Better serving the needs of limited English proficient (LEP) students in the mainstream classroom: examining the impact of an inquiry‐based hybrid professional development program

Abstract

In this study, the authors examine the impact of an English as a second language (ESL) professional development offering designed to meet this challenge: the Modular Design for English Language Learners (MODELL) instruction program. The authors were part of a team of faculty that designed and developed this hybrid professional development program to support classroom teachers challenged with assessing and addressing the educational needs of limited English proficient (LEP) students. The authors theorize that observing and describing the trajectory and complexities of the professional development process might offer significant insights for teacher educators regarding ways to prepare teachers for working in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. What was discovered through this study was that the teachers learned a lot about themselves and what they were capable of doing in the classroom; they learned that their peers struggled with similar issues and that out of this camaraderie, a solid support network could be established; and they learned that the multicultural classroom environment could be an asset to teaching and learning.

"Inclusive and Different?” Discourse, Conflict, and the Identity Construction Experiences of Preservice Teachers of English Language Learners in Australia

“…The findings reported in this paper support some earlier research suggesting that many mainstream teachers perceive that they are ill-prepared to work with ELLs (Evans, ArnotHopffer, & Jurich, 2005;Hutchinson & Hadjioannou, 2011;Reeves, 2006;Siwatu, 2011;Webster & Valeo, 2011). This study builds upon this research by considering the role identity construction can play in the perceptions' of preservice mainstream teachers about their preparedness to teach ELLs.…”

Collaboration to teach English language learners: opportunities for shared teacher learning

“…This act of synthesising notes from a planning meeting was another opportunity for teacher reflection and learning as both teachers made sense of what they were planning to teach and considered how this would be communicated with others at the school. Teachers explained that email was easily shared with others in the school, which raised awareness of ESOL issues and their co-teaching practices across the school, creating an expanded activity network of support (Hutchinson & Hadjioannou, 2011).…”

“…As the population of culturally and linguistically diverse students continues to increase in schools around the world, research has shown that many teachers are not adequately prepared to meet the needs of these students (Gándara, Maxwell-Jolly, & Rumberger, 2008;Haworth, 2008;Hutchinson & Hadjioannou, 2011;Miller, 2011;Rumberger & Gándara, 2005;Téllez & Waxman, 2006). This situation presents a challenge and an opportunity to engage teachers in ongoing learning in their schools as they seek better ways to teach language minority students (we use the term English language learners, or ELLs, throughout this paper because this was the term used in the school context), yet more research is needed to understand how to promote this learning among teachers.…”

What Do Teachers Need to Support English Learners?

“…Researchers in education and language teaching have shown that many educators are not adequately prepared to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students (Gay, 2002;Hutchinson & Hadjioannou, 2011;Verdugo & Flores, 2007;Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2007). Empirical studies have indicated that English language learners (ELLs) continue to academically lag behind their native English-speaking peers.…”