DR. ELKE SCHNEIDER (PHD) DR. KELLY M. COSTNER (PHD) PROJECT FUNDED BY A US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM GRANT ADMINISTERED BY THE OFFICE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Teaching Teachers WELL Progress Overview
Overview of Grant Components Professional Development Teacher Ed Faculty Development Add-on Certification Courses Teaching Teachers WELL
Add-on Certification Courses PLAN 2 cohorts, 25 participants each REALITY Cohort 1 = 13 ; Cohort 2 = 31 participants Courses 5 courses, 15 graduate credits One course per term over 15 months Teaching and assessment strategies, language acquisition, grammar Participants take TESOL Praxis test on own account At present, we know that 5 participants took and passed the test
Add-on Certification Courses Positive Outcomes 7 of 46 participants shifted to various ELL-related positions Increased collaboration with district TESOL staff Skills to teach and assess phonemic awareness of ELLs became standard practice in content classrooms; requested by administration
Add-on Certification Courses Challenges and Improvements: Drop-outs curtailed by channeling tuition grants through financial aid for individual participants Rushed recruitment for Cohort 1 was improved for Cohort 2 with expanded geographic reach, personal interviews, and snowball recruiting
Professional Development PLAN 3 groups of 25 each over 3 summers REALITY Group A: 21 participants, Group B: 26 participants, Group C: 24 participants; Group D and E: Fall 2010 with participants each COURSE 1 course, 3 graduate credit hours Teaching and assessment strategies
Professional Development Positive Outcomes: Snowball recruitment led to highly motivated participants from a variety of content areas and levels Group A: 3-week sprint course led to close collaboration even after end of course Group B: weekend blocks throughout summer allowed participants to process information better 3 participants decided to join Cohort 2
Professional Development Challenges & Improvements Intensity of term for Group A made it difficult to fully process content Group B, C and D had/will have FRI/SAT sessions Streamlining of assignments continues to make them appropriate for block course model
Faculty Development PLAN 3 faculty workshops of 2 days each of 25 each over 3 years Faculty mentoring during 3 years to infuse ELL content in courses REALITY 2 workshops with participants 3rd workshop in process
Faculty Development WORKSHOP CONTENT Faculty Workshop 1, May 2008 Legal issues Language acquisition phases Cultural issues Guest speakers: high school ELL student TESOL literacy coach adult ELL panel
Faculty Development WORKSHOP CONTENT: Faculty Workshop 2, August 2009 SIOP lesson planning Teaching strategies (silent phase, vocabulary issues) Cultural sensitive instruction TESOL teacher panel: instruction & assessment accommodations Discipline-specific group session: planning ELL-sensitive components for courses FACULTY FEEDBACK: interest in more “strategies”, have theoretical understanding but implementation assignments are missing
Faculty Development WORKSHOP CONTENT: Faculty Workshop 3, May 2010 Brainstorming with TESOL trained teachers on appropriate instruction and assessment Discussion of appropriate strategies and assessment based on case studies and video samples Group session: Curriculum planning Group session: activity/task planning
Resources Teaching Teachers WELL website: Office of English Language Acquisition: