Special Education Services
within a Dual Language Model
Paula Hougan, Bilingual Special Education Teacher
phougan@wcusd200.org
Patti Williams, Monolingual Special Education Teacher,
Curriculum Facilitator for Special Education
pwilliams@wcusd200.org
Goals and Objectives for the Session
Participants will:
•Gain a deeper understanding of students that have a disability and are
also English Language Learners (ELL)
•Learn how one school district defined and created a system that
supports students that have a disability and are also English Language
Learners
•Learn ways to address the needs of students that have a disability and
are also English Language Learners
Diverse
Community
City of Woodstock Demographics
• Population: 24,770
• Hispanic or Latino: 5,852
(above the state average)
• 2011 Median income: $52,545
• In Woodstock:
English Speakers 78%
Spanish Speakers 18%
Facts about Woodstock CUSD 200
Total of 12 Schools
• Pre-K and Kindergarten
Center
• 6 Elementary Buildings
• 2 Middle Schools
• 2 High Schools
• 1 Therapeutic Day School
Total School Population:
6,675
Demographic
Breakdown of
District 200
Special Education
• .05% of district population (83 students) receive special education
services and are English Language Learners
• Majority of special education staff is monolingual
Are dual language classrooms appropriate
placements for students with exceptionalities?
Thomas and Collier (2009) English Language Learners in North Carolina. Fairfax, VA: George Mason
University. A research report provided to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
English Reading Grades 4-6
by Special Education status
Lindholm-Leary 2007
Students identified as Special Ed scored very low
No difference in English reading scores between English language learners
and English proficient special education students
No difference between Dual Language special education students and
California average for students with disabilities despite the greater exposure
to English instruction in California state sample.
Major difference is that the Dual Language students are bilingual.
Thomas & Collier
• 1982-1996 School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students
(collaborative research study both national in scope and practical for
local decision making in schools) How to close the gap research.
• 2004 The Astounding Effectiveness of Dual Language Education for All
(2 decades of research from 15 different states; All regular education
student groups (ELL, low SES, African-American native English speakers)
benefit from participating in Dual Language programs.
Thomas & Collier
• Special Education students in Dual programs-SLD, SL, OHI, Autism, DD, PH
• Looked closely at students given small numbers
• Special education students in Dual Programs scored higher in Reading and
Math than special education students not in Dual Program
• More research needed
• Thomas and Collier--- Special education students
scored higher in dual than in non-dual classrooms.
• Lindholm-Leary--- Special education students scored
similarly in dual and non-dual classrooms.
• HOWEVER--- Lindholm-Leary makes two interesting
points.
¿?
¿?
¿?
¿?
¿?
¿?
• Based on test score analysis there is no evidence
that students with exceptionalities will be harmed
by participating in dual language classes. In fact,
given the higher test scores that accompany such
participation, a dual language placement for these
students may well be more appropriate than a nondual language class. As always, each student’s case
and characteristics must be considered separately
but this research finds no reason to exclude these
students from dual language programs as a matter
of policy. (Thomas & Collier 2009)
WOODSTOCK D200 model
• Collaborative model (mono, dual, sped)
• Dual program is LRE–sped services
• Strong native language support during early
years
• ACCESS information to inform instruction
• Attention to Pillars of literacy development
• Transition to English sped services when
student can benefit --then
• Spanish literacy supported as part of regular
dual curriculum.
RtI (Response to Intervention) Process
Entire School Testing
Data Day of all Students
• Team approach—principal, grade level teachers, psychologist
Recommendations—strategies, interventions
may be recommended
Teacher goes back and implements
Problem Solving Model
• Continued concerns by teacher
• Problem solving team
• Data driven decisions
• Intervention recommendations
• Progress monitoring
• Intervention checklist
• Problem solving process may occur
several times on a student
Cautions & Concerns When Considering
Special Education
“Overidentification can have negative consequences for children with
respect to their self-esteem, their attitudes about schooling, and even
their future educational opportunities.” (page 213)
“Equally important, and possibly on the rise, is the problem of
underidentification. Underidentification occurs when a dual language
child has a language or learning disability, but it goes unnoticed or
undiagnosed, because it is assumed the poor performance in school or in
the majority language and in language-related academics are the result of
learning two languages.” (page 213)
Dual Language Development & Disorders, A Handbook on Bilingualism & Second Language
Learning 2nd Edition, Joahanne Paradis, Fred Genesee, Martha B. Crago
Eligibility for Special Education
• Movement away from standardized testing
• Use of information collected through problem solving process
Problem solving process answers questions: What level of support
does the student need to be successful and achieve growth toward
performance that is equivalent to grade level peers?
• Decisions based on multiple pieces of data and classroom
performance
Professional Development for
Special Education Monolingual Teachers
• In services to build background knowledge
• Benefits of dual language
• Language acquisition stages
• Appropriate expectations
• Awareness training about cultural differences
• Respect
• Learn
• Understand
Professional Development for
Special Education Monolingual Teachers
• Training on Instructional Considerations and Techniques
• Comprehensible input, gestures, use of pictures, use of
manipulatives, project based learning, use of realia, syntax
structure
• Language frames
• Adaptations
• Training on reading and interpreting WIDA Access scores
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
in General Education Classroom
• Cooperative learning
• Multiple forms of representation—visual, auditory, tactile
• Supports/accommodations for instruction in both languages
• Alternate assessments-dramatizations, projects, panel discussions, portfolios
• Connect to prior learning
• Cultural considerations
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
Reading—Early Literacy, Phonics
Top Down
• Oral Comprehension
Skills
• Knowledge of the
World
• Content knowledge
gained from prior
schooling
• Life experiences
• Motivation T
• Decoding words interpreting
text
• Knowledge of how the L1
&L2 work:
• Knowledge of text and
discourse structure
Knowledge of phrase and
sentence structure
Knowledge of words and
word structure
Dual Language Development & Disorders,
Joahanne Paradis, Fred Genesee, Martha Crago
• Phonological
awarenesss
• Knowledge of letters
and sounds
• Phonological memory
• Rapid automatized
naming of letters,
digits, or objects
• Concepts about print
Bottom Up
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
Reading—Fluency
• Holistic strategies—poems,
chants
• Literacy rich classroom—labels,
charts, word wall, students
“read the room”
• Familiar stories available for rereading
• Partner reading
Strategies to Support ELL Education Student
Reading—Comprehension
• Concept Maps
• Shared Reading
• Directed – Listening – Thinking
Activity
• Reciprocal Teaching
• Illustrations
• Metacognitive strategies
• Question types
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education
Student Reading—Vocabulary
• Younger, students with minimal English, teach functional and conversational words at
first –over, under, more, less, in, out, etc. (demonstrate)
• Don’t assume understanding
• Academic vs. key vocabulary
• Pair picture or object with definition,
Not dictionary definition, student friendly definition and use in a sentence
www.ldoceonline.com (Longman’s Dictionary) www.learnersdictionary.com (Merriam Webster)
• Pre-teach to support classroom
(especially good for math since taught in English)
•
•
•
•
Directly teach idioms
Use examples and non-examples
Word families—summary, summarize, summation
Teach prefix and connect to known words (re: rebuild, redo, recurrent)
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
Writing
• Graphic organizers
• Focus on a few skills at a time
• Allow “picture” writing for writing for emerging writers
• Photography stories
• Interactive journals
• Process Writing
prewiritng, drafting, revising, editing & publishing
• Use Language Experience Approach
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
Project GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition & Design)
• Stand alone strategies that could be used by monolingual resource
teachers
• Cognitive Content Dictionary
• Sentence Patterning Chart
• Exploration Report
• Inquiry Chart
• Other components that can be incorporated: writer’s workshop,
pictorial input charts, cooperative strip paragraphs
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
Math
• Use of manipulatives
• Use of acting out strategies
• Re-teaching
• Focus on number sense
• Foundation skills
• Concepts
• Patterns, classification
• Language frames
• Visual supports
Strategies to Support ELL Special Education Student
AIM4S3
(Achievement Inspired Math for Scaffolding Student Success)
Chant Title and Author:
Circles
by Albertina Silva and Jimmy
Quiroz
There are circles everywhere
The sun, the moon
Up in the air
There are circles everywhere
Wheels on the bus take us there
There are circles everywhere
Intervention Programs
• Spanish interventions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conocimiento Fonológico
Si Puedo
Estrellita
Read Naturally (Spanish version)
Reading A-Z (books in Spanish)
Translation/re-explanation of math
Wiggleworks (books in Spanish)
Mi munda en palabras
• English interventions:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reading Mastery
Michael Heggerty Phonemic Skills
Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory reading instruction
Guided reading
Read Naturally (English), Six-Minute Solution
Soar to Success, Early Success
Wiggleworks
Starfall
Common Core—Speaking & Listening
• Addresses different aspects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conversation
Ask and answer questions
Describe
Collaboration
Orally report
Summarize (orally)
Adapt speech to variety of contexts
PARCC
Considerations given for ELL students
as well as students with disabilities
UDL (Universal Design for Learning)
Accommodations
Jessie
• Bilingual PreK-at risk program
• Severe language impairment
• Home language Spanish and English
• Parents used concurrent translation
• Chiclegum
Diego
 Contracted meningitis in Mexico
 No Kindergarten
 Entered 50/50 January 1st grade
 Collaboration of dual and sped staff
 Modifications through IEP
 Cochlear implant after 2nd
 At grade level by 3rd grade in Spanish
Erik
• Attended bilingual PreK & K
• Attends Target program
• Parent involvement/Regular written notes
• Medical concerns noted at AR
Edgar
 Bilingual PreK-K
 BIP & 1-1 assistant added in 1st grade
 3rd grade at grade level reading math (IEP)
 4th independent
 5th bilingual bi-literate bicultural at his level
Any Questions?
References
• Deno, S., & Wiley, H. (2005). Oral reading and maze
measures as predictors of success for English learners
on a state standards assessment. Remedial and
Special Education (26), 207-214.
• Banks, J. (2009). Teaching strategies for ethnic
studies. Boston, MA: Pearson.
• Archer, A. (2011). Dynamic vocabulary instruction.
Conference workshop.
• Moore, D., Short, D., Tatum, A. Tinajero, J., &
Bernabei, G. (2009). INSIDE, language, literacy, and
content, teacher’s edition. Carmel, CA: National
Geographic Publishing.
• Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (2007).
Effective literacy and English language instruction for
English learners in the elementary grades.
Washington, D.C.: United States Department of
Education.
• Collier,V.P.,&Thomas, W.P. (2004 winter) The
astounding effectiveness of dual language education
for all . NABE Journal of research and Practice 2:1.
Protheroe, N. (2011). Effective instruction for Englishlanguage learners. Principal, 90(3) p 26-29 Jan/Feb.
Retrieved from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds
• Short, D. (1991). Integrating language and content
instruction: strategies and techniques. National
Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, Washington,
D.C.
• Crago, M., Genesee, F., & Paradis, J. (2010). Dual
language development & disorders a handbook on
bilingualism & second language learning.
Baltimore, MD: Brooks Publishing.
• Peregoy, S. F. & Boyle, O.F. (2005). Reading,
writing, and learning in ESL: A resource book for K12 teachers (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
• Mayer, E. & Meyer, L., (2011). Achievement
Inspired Mathematics for Scaffolding Student
Success (AIMS4S3 ). Dual Language Education of
New Mexico Monograph Series, 4 (20H).
• GLAD: Guided Language Acquisition and Design.
California Department of Education.
Lindholm-Leary,K.J. (2001) Dual Language Education
Clevedon, UK:Multilingual Matters.
References
• Thomas, W.P., & Collier, V.P. (2009). English Learners in
North Carolina, 2009. Fairfax,
• VA: George Mason University. A research report
provided to the North Carolina
• Department of Public Instruction.
• Thomas, W.P, & Collier V.P. (2010) English Learners in
North Carolina-Year 2. Fairfax, Va. George Mason
University.`
• Lindholm-Leary,K.J. (2001) Dual Language Education
Clevedon, UK:Multilingual Matters.