Anestine Hector-Mason, MA; MSEd; PhD American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street Washington, DC

Transcription

1 Anestine Hector-Mason, MA; MSEd; PhD American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street Washington, DC

2 Overview of Presentation TELL Study Activities 2

3 Goals of This Presentation To present the major findings of the TELL study To meaningfully engage participants in activities that promote full understanding of the study s findings. 3

4 Objectives of This Presentation -By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to Define transitioning ELL students Identify key programmatic practices that support transitioning ELLs Identify key instructional practices that support transitioning ELLs Identify different types of transitioning ELLs 4

5 What is the TELL Study about? Goal: To examine and describe policies and instructional and programmatic strategies that support advanced adult English language learners (ELLs) continued development of English proficiency as well as cognitive academic language proficiency. Objective: To advance the field of transitioning ELLs by providing research-based knowledge about practices that support students who are transitioning from ESL into other academic destinations. 5

6 Project Activities 1. Environmental Scan/Critical Literature Review 2. Subject Matter Expert meeting 3. Selection Criteria* 4. Program Selection* Study Implementation 1. Year 1 - Four Programs 2. Documentation of promising instructional and programmatic practices 3. Year 2 Six programs Reporting Final Report of Findings November, 2010 TELL Critical Annotated Bibliography files/tell_annotate d Bibliography pdf 6

7 This Section will Focus on: Characteristics of Transitioning ELLs Emergent Transitioning Program Designs Key Programmatic Practices that Support Transitioning ELLs Key Instructional Practices that Support Transitioning ELLs 7

8 Diverse Characteristics More than 40 percent of the over three million students in federally funded adult education programs are English language learners (ELLs) (U.S. Department of Education, 2004) Literacy Levels 40% of adult ESL students are in the lowest literacy functioning levels.(national Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS, 2006) 8

9 Diverse Backgrounds Diverse Education Level ESL learners have wider range of educational backgrounds than ABE learners One third lack high school education Education needs are greater for immigrants from Mexico (Wrigley et al, 2003; Schmidley, 2001) 9

10 Types of Transitioning ELLs Students with higher education levels - students with higher levels of education who exit ESL with goals such as taking the GED test and moving to post secondary education. Students who need to enter ABE from ESL to fill educational gaps and build their literacy skills before they are ready for higher learning. 10

11 Types of Transitioning ELLs Varied English Proficiency Students who were born in the United States, but have not acquired full proficiency in English. Writing skills show traces of non-native language transfer Skills similar to ABE students whose reading and writing skills leave them under prepared to be successful in postsecondary education and training Generation 1.5 (Crandall & Sheppard, 2004; Thonus, 2003) Students born in the US or came to the US as children, but have grown up in households where a language other than English is spoken (Sadler, 2004) 11

12 Growing Need for America to Become More Competitive President Obama, in his first speech to a join session of Congress, promised to provide the supports necessary for Americans to complete college so that by2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. 12

13 Growing Need for English Given immigrants growing share of our nation s citizens, workers, and families, promoting their acquisition of English is arguably the most important integration challenge and opportunity facing our city, state, and federal governments (McHugh, Gelatt, & Fix, 2007, p. 3). 13

14 Growing Need to Change Programmatic and Instructional Practices Without proper supports, students will drop out (Johnson, Haas, Harrell, & Alameda, 2004) Group work Next Section 14

15 Emergent Transition Processes Distinct Program has well defined transition class (or set of classes) that is physically situated and that is instructionally and programmatically designed for the purposes of preparing distinct ESL student cohorts for ABE, ASE, or GED classes. Indistinct Program does not have a well defined transition class or program, but has varied programmatic and instructional practices said to promote transitioning. 15

16 Full/ Comprehensive Programming Internal Activities All transitioning activities (movement from ESL to ABE/GED/ASE) occur in one location/program Emergent Program Types Partial/Targeted Programming Internal/External Activities Transitioning activities (movement from ESL to ABE/GED/ASE) occur in two or more programs; destination points are external (e.g., ESL in one location, and ABE/GEDASE in an external program. 16

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21 It is important to address non-academic factors when transitioning ELLs Transportation Childcare Provide orientation to students Provide students with information about time management, stress management, study skills, etc (Alamprese, 2005) 21

22 Structures that Support Transitioning ELLs Need An understanding of the particular transitions trajectories or pathways Flexible opportunities for learning Access to quality instruction Performance feedback Opportunities to continue to develop their basic interpersonal communication skills Bridges or connections to "next step" and destination programs Supportive services 22

23 Teaching and Learning to Support ELL Transition Transition Programs Provide Teachers who are Informed about transitions trajectories or pathways Designing Instruction with multiple learning activities state credentialed Providing multiple opportunities for students to selfassess Encouraging students' engagement Collaborating with agency "transitions staff" Acting as cultural "ambassadors" for their students 23

24 Teaching and Learning to Support ELL Transition Transition Programs Provide Curriculum and Instruction that is Flexible for implementing instruction in the classroom Assessment-driven to inform instructional actions Guided by a curriculum framework document and/or content standards 24

25 Teaching and Learning to Support ELL Transition Transition Programs Provide Resources, Policies, and Procedures that Support Transitions Counselors/Coaches Flexible Scheduling Robust Data-Systems Bridge activities and events arranged by transition counselors Linkages and Partnerships with Service Providers 25

26 Human Resources - Transition-Focused Staff Student Advisors Student Retention Specialists Jobs Skills Advisors Counseling/Transition Coordinator College Transition Coach 26

27 Pro-Actions & Partnerships Career Partnerships Community Consortia/Strategic Partners External Partnerships Internal/External Community Volunteerism Interdisciplinary Networking Systemic Volunteer Coordination Transition Task Force 27

28 Programmatic Features Online Course Complements Distance Learning Option Dual Enrollment Incentivized Recruitment Integrated Tutoring Multiple Transition Pathways 28

29 Programmatic Features Strategic Teaching Assignments Student Emotional Preparedness Student-Centered Networking Support Services Referrals Supportive and Safe School Climate Total Quality Management 29

30 Resources Sophisticated Database System Academic Partnerships College Transition Coach Jobs Skills Advisor Multilingual Support Staff Program Psychologist for Refugees Student Advisors Student Retention Specialists Student Support Personnel Team 30

31 Resources Book Store Counseling/Transition Coordination Technology Lab Transition Course Guide Transportation Assistance Referral System Teacher Resource Center Transition Student Scholarships Bus Service 31

32 How do you know that your transition program is successful? Longitudinal studies, similar to those conducted by the Nellie Mae Foundation (transition from ABE to postsecondary) and at Portland State University on former ABE participants (Reder 2009) might serve as models for evaluating long-term transitioning ELL success. 32

33 What Does it Really Mean to prepare Students for Transition? Preparing students for transition often means challenging them beyond their comfort level so that they are prepared for academic tasks that differ in language and content from conventional ESL classes (Matthews-Aydinli 2006; Rance-Roney 1995). Group work Next Section 33

34 Academic Skills/Language Development Skills Checklist Internet-Assisted Oral/Aural Development Internet-Assisted Writing Development Technology-Based Supplements 34

35 Assessment Assessment Driven Classroom Communities Grouping/Collaborations Community of Learners grouping Cross Cultural Interactions Small Classes, Social Partnerships Strategic Lang. Development Networking Teacher-Engineered Grouping Writing Meetings 35

36 Language/Workforce Development English for Employment Purposes Teacher Academic Actions Teacher Exchange/Swapping Teacher-Pairing Teaching Partnerships 36

37 For Inquiries about the contact: Dr. Anestine Hector-Mason

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