The study reports the challenges that primary school ESOL teachers in the United States face because of the unexpected instructional changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these challenges appear to have affected the well-being of these teachers. Findings indicate that the participants’ stress levels increased due to the lack of support and compassion from school administrators, the lack of communication and connection with other teachers, increased workloads, teaching students with different levels of proficiency virtually, and a lack of technological devices for students. The newly emerged challenges have resulted in ESOL teachers reporting emotional and physical effects that did not exist before the pandemic. Based on the findings, we provide recommendations for school leaders and practical suggestions for ESOL teachers which can be applied during the pandemic and afterwards. We propose that ESOL teachers’ well-being should be on the agenda of school administration since teachers are on the frontlines of education.
Although Angela is Hispanic, English is her first language. She is, however, the only student of a minority culture in the school, as well as being the only student with Down syndrome in this small rural district. After the meeting with Angela's family, Mrs. Almeida was determined to find a way to include Angela in the class, as well as address the language and social competence concerns. Further, Mrs. Almeida recognized the need to educate all students in her classroom about accepting people from all cultures and ability levels.Mrs. Almeida's concerns and Mrs. Gonzalez's comments about acceptance are not unfounded. Teachers educating students in today's classrooms are facing more diverse populations than in the past (
The use of iPads and apps has become common in K-12 inclusive classrooms. Special education teachers frequently use this tool to support instruction. Data from electronic surveys were used to determine criteria that teachers identified as important for choosing apps for classroom use. Using this information, the authors developed an App Checklist for Evaluators (ACE) to assist teachers in reviewing apps. Areas included on the ACE are: Student Interest, Design Features, Connection to the Curriculum, and Instructional Features. Suggestions for choosing an effective app include determining user needs, assessing student interest, evaluating design features of the app, documenting the connection to the curriculum, and identifying instructional features.
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