Professional Development Tips for Supporting English Learners
-
Loading... - Finn Meijer
- 01 Mar 2023
- 53 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
The English learner population is growing but the number of specialized instructors for them and training for general education teachers who work with them is lagging.
Researchers and educators say professional development for all teachers and school leaders rooted in best practices for English learners is needed to fill in the gap.
But, if a district or school were to invest time and money into developing such training, where would they start, and what are some of those best practices that should be covered to ensure the best return on investment?
Diane Staehr Fenner, the president and founder of SupportEd, a consulting firm focused on English learners’ education, and Rebecca Bergey, a senior researcher at the nonprofit American Institutes for Research, offer some suggestions.
What to do before starting professional development
Here’s a sample of what to cover before rolling out professional development across a school or district.
Acknowledge that schools and students are unique
Every English learner is unique, just as schools can be unique in how best to serve their students.
“So you want to [first] look in classrooms and see what’s happening, what’s going well, and what might need to be improved,” Staehr Fenner said.
Use classroom observations and data
A needs assessment, that starts with school leadership, should involve observations of multiple, varied classrooms. Depending on the school, that could mean a 3rd grade English/language arts class, a 7th grade math class, and a specialized English-as-a-second-language class period.
In these observations “typically you’re looking for scaffolding, peer-to-peer interactions, [use of] oral language, academic language, formative assessment, culturally responsive teaching,” Staehr Fenner said.
In the needs assessment, you also need to review data such as how students are doing on English language proficiency tests, and break down content area data by English learner subgroups. Read More…
