Teaching ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms

1. Teaching ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms Building Capacity Leaders’ Mini-course 13th September 2007

2. Presentation Overview • Teacher Capacity • Participant rubric and evaluation • Accredited learning ------------------------------------------------------------------ • School Capacity • Participant rubric and evaluation • Links to external projects and site planning • Linking with a district service provider • Site based courses and tutors

3. TESMC Building Teacher Capacity

4. Data • Summary of pre-course and post-course self assessments from participants who completed site based courses in one of four schools • 2 metropolitan primary schools • 1 metropolitan secondary • 1 regional high school

6. Participant Course Evaluation • “enlightening and thought provoking” • “I have enjoyed the content and the depth to which it was presented” • “lots of beneficial ideas I have used and will use from each module – will really help my teaching and my students” • “I really found some of the units a fantastic insight in to my role…”

7. Links to Accredited Learning • ESL PD courses, including TESMC, delivered by the ESL Program have tertiary Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) status. • Successful completion of TESMC is equivalent to 25% of a Graduate Certificate in TESOL

8. Course Activities

9. TESMC Building Whole School Capacity

11. Participant Course Evaluation • What follow up would you like to see put in place? • “See my school take it up as a priority to share learnings with colleagues and discover things from them” • “Whole school plan and activities to support their Language learning development”

12. The early indications are that TESMC will become as “successful” as ESL in the Mainstream. However, this course’s real potential went largely unfulfilled because it was often undertaken by individual participants who were unable to sustain their new learning much beyond the final workshop. It often did not bring about long term change in pedagogy or improvement in student outcomes. Will TESMC be included in whole school planning to bring about sustained and measurable improvements for your ESL students?

13. Links to ESL Innovative Schools Initiative • This initiative supports schools to develop quality ideas and practices for ESL learners and ESL pedagogy • About 20 schools involved 2007-2008 • It is intended to assist a focus teacher in leading innovation linked to whole school planning with an identified group of teachers of ESL learners • More information at www.decs.sa.gov.au/curric/pages/ESL

14. Foci for ESL Innovative Schools – professional development • Improving outcomes for ESL learners in mainstream contexts -Teaching ESL students in Mainstream Classrooms: language in learning across the curriculum • Deeper understanding of ESL pedagogy and language development for ESL learners - Language and Literacy: classroom applications of functional grammar • English language development and pedagogy for ESL learners in the early years - ESL in the Mainstream for the Early Learner • Deepening engagement with the ESL Scope and Scales for teaching, learning and assessment. - ESL Scope and Scales – professional development.

15. Role of ESL Innovative Schools focus teachers and leadership To increase level of expertise in ESL pedagogy and language development by: • supporting professional development for school staff • collecting data to inform the school’s ESL teaching and learning program

16. Links to ESL Innovative Schools Initiative • Three 2006-2007 schools undertook TESMC as the PD focus for their initiatives • In 2007-2008 seven courses will run at six schools as the PD focus for their initiatives

17. Pasadena High School ESL INNOVATIVE SCHOOL PLAN AND ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK 2007-2008 Objective: to improve learning outcomes for ESL learners by enhancing the capabilities of an identified group of teachers of ESL learners by facilitating their participation in the course “Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms: language in learning across the curriculum” and to involve the group in the ESL Scaling process.

19. ESL Innovative Schools2006-2007 Parafield Gardens High School

20. PGHS 2007 Strategies • Maintain and refine previous strategies • Train 16 staff from various faculty areas in TESMC once a fortnight • Include TESMC teachers in literacy audit

21. PGHS Outcomes • Reinforced each other’s good practice methodologies • Enabled all faculty areas to employ these strategies more effectively • Formed Literacy and Numeracy Committee to develop whole school policy and approach

22. PGHS Future directions • Literacy Committee to work on whole school recommendations • TESMC course for more teachers • Investigate Language &Literacy course • Ensure all teachers understand ESL Scope & Scales

23. Links to New Arrivals Program exit students • High levels of migration to South Australia are continuing to impact upon schools • ~ 4400 overseas students enrolled in DECS schools in 2006 • ~ 1600 of these enrolled in NAP • NAP is increasing at 30% per annum • The vast majority of these NAP students and those that follow will make their transition into mainstream schools • ~ 320 NAP eligible students went straight into mainstream schools in 2007

24. 3 schools (Woodville High School, William Light R-12, Pasadena High School) have each undertaken a case study about how their school responds to any challenges posed by NAP exit students The case studies use data about students, teachers and school processes to inform support for transition Links to NAP exit students

25. Links to NAP exit students • The ESL Program endorses pedagogy which is informed by functional grammar and a language explicit teaching and learning cycle and is responsive to students and curriculum demands • Therefore pedagogy itself is a tool to support transition • Therefore teachers at each school are undertaking TESMC as one of the intervention strategies

26. Links to your ESL District Service Provider (DSP) • Some DSPs are TESMC tutors • DSPs can deliver follow up PD based upon pre and post-course rubrics (e.g. ESL Scope and Scales, functional grammar, whole school rubrics, LaN, Count Me In!) • DSPs can facilitate follow up PD (e.g. cultural awareness) • Some DSPs are also Language and Literacy tutors • Some DSPs have had experience of supporting schools with whole school planning around TESMC or similar

27. Site-based Courses • Between start Term 4 2006 to end Term 4 2007 twenty three courses will run • 20 site based and 3 at EDC • 12 secondary, 3 senior secondary, 4 primary and 1 R-12 • 18 metropolitan, 2 regional • Process for organising site based courses at www.decs.sa.gov.au/curric/pages/ESL

28. Links to site planning • Establish cohort (e.g. NAP exit students, a class or year level) • Gather baseline data (e.g. LaN, ESL Scale, Achievement of SACSA outcomes, attendance) • Plan intervention (e.g. TESMC and follow up PD leading to more explicit teaching of language) • Gather comparative data and analyse • Set goals and plan ongoing intervention (e.g. genre mapping, TESMC for new group of teachers, Language and Literacy for initial group)

29. Links to DECS Improvement and Accountability Framework Focus on Learning • Indicators of Embedded (highest level in rubric) • “High quality PD provides for continuous growth and improvement in practices” • “High quality teaching and learning practices operate in all classes”

30. Links to DECS Improvement and Accountability Framework Attend to Culture • Indicators of Embedded • “Professional development strategically links site and individual priorities to build commitment to directions and extend knowledge and practice” • “Diversity is valued with regular opportunities to build understandings and celebrate diversity across the community”