Improving Educational Opportunities for Latino Students in Catholic Elementary Schools

1. Improving Educational Opportunities for Latino Students in Catholic Elementary Schools

2. Demographic Imperative Nationally: Fastest growing sectors: 2015: over half of our students will be from culturally diverse backgrounds Vast majority of students who are ELL are Latino, but many of other linguistic heritages Catholic Sector: Dioceses with highest number of empty seats are located around the largest metropolitan areas with large numbers of Latinos Number of Hispanics enrolled in Catholic schools has remained stagnant in past 15 years

3. Opening thought Two necessaryand sufficient ingredients for constructing social identities of achievement: • Normalize success (Membership = Achievement) 2) Scaffold necessary behaviors and practices Theresa Perry

4. Overview Linguistic diversity as an asset Knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support bilingual students Cultivating culturally responsive schools

5. I. Linguistic Diversity as an Asset • English proficiency = common goal • Affirming the home language as a strength • Supports English proficiency • Affirms the parents as primary educators • Creates new opportunities

6. What’s in a name? • English language learners • Limited English proficiency • English as a second language • Linguistically diverse families • Spanish speakers • Bilingual

7. Hows does this apply to schools? • How do schools communities (not just Catholic) treat linguistic diversity as an asset? • How do schools communities (not just Catholic) treat linguistic diversity as an deficit?

8. II. Supporting Bilingual Students Dispositions • We are Catholic - All are welcome • We expect success from all students • We are all language teachers

9. II. Supporting Bilingual Students Knowledge & Skills • Knowledge of Language Acquisition • Skills to support bilingual students

10. A) Stages of Language Acquisition Pre-production –listening and repeating in the second language (500 words) Early production – developing receptive and active vocabulary ­­(1000 words) Speech emergence – communicating with simple phrases and sentences (3000 words) Intermediate fluency – using more complex sentences in speaking and writing (6000 words) Advanced fluency – achieving cognitive academic language proficiency

11. B) Socio-Cultural • Different registers of text • (field, tenor, mode) • Registers fit contexts • Developing school-related language is simply a matter of time and that it will be "picked up" eventually

12. B) Socio-Cultural Viewing language development as a process of learning to control an increasing range of registers suggests that while all children are predisposed in a biological sense to learn language, whether or not they actually do, how well they learn to control it, and the range of registers and purposes for which they are able to use it are a matter of the social contexts in which they find themselves" (Gibbons, 2002, p. 5)

13. Academic English Register • “Academic English is a register of English… characterized by the specific linguistic features associated with academic disciplines…” (Scarcella, 2003, p. 9) • Reading and writing: • Critiques • Summaries • Reports • Case studies • Research projects • Expository essays • Narratives

14. Academic English • Powerful • Where is academic English most essential? • Dynamic • Changing over time and setting • Not acquired once and for all

15. C) Scaffolding: Verbal Teachers use verbal scaffolding to prompt, guide, and support English language learners by using a variety of questioning techniques that promote higher levels of thinking as students develop their language skills. Student Independence Apply Practice Model Teach Paraphrasing… Repetition… Questioning

16. C) Scaffolding: Procedural Procedural scaffolding refers to the use of grouping configurations that provide different levels of support to students as they gain greater levels of language proficiency and skills. Independent Work Student Independence Paired/ Partner Small Group Whole Class

17. Second Language Learning Cognitively Undemanding Developing survival vocabulary Following demonstrated directions Engaging in telephone conversations Reading and writing for personal purposes: notes, lists, sketches, etc. Context Embedded (Concrete) Context Reduced (Abstract) Participating in hands-on science and mathematics activities Making maps, models, charts, and graphs Solving math computational problems Understanding academic presentations without visuals or demonstrations: lectures Solving math word problems without illustrations Taking standardized achievement tests Cognitively Demanding (Cummins, 1981)

18. Review Dispositions • Catholic • Expect success • All teachers = language teachers Knowledge A) Sequential B) Socio-cultural context C) Scaffolding

19. Skills to support bilingual students Instruction Accessing / building prior knowledge Small group work Whole group work Modifying texts and supporting writing

20. Accessing Prior Knowledge What is this? Relate background experiences and knowledge to the content being taught Who cares? • Critical component in planning instruction • Linking new information to relevant prior knowledge • Learning should be made explicit so students understand they are building on knowledge frameworks acquired through prior schooling and life experiences

21. Accessing Prior Knowledge How do we do this? • Charts • KWL • Lesson Connections • Student Journals • Questioning

22. Types of Prior Knowledge • Academic • Background knowledge built on traditional schooling in core subjects • Non-academic • Background knowledge built on survival experiences, i.e. real life - On one hand, explicitly building on cultural capital that students brings from home and life - At the same time, need to recognize that all students do not come with the same privileges

23. Building Prior Knowledge • Read alouds • Presenting the information explicitly- concept definition maps • Generate & plan discussions about the topic • Using pictures • Videos • Guest speakers • Field trips • Anchor charts

24. Strategic small group work Redundancy in directions Require talk High cognitive demands / low English demands Integrated into curriculum Basic group dynamics

25. Find the difference game

26. Modifying Language in Whole Class Setting • Use schema-building: Incorporate prior knowledge (general & specific) to • make predictions • ask questions • visualize • draw inferences • confirm hypothesis • demonstrate understanding

27. Modifying Language in Whole Class Setting • Clarify directions • Verbally and visually • Rewrite difficult texts into simpler terms • Define /explain new & difficult words • Teacher-guided reporting • Use open questions • Slow pace of dialogue

28. Modifying Texts • Aim toward appropriate Language Proficiency and Reading Levels • Modify texts to make content more comprehensible for students by: • Using graphics • Using outlines • Using audio recordings • Providing demonstrations • Using alternate books or materials

29. Supporting Writing • Write aloud • Shared writing • Guided writing • Collaborative writing • Independent writing

30. III. Cultivating Culturally Responsive Schools • What does culturally responsive mean? • Students’ identities, life experiences, families, and backgrounds are resources for optimizing learning • Sociocultural learning theory • Funds of knowledge

31. How does culturally responsive teaching fit with Catholic identity? • Mission and vision • School philosophy • Parish identity or religious charism • How are we culturally responsive? • Cultural celebrations • Parent partnerships

32. Recap Linguistic diversity =an asset Knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support bilingual students Cultivating culturally responsive schools

33. Contact Information Please feel free to contact us: MelodieHessling– Martin Scanlan – GMCEC Website hesslingm@njms.org martin.scanlan@mu.edu

34. References • Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In "Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework." Los Angeles: California State University; Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center. • Echevarria, J., Short, D., & Vogt, M. D. (2008). Implementing the SIOP Model through effective professional development and coaching. Boston: Allyn& Bacon. • Garcia, E., Jensen, B., & Scribner, K. (2009). The demographic imperative. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 8-13. • Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann  • Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does - and does not - say. American Educator (Summer), 8-23, 42-44