RttT Session 14
ELL Instructional Model Descriptions
Response To Intervention:
Source: http://nichcy.org/schools-administrators/rti#elements
Description:
With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities or other disabilities. (NCRTI, 2010)
 The school provides the child with research-based interventions while the child is still in the general education environment and closely monitors the student’s progress (or response to the interventions), and adjusts their intensity or nature, given the student’s progress.
RTI levels of intensity:
Students are identified through a universal screening process, receive research based instruction, monitored closely, and targeted for customized and, if needed, more intense interventions as a student progresses through the tiers of support.
Tier 1
 No more than six or eight weeks are allotted to see if the child responds to the intervention.
 Instruction is sometimes delivered in small groups, sometimes as part of a class wide intervention.
 Progress is monitored closely.
Tier 2
 More time is allotted to this Tier (marking/ grading period),
 Interventions become more intense and more targeted,
Tier 3
 Individualized interventions.
Important Note: At any point in this multileveled process, a child may be referred for evaluation under IDEA to determine if he or she is a “child with a disability” as
IDEA 2004’s regulation defines that term at §300.8. RTI may not be used as a means of delaying or refusing to conduct such an evaluation if the school suspects that the child has a disability or if the parents request that the
school system evaluate the child.
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Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol:
Source: http://www.cal.org/siop/about/
Description:
The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model is a research-based and validated instructional model that has proven effective in addressing the academic needs of English learners throughout the United States.
Eight interrelated components:
1.
Lesson Preparation
2.
Building Background
3.
Comprehensible Input
4.
Strategies
5.
Interaction
6.
Practice/Application
7.
Lesson Delivery
8.
Review & Assessment
Who benefits from SIOP instruction?
Teachers report that SIOP-based teaching benefits all students, not just those who are learning English as an additional language.
Sheltered instruction is an approach to teaching English language learners which integrates language and content instruction. The dual goals of sheltered instruction are:
 Provide access to mainstream, grade-level content, and
 Promote the development of English language proficiency.
SIOP: source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheltered_instruction
Definition Sheltered Instruction, also referred to as SDAIE in California, is a teaching style founded on the concept of providing meaningful instruction in the content areas (social studies, math, science) for transitioning Limited English
Proficient (LEP) students towards higher academic achievement while they reach
English fluency. This method type is often used in mainstream secondary classrooms where the students have a foundation of English education.
The teacher provides varied methods of instruction that allow students to create meaning of multifaceted content in classroom discussion, activities, reading and writing. Teachers call on a number of different instruction methods such as the use of socialization practices to allow the content to be more accessible.
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Immersion (Full & Partial):
Source: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/met00001.html
Source: Foreign Language Immersion Programs. Myriam Met, Montgomery
County Public Schools
Description:
Immersion is defined as a method of foreign language instruction in which the regular school curriculum is taught through the medium of the language. The foreign language is the vehicle for content instruction; it is not the subject of instruction. Total immersion is one program format among several that range on a continuum in terms of time spent in the foreign language. In total (full) immersion, all schooling in the initial years is conducted in the foreign language, including reading and language arts. Partial immersion differs from total in that 50% of the school day is conducted in English right from
the start. In partial immersion, reading and language arts are always taught in
English. Beyond that, the choice of subjects taught in each language is a local decision.
What Are the Goals of an Immersion Program?
The long-range goals of an immersion program include: 1) developing a high level of proficiency in the foreign language; 2) developing positive attitudes toward those who speak the foreign language and toward their culture(s); 3) developing
English language skills commensurate with expectations for student's age and abilities; 4) gaining skills and knowledge in the content areas of the curriculum in keeping with stated objectives in these areas.
In Total Immersion, When Is English Language Arts Introduced? How Much
Instruction Is Given in English?
Different schools phase English in at different grade levels. The original total immersion model, pioneered in Canada, introduced English language arts in Grade
2 with the ultimate goal of instruction being a 50-50 balance of languages in the upper elementary grades. Some schools do not introduce English language arts until Grade 5, which seems to be a growing trend. Increasingly, experienced immersion educators are changing to an 80-20 ratio (foreign language to English) due to insignificant differences in English language achievement whether the amount of instruction given in English constitutes 50% or 20% of the day; in contrast, there is a significant difference in students' continued growth in the foreign language when the percentage of time spent in that language drops from
80% to 50%/
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What Are the Keys to Successful Immersion Programs?
Successful immersion programs are characterized by: (1) administrative support;
(2) community and parental support; (3) qualified teachers; (4) appropriate materials in the foreign language; (5) time for teachers to prepare instructional materials in the language; (6) and ongoing staff development.
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Total and Partial
Immersion?
Total immersion is the most effective way of developing foreign language proficiency. The intensity of the immersion experience coupled with the amount of exposure to the foreign language assures that students have the necessary language skills to deal with the curriculum in the upper elementary grades. Total immersion, however, is not for everyone. Not all parents or school personnel buy into the concept that students can learn just as much in a foreign language as in their own. Total immersion also requires a teacher for each immersion class. Not only are immersion teachers difficult to find, they may end up displacing staff because most elementary schools do not already have qualified immersion teachers on board.
In contrast, partial immersion needs fewer special teachers; one teacher can serve two immersion classes for one half day each. Partial immersion is easier to staff, and the potential effect on current staff is lessened. It is a more viable alternative for parents who feel uncomfortable with the idea of their children learning to read in a language other than English and seems to be more palatable to a wider range of parents and school personnel. Unfortunately, it is not nearly as effective as total immersion. Students do not develop the same level of foreign language proficiency as students in total immersion. A consequence of this is that students may have greater difficulty dealing with the school curriculum in subjects characterized by verbal abstractions.
In the long run, partial immersion does not produce better English language achievement than total immersion. However, the initial lag in English achievement associated with total immersion does not occur in partial immersion (Campbell et al., 1985).
At What Grade Level Is It Best to Begin an Immersion Program?
In the United States, most programs begin in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or
Grade 1. Canadian educators report success with programs beginning with Grade
4 as well as in Grades 7-9. These programs, however, do not appear to serve the wide range of ability and achievement levels characteristic of pupils who enter immersion at the early grade levels.
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Cluster Model:
Source: http://mll.spps.org/faqs
Why should ELLs be clustered?
Schools should cluster students strategically in order to maximize the amount of time ELL teachers can be with individual students and minimize the number of GE teachers with whom ELL teachers collaborate.
Clustering is:
 Developing consistent school-wide guidelines for student placement
(according to language proficiency, home language, and/or academic needs) in order to strengthen instructional services
 NOT segregation--students in clustered classrooms have equal access to all instructional resources
 An all-school effort--staff must understand the rationale and system for student placement so that new students are placed appropriately
Principles to consider when clustering students:
 Academic needs of students—not equality of class size or racial diversity— should guide student placement decisions
 Native English-speaking students in the ELL clustered classroom(s) should represent a range of academic abilities
 ELL students should not make up more than 50% of a class roster
 Clustering by students' native language may make it possible to provide more bilingual support during instruction time
Benefits of Clustering:
For Students
 Equal access to all instructional options
 More instructional time and support provided by ELL staff
 More bilingual support provided by bilingual EA
 Social and emotional support from peers who are themselves learning
English
 Instruction provided by a mainstream teacher trained to work with ELLs
 Increased opportunities to use their native language with peers to support comprehension
 Access to additional materials that are appropriate for ELLs
(manipulatives, visual supports, range of leveled books, etc.)
 Better differentiation of instruction—it is harder to overlook a large group of students when planning for instruction
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Cluster Model (continued):
For Teachers
• Increased opportunities to collaborate with and learn from other teachers
• More professional development opportunities
• More shared planning time with colleagues
• Opportunities to work in small groups for focusing instruction
• Access to more materials for differentiation of the instruction
For Parents
• Increased bilingual communication and support with the school
• The opportunity to interact with other ELL parents
Research Based Methodologies recommended for ELL:
• Total Physical Response: James Asher. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-
4781.1969.tb04552.x/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&user
IsAuthenticated=false
• Dr. Jim Cummins (literacy engagement/ academic vocabulary): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/TRTR.01022/abstract
• Marzano (vocabulary, literacy): http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/sept09/vol67/num01/Six-Steps-to-Better-Vocabulary-
Instruction.aspx
• Frayer Model (Vocabulary acquisition): http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphicorganizers/frayer.html
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