Tips on collaborating: It is important for you to be introduced to students as the "Language Specialist" at the beginning of the year. This way, students see you as a resource for everyone, and not just for the ELLs. From day 1, it is essential to set the tone that you share the classroom space as a teacher.
At the beginning of the year, it is important to share with the classroom teachers who their ELLs are, which students are Pull Out and which are Push In. Also giving the teachers an idea of the students' strongest and weakest areas helps: e.g. "This student has a 5 in speaking but really struggles with writing, and using the WIDA rubrics, he scores at 3 or below." Hopefully, you will share your on-going assessment of the students throughout the year on a regular basis.
What kind of co-teaching happens?
Each teacher has a system of working with core teachers. There are many strategies for developing successful professional relationships with core teachers.
During the first meetings of the ESOL department in August and September, we will continue to share ideas, best practices, past successes, and research and articles to support and guide us.
During the first meeting of the ESOL Department in August we will share a model lesson plan from a push-in class and discuss highlights and resources from Jon Nordmeyer's and Francesca Mulazzi’s Co-Teaching (EARCOS) presentation.
7.5032 states Since the classroom and/or content area teacher is primarily responsible for student learning, the School will provide training to help teachers develop appropriate instructional strategies for students of differing language and cultural backgrounds. It is expected that ESOL specialists and classroom teachers will work collaboratively to insure that ESOL support is integrated with the grade level content (within the grade level team).
ESOL Teacher
Shared
Mainstream Teacher
· Provide background information and analysis of ESOL students · Play an advocate role for ESOL students · Provide peer support for the Mainstream teacher:
a. the sharing of language-based scaffolding material
b. model delivery of comprehensible input
c. provide specialized advice on language skill development · ESOL teacher links WIDA/TESOL standards to language aims · Provide embedded professional development to mainstream teachers
· Make expectations of learning tasks clear for all students · Hold common planning meetings :
a. Clearly identify language aims for each unit of work
b. Plan unit lessons to include cooperative learning,
small group work, process writing, and other student-centered activities
c. Adapt and supplement
classroom texts and materials as necessary
d. Discuss each other’s co-teaching role in supporting the needs of the students
e. Design appropriate assessment tools and alternative assessment tools where necessary · Co-teach · Review entry of ESOL students and exit of Monitor students.
· Select the content aims of teaching and learning units · Core teacher identifies benchmarks for unit · Assess and report on students’ attainment of subject benchmarks and content
KEY ELEMENTS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING: School Beliefs:
All teachers support the collaborative teaching model
Articulated support from administration
Core teachers understand the value of collaborating, and they’re receptive to ideas for scaffolding and co-teaching
School Structures:
Time designated in schedule for weekly co-planning
Teacher/student ratios are manageable (ideally 1 ESOL teacher per grade level)
Core teachers align their programs across teams
ESOL teachers align their programs across grade level team
Articulated Curriculum:
Core teacher has articulated curriculum and shares unit plans
Core teachers articulate subject benchmarks
Co-planning:
Advance planning occurs
Quality planning time
Core teacher shares unit plans
ESOL teachers are prepared to share plans and strategies within their team
Both teachers are open to bouncing ideas off each other and sharing within the grade level
Core teachers ask for assistance/input, eg. “How can I make this more accessible for all my students?”
Teachers plan cooperative learning activities for their students
ESOL teachers serve as a resource and communication liaison across the grade level team
Classroom Environment/Interaction:
Cooperative learning occurs within the classroom (as opposed to just lectures or individual activities)
Teachers group students so all students can receive rich input
Teachers vary student groupings
Teachers include all students in discussions
Assessment:
Teachers share results of assessments both ways
Feedback, Reflection and Sharing:
Both teachers work on post-unit evaluation
Core teachers share collaboration success stories with other teacher
ESOL teacher share collaboration success stories within the grade level
International School Journal article excerpt (written by Jon Nordmeyer)
COLLABORATION
In order to integrate language and content, ESOL and general education teachers can work together to plan, teach and assess in ways that support ELLs; and this cooperation should be intentional to be effective. A key to effective collaboration is that it is not seen as "pedagogical imperialism.” If ESOL teachers observe ways to connect English and another subject, and then share them with a colleague, the issue of “curricular ownership” needs to be considered carefully. Suggestions should serve as examples rather than mandates. Otherwise, a science teacher, for example, might feel an ESOL teacher is being prescriptive or presumptive in explaining the language dimension of his or her science class. Once teachers have built professional relationships and developed a shared vision for how ELLs fit into the school community, collaboration can support ELLs in a number of ways.
First, ESOL and mainstream teachers need to be able to develop units and lessons that include appropriate language and content objectives, integrating content standards with students’ linguistic needs. As mentioned above, the new integrated language standards from WIDA and TESOL provide valuable tools for teachers working together to serve ELLs. Common planning time is essential for this type of collaboration, and administrators need to see the value in providing this structure. However, some ESOL teachers are spread across many grade levels or even across different schools. In this case, email or electronic curriculum mapping can be useful tools for connecting teachers.
Second, in addition to support for co-planning, ESOL teachers also need skills in co-teaching, and the ability to play different instructional roles so they don’t always default to the “teaching assistant” model. For example, two teachers may complement each other with mini-lessons, activity centers or parallel teaching. To do this, ESOL teachers need not only an understanding of language teaching but also an awareness of how to collaborate effectively in another teacher’s classroom.
Third, teachers need to collaborate on assessment. Identifying individual students’ academic language proficiency in each content area will help teachers to develop appropriate linguistic expectations and accurate content assessments. ESOL teachers need to communicate assessment data on ELLs to colleagues, and find ways to work together on formative assessments. For example, two teachers can evaluate student work collaboratively, providing the student with useful feedback on both language and content learning.
To promote both integration and collaboration, ESOL teachers may be involved in staff development. Many administrators recognize the value of ESOL teachers as on-site resources who understand second language acquisition, cultural dimensions of school and how to support ELLs and their families, so ESOL teachers are sometimes asked to provide professional development for colleagues. It is important to recognize that this approach is not without challenges. Teaching English is one thing, but training colleagues to teach ELLs is another process altogether. Even though ESOL teachers have expertise in language teaching, they may lack knowledge of specific content areas or may not have experience with teacher training. In many cases, these challenges are compounded by ESOL teachers’ lack of professional status within the school community or a school culture that does not promote collaboration.
There are some important caveats to keep in mind. If ESOL teachers are asked to provide direct professional development, they need the training and resources to do this effectively. Unfortunately, many “off the shelf” teacher-training programs do not provide adequate training for trainers. Also, when schools purchase staff development materials that do not reflect the cultural context of the school, it takes extra time to develop workshops for colleagues: time which ESOL teachers may not have. There are many ways to facilitate professional development, and ESOL teachers may be more effective starting with a co-planning, coaching or co-teaching role than a traditional in-service training role.
Table of Contents
Menu for Collaboration
Tips on collaborating:
It is important for you to be introduced to students as the "Language Specialist" at the beginning of the year. This way, students see you as a resource for everyone, and not just for the ELLs. From day 1, it is essential to set the tone that you share the classroom space as a teacher.
At the beginning of the year, it is important to share with the classroom teachers who their ELLs are, which students are Pull Out and which are Push In. Also giving the teachers an idea of the students' strongest and weakest areas helps: e.g. "This student has a 5 in speaking but really struggles with writing, and using the WIDA rubrics, he scores at 3 or below." Hopefully, you will share your on-going assessment of the students throughout the year on a regular basis.
What kind of co-teaching happens?
Articles we have found helpful:
Collaboration IS an expectation at SAS:
SAS Board policy
7.5032 states Since the classroom and/or content area teacher is primarily responsible for student learning, the School will provide training to help teachers develop appropriate instructional strategies for students of differing language and cultural backgrounds. It is expected that ESOL specialists and classroom teachers will work collaboratively to insure that ESOL support is integrated with the grade level content (within the grade level team).
· Play an advocate role for ESOL students
· Provide peer support for the Mainstream teacher:
a. the sharing of language-based scaffolding material
b. model delivery of comprehensible input
c. provide specialized advice on language skill development
· ESOL teacher links WIDA/TESOL standards to language aims
· Provide embedded professional development to mainstream teachers
· Hold common planning meetings :
a. Clearly identify language aims for each unit of work
b. Plan unit lessons to include cooperative learning,
small group work, process writing, and other student-centered activities
c. Adapt and supplement
classroom texts and materials as necessary
d. Discuss each other’s co-teaching role in supporting the needs of the students
e. Design appropriate assessment tools and alternative assessment tools where necessary
· Co-teach
· Review entry of ESOL students and exit of Monitor students.
· Core teacher identifies benchmarks for unit
· Assess and report on students’ attainment of subject benchmarks and content
KEY ELEMENTS OF COLLABORATIVE TEACHING:
School Beliefs:
School Structures:
Articulated Curriculum:
Co-planning:
Classroom Environment/Interaction:
Assessment:
Feedback, Reflection and Sharing:
International School Journal article excerpt (written by Jon Nordmeyer)
COLLABORATION
In order to integrate language and content, ESOL and general education teachers can work together to plan, teach and assess in ways that support ELLs; and this cooperation should be intentional to be effective. A key to effective collaboration is that it is not seen as "pedagogical imperialism.” If ESOL teachers observe ways to connect English and another subject, and then share them with a colleague, the issue of “curricular ownership” needs to be considered carefully. Suggestions should serve as examples rather than mandates. Otherwise, a science teacher, for example, might feel an ESOL teacher is being prescriptive or presumptive in explaining the language dimension of his or her science class. Once teachers have built professional relationships and developed a shared vision for how ELLs fit into the school community, collaboration can support ELLs in a number of ways.
First, ESOL and mainstream teachers need to be able to develop units and lessons that include appropriate language and content objectives, integrating content standards with students’ linguistic needs. As mentioned above, the new integrated language standards from WIDA and TESOL provide valuable tools for teachers working together to serve ELLs. Common planning time is essential for this type of collaboration, and administrators need to see the value in providing this structure. However, some ESOL teachers are spread across many grade levels or even across different schools. In this case, email or electronic curriculum mapping can be useful tools for connecting teachers.
Second, in addition to support for co-planning, ESOL teachers also need skills in co-teaching, and the ability to play different instructional roles so they don’t always default to the “teaching assistant” model. For example, two teachers may complement each other with mini-lessons, activity centers or parallel teaching. To do this, ESOL teachers need not only an understanding of language teaching but also an awareness of how to collaborate effectively in another teacher’s classroom.
Third, teachers need to collaborate on assessment. Identifying individual students’ academic language proficiency in each content area will help teachers to develop appropriate linguistic expectations and accurate content assessments. ESOL teachers need to communicate assessment data on ELLs to colleagues, and find ways to work together on formative assessments. For example, two teachers can evaluate student work collaboratively, providing the student with useful feedback on both language and content learning.
To promote both integration and collaboration, ESOL teachers may be involved in staff development. Many administrators recognize the value of ESOL teachers as on-site resources who understand second language acquisition, cultural dimensions of school and how to support ELLs and their families, so ESOL teachers are sometimes asked to provide professional development for colleagues. It is important to recognize that this approach is not without challenges. Teaching English is one thing, but training colleagues to teach ELLs is another process altogether. Even though ESOL teachers have expertise in language teaching, they may lack knowledge of specific content areas or may not have experience with teacher training. In many cases, these challenges are compounded by ESOL teachers’ lack of professional status within the school community or a school culture that does not promote collaboration.
There are some important caveats to keep in mind. If ESOL teachers are asked to provide direct professional development, they need the training and resources to do this effectively. Unfortunately, many “off the shelf” teacher-training programs do not provide adequate training for trainers. Also, when schools purchase staff development materials that do not reflect the cultural context of the school, it takes extra time to develop workshops for colleagues: time which ESOL teachers may not have. There are many ways to facilitate professional development, and ESOL teachers may be more effective starting with a co-planning, coaching or co-teaching role than a traditional in-service training role.