL students. Findings indicated that more conceptually-oriented teaching practices were beneficial to both students, with greater gains long-term for both ELL and non-ELL students. Procedurally-oriented teaching was beneficial to ELL students in nearly all cases, but detrimental to non-ELL students’ mathematics outcomes. The effects of perceptions of departmental support varied, with mixed effects for some (e.g. principal support) and detrimental effects for others (e.g. sense of responsibility). Implications of these findings are further discussed in Chapter 3.</p> <p>Finally, Chapter 4 discusses overarching themes across studies at both levels, summarizing the results with regards to student variables, teacher variables, and student-teacher-school relationships. Implications for administrators, teachers, and teacher educators are discussed.</p>

Accessible and hands-on, this textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to teaching language through content, an approach known as Content-Based Language Teaching (CBLT). A content-based, language-focused approach to teaching in the disciplines is essential to serving the language and disciplinary needs of English learners (ELs) in the classroom. Guided by learning standards and informed by research, this book demonstrates how content materials in the English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies can be harnessed to develop the English language proficiency of ELs as well as advance their disciplinary knowledge and skills. Using content materials in ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies as a starting point, this textbook illustrates how to teach English as an additional language effectively by integrating language instruction with disciplinary teaching. It showcases numerous learning and instructional activities, complete with targeted language exemplified in sentential and discourse contexts, direct instruction, teacher modeling, guided and individual practices, and assessments, which are further backed up by detailed discussions of their goals, rationales, and implementation. This textbook also features a discussion of differentiation to address the varied needs of students. To further assist readers in determining how to incorporate language instruction, Peng identifies extensive possibilities for language teaching that are based on the same content materials and beyond those targeted by sample learning activities. Each chapter ends with three types of exercises—multiple-choice questions, open-ended discussion questions, and problems of application—to bolster understanding, promote reflection, and encourage application. Complementing the book are additional online resources, including ready-to-use PowerPoints, which are available on the book’s webpage at Routledge.com/9780367521134. Covering key issues such as characteristics of effective language instruction, differentiation, and the challenges associated with CBLT, this is an essential text in TESOL methods and content-area language teaching, as well as an invaluable resource for pre-service and in-service ESL/EFL teachers and content-area teachers who are interested in furthering their students’ language and literacy development.

Collaboration is an aspect of engagement that focuseson learningthrough group work and having discussions with other learners. Activelearning approaches are a way to foster collaborative engagement becausethey provide more opportunities for interaction among learners. ProcessOriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), a socially mediated activelearning approach, uses verbalizing and discussing ideas with peersin small groups to reach a shared understanding. Due to the growingnumber of immigrants in the United States, the number of English Learners(ELs) in American classrooms has been increasing rapidly. ELs encounterchallenges such as unfamiliarity with American science class normsand expectations, feelings of not being valued and socially accepted,and instructors’ lower expectations of them. These challengescan impact this group of students’ learning and achievements.Previous studies have discussed that learning chemistry can be morechallenging for EL students due to the critical role of language inlearning. We argue that ELs use discourse moves differently comparedto non-ELs in a POGIL-based class in terms of engaging in conversationsthat can lead to a shared understanding at the group level througha joint knowledge construction process. Our findings indicated that,in our sample, ELs were less likely to engage in discursive movesthan non-ELs. This difference may result in missed opportunities fora shared understanding and joint knowledge construction. In additionto differences between EL and non-EL students in our samples, we alsofound differences between EL students who attended K–12 schoolsin the United States compared to international EL students. Implicationsfor future studies of these possibly distinct EL populations are considered.

Teacher and student academic discourse was examined in an urban arts-integrated school to better understand facilitation of students’ English language learning. Participants’ discourse was compared across English language arts (ELA) lessons with and without classroom drama in a third-grade classroom of English learning (EL) students (N = 18) with Spanish as their home language (L1) and English as their second language (L2). Students used significantly higher rates of L2 academic language forms as measured by linguistically specific and complex literate language features and language-facilitative speech acts during classroom drama, as compared with conventional ELA lessons. The classroom teacher used more dialogic discourse, as measured by increased rates of requestive and responsive speech acts during drama, as compared with conventional ELA lessons. The findings indicate that the contextualization of ELA content through classroom drama contributed to participants’ dialogic use of specific and complex academic discourse forms over a conventional ELA setting. The implications of arts-integrated instruction for education practice, research, and policy are discussed.

This paper proposes a model of effective instruction and intervention for English Learners (ELs) within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. First, we review literature on effective instruction for ELs and how RTI can address the needs of these students. Then, we describe the PLUSS model, which integrates research on effective instruction for ELs, tiered models of support, and teacher practices. The model includes the following elements: Pre-teaching critical vocabulary; Language modeling and opportunities to use academic language; Using visuals and graphic organizers; Systematic and explicit instruction; and Strategic use of native language and teaching for transfer. Finally, we provide an example of a PLUSS model lesson for Tier 2 instruction within an RTI framework. Mrs. Shinn is a fourth-grade teacher in a school implementing Response to Intervention (RTI). She is responsible for core and Tier 2 instruction in her classroom. She has a Tier 2 intervention group of six students, four of whom are English learners; of these, three speak Spanish and one speaks Vietnamese. She uses a program that incorporates effective instructional practices recommended in the literature for native English speakers and English learners (e.g., Gersten et al., 2007), but her students sometimes struggle with the vocabulary and language structures used in the intervention program. She wonders what she can do to make Tier 2 instruction more effective for her English learners. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2011) reported that the number of English Learners (ELs) in public schools rose from 4.7 to 11.2 million between 1980 and 2009, representing an increase of 21 percent. While ELs are a diverse population, representing more than 400 languages, what defi nes them as a group is their need for specialized and effective language support to fully participate in English-only educational programs (Goldenberg, 2008). Of all ELs, 73 percent are Spanish-speakers (NCES, 2011). Data on the school achievement of ELs reinforce the importance of assuring that all teachers have the skills necessary to assure that students with limited English profi ciency meet high academic standards. In 2010, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported a gap of 36 points between EL and non-EL students in reading at fourth grade, a 47-point gap in eighth grade, and a staggering 50-point gap in grade 12. As alarming as these statistics may seem, it is hard to interpret NAEP results because ELs were tested in English, a language they are

Research on the occupational socialization of teachers and coaches has largely centered on physical education teachers and rarely on teachers from core content areas (i.e. English, foreign language, mathematics, science and social studies) who also coach athletics. The primary purpose of this single-case study was to explore the socialization of a first-year, core content area teacher/athletic coach at a small high school in the rural southeastern United States. Various qualitative techniques were utilized during data collection, while data analysis consisted of a system of open, axial and selective coding. Four themes emerged and were viewed through the lens of teacher identity. Themes include gender and opportunity; interactions within the school culture; teaching and coaching expectations; and interrole conflict and complementarity. Findings from this study hope to shed light on the need for further research on core content area teacher-coaches, while adding to the existing literature on females in the coaching profession and the roles of academics and athletics in rural areas.

“Fitting It In”: Elementary Teachers Talk About Social Studies Instruction in Public School Classrooms

The contributors to this special issue make a compelling case for paying greater attention to multilingual learners (MLs) in ”peripheral“ (i.e., beyond the ”core”) educational settings, including in art, drama, museum, career and technical, and world language education. In this commentary, I build on and extend their argument by proposing that a focus on the periphery has the potential not only to shine a light on settings that have received less attention in research to date, but also to help rethink the education of MLs more broadly. Specifically, lessons from the periphery about what makes learning deep for MLs could offer a fresh perspective on core content areas, such as science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies, that have been somewhat resistant to change in their purposes and structures over time. Grounded in contemporary theoretical perspectives in language education, I propose four lessons that the periphery could teach the core in the education of MLs: (a) establishing authentic purposes and audiences, (b) creating communities of practice, (c) cultivating learners’ identities, and (d) promoting multiple modalities of expression. Ultimately, this commentary seeks to initiate a dialogue between educators in the periphery and those in the core toward developing a collective vision of what it might look like to provide MLs with the deep, personally meaningful, and equitable school experiences they deserve.

This study explored the divergent content knowledge that pre-service social studies teachers negotiate during their collegiate experience. Given the array of competing canonical forces, including university departments, state departments of education, the Praxis II subject test, and local content standards, as well as the variability of social studies content course requirements within different universities, I explored student perceptions of content courses as they relate to these forces. The findings revealed that students perceive their content preparation to be overly general and disconnected from the Praxis II exam. Yet, students suggested that university courses helped prepare them to teach, and they expressed a desire for more content courses and fewer education courses. Finally, in response to the problem of canonical divergence, this article suggests blurring the divisions between university content departments, departments of teacher education, and K-12 schools, as well as teaching some content courses in teacher education.

The study aimed to analyze the content of the course of studies and social and national for third level in intermediate school in Saudi Arabia in the light of sustainable development concepts. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used descriptive content analysis-based and adopted the theme and the idea as unit of analysis and the concepts of sustainable development as a group for analysis. The list consisted of 20 units of sustainable development concepts administred on the content of social and national course in the third level in intermediate school. One of the most important results of the study is that the social sustainable development concept came first and had percentage of 45.1%, sustainable economic development concept came in second 34.2%, and environmental sustainable development concept came third with a percentage of 20.1%. The researcher recommends that the sustainable development concepts which included in the book of social and national studies in the third level in intermediate school in Saudi Arabia in these three fields (economic, social, and environmental) should be equally distributed.

The Computer Science For All initiative intends to teach computational thinking and programming skills to all levels of students with varying background and experience in computer science. This includes English Learner (EL) students. There should be a concentrated effort to narrow the achievement gap among EL students and non-EL students especially in computer science courses that can lead to economic prosperity and social mobility in the digital society. With the growing number of EL students joining the student population in public schools across the United States, it is critical that these students are provided with equitable access to computer science education through effective instructional strategies and meaningful resources. This research study intends to develop EL accessible curriculum and resources for an introductory computer science high school course and use research-based designs and strategies to evaluate the quality of the developed EL accessible materials, instructions, and assessments in computer science learning and achievement among EL students. As a result of this study, all of the developed EL accessible instructions, materials, and assessments are deemed satisfactory; however, there remain necessary revisions of these materials to be implemented in order to fully address the needs and concerns of EL students in computer science learning and achievement.