New Mexico State University

1. Supporting Preservice Teachers in Meeting the Needs of Linguistically Diverse StudentsCathy J Kinzercakinzer@nmsu.eduAssociation of Mathematics Teacher EducatorsNinth Annual Meeting

2. New Mexico State University • Hispanic Serving Institution established in 1888 • (63 %) Hispanic in Dona Ana County • Language other than English spoken at home 54% (census.gov) • 42% of the student population at NMSU is Hispanic • Over 50% of students in our TEP are Hispanic

3. Hispanics in US Education • Hispanic enrollment has tripled in the last 25 years • English Language Learners (ELL’s) have higher dropout rates and demonstrate significant achievement gaps in state tests (Snow & Biancarosa, 2003) • Hispanic dropout rates increased from 22% to 34% from 1990 to 2000 • Between 1990 and 2000 the number of ELL students rose from 2.1 million to 3.7 million

4. Teachers/ELL Students • Nationwide, approximately less than 3% of teachers who instruct ELL possess a degree in ESL or bilingual education (NCES,1997) • Of the 41% of teachers teaching ELL’s only 12.5% have eight or more hours of PD related to ELL’s over 3 years

5. There is one teacher certified in ESL for every 44 ELL students (NCES survey, 2001) - 27% of teachers of ELL’s felt very well prepared to teach ELL’s • 60% felt somewhat or moderately prepared • 12% feeling not prepared at all

6. NM’s Achievement Gap • An achievement gap in mathematics exists in New Mexico (NAEP, 2003) • White students had a average score that was higher than that of Hispanics by 28 NAEP scale score points for grade 8 and 20 points for grade 4 (NCES, 2004) • In NM 20.6 % of our students receive ELL services

7. Preservice Teachers in NM • Preservice teachers have expressed concerns about meeting the needs of diverse learners • Hispanic preservice teachers often report that their struggles in mathematics were compounded by their lack of fluency in English • Many of my Preservice teachers are Hisp

8. What’s Needed • Teachers need specific preparation in working with English Language Learners in mathematics • As educators we have been working to support preservice teachers in meeting the needs of linguistically diverse students

9. What do you do in your mathematics methods courses to support preservice teachers in meeting the needs of linguistically diverse learners?

10. Considerations for Math Methods Courses • Developing academic and social languages within the context of mathematics • Incorporating instructional techniques that help students in understanding content • Including models (like Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) to support language/academic development • Becoming more aware of: • thinking about academic language and vocabulary demands, • including ways for students to communicate and interact with peers, • building from prior knowledge, contexts, and experiences in a language rich supportive learning environment • providing feedback and ongoing support for students

11. Building content and pedagogy through engaging mathematical tasks • Developing norms and building a culture of inquiry for examining beliefs and knowledge of math teaching and learning • Connecting to prior learning experiences and resources that preservice teachers bring to the methods courses and yet examining new possibilities

12. Our building blocks • Teachers sharing their personal math stories • Focused Classroom Observations in PD schools • Writing about supporting diverse learners (pre/post) • Modeling, discussing, and engaging in math activities to think about specifying content and language objectives, building from prior learning and experiences, ways to make the concepts and vocabulary more clear and comprehensible, and opportunities for interaction

13. Other practices • Developing units/plans that include instructional considerations for supporting diverse learners • Teaching methods courses in Spanish - Math curriculum materials written in English and Spanish (pscott@nmsu.edu) • Reading articles and using resources to build content knowledge about supporting ELL’s • Some preservice teachers have participated in lesson study at a dual language school

14. Primary Focus on 3 strategies to support ELL’s • Building Background • Comprehensible Input • Opportunities for Interaction

15. Building Background • Connecting existing ideas to new ideas • Concepts explicit and linked to students’ background experiences • Academic vocabulary emphasized

16. Teacher/Student Interactions • Frequent opportunities for interaction and discussion between teacher/student and among students that encourage elaborated responses about the lesson concepts • Mixed ability groupings (language and math) • Purposeful cooperative learning activities

17. Comprehensible Input • Speech that is appropriate for student’s proficiency level • Clear explanation of academic tasks • A variety of techniques/tools used to make content /concepts explicit

18. Students’ writing pre/post Students were ask to reflect on these 4 questions: • What does it mean to you as an educator to meet the needs of diverse learners in mathematics? • *What strategies/tools could you use to support diverse learners in mathematics? • What does equity in mathematics mean to you? • Why do you believe there is a significant achievement gap between Whites and other ethnic groups like Hispanics, Native Americans, and African Americans in NM?

19. Preservice teacher growth in responses • Pre: Strategies one could use would be relating math to real life situations like going to the store and buying candy etc. • Post: I will include cooperative learning, visuals (such as charts ,diagrams, graphic organizers), repetition, providing feedback, and time for practice. I will provide time for students to explore and be active learners in investigating math concepts. I will incorporate writing and questioning, including math journals

20. Pre: Some strategies to support second language learners could be like scaffolding and repetition. There are ways one can adapt lessons and activities to accommodate all learners • Post: I plan to work hard to create a safe haven where students feel secure valued and respected. I know my students will come from diverse backgrounds but to me that will make my classroom much more interesting and enjoyable. Students will gain understanding and knowledge from various cultures and perspectives. My lessons will be modified for English Language Learners. I plan to shelter my instruction using the SIOP model, in order to reach each and every ELL and individual student in the classroom. In my daily lessons and instruction I will use scaffolding, repetition, modeling and activities that engage ELL students in communication skills with monolingual English speakers. In order to do this I know I must activate prior knowledge which students already come to the classroom with and use it to further their learning. I will allow students opportunities to communicate in small groups and whole class. I have learned how the process of inquiry in mathematics allows students to devise different ways to solve problems and engage in higher order thinking skills. I was once an ELL and I know when someone values me as a learner. If they do I will listen and learn.

21. Pre: Bring parts of their own language into the classroom activities so they feel more comfortable and the rest of the class is learning something new • Post: Some strategies that can be used to support diverse learners are to use both linguistic and non-linguistic representations incorporate cooperative learning into the classroom, set objectives and use questioning and cues. When incorporating nonlinguistic representations we will use visual tools and manipulatives, diagrams, concept maps and drawings to provide opportunities for students who can’t express themselves in English to use these tools to express their understanding of the concept. Setting objectives allows the students to understand what the learning goals are and helps them take responsibility for their own learning and determine whether or not they met the goals for the math lesson. Questions and cues are important tools too because they allow students opportunities to think critically about the lesson and allows me insight into the next steps for learning.

22. Pre: Strive to incorporate different methods of teaching for different learning styles like audiotapes in Spanish, Spanish handouts, Spanish manipulatives • Post: Instructional strategies could include: identifying similarities and differences, using graphic organizers, and analogies. I will hold high expectations for students, display their work, praise students efforts to use English and encourage risk taking. I will value and build from students native language and cultural backgrounds. I will help student learn to reflect and summarize and break down math assignment to manageable parts.

23. n Post/ Student Reponses Supporting diverse learners in mathematics was a phrase I was unaware of at the beginning of the semester. I had thought about and planned for supporting diverse learners in language arts and social studies. I had never considered mathematics as a place where diversity was a factor. Soon into the semester I realized that throughout my math education I was an unsupported diverse learner. For one I was a girl, and so many times girls are told math is not their subject. Second, I am from a low income household in a Hispanic neighborhood and did not have the same opportunities or resources to learn as counterparts in other areas of town. Without the proper resources and expectations children will fail to flourish in their mathematical endeavors. In order to connect to our students as teachers we must take the problems off the chalkboards and put them in our own hands..

24. Teachers must understand the goals and objectives they should have for their students and how these link with content standards, as content standards alone do not address the specific needs of ELL’s. When sheltering content instruction, teachers need to think about ways to support ELL’s so they can be as successful as their English-speaking peers. Sheltering instruction can include the following: defining both content and language objectives; making sure content is age appropriate, incorporating supplementary materials like charts, graphs and visual aids, planning meaningful activities that integrate concepts with opportunities for students to practice and develop English, build background knowledge, emphasize vocabulary, provide comprehensible input, clearly explain tasks, scaffold instruction, consider appropriate groupings and conduct ongoing assessment in math.

25. students’ math units • Most of the suggestions for supporting diverse learners centered on the areas we focused on in class (promote productive student interactions, language, and vocabulary) • Ex. Build background: Students have opportunities to bring their background experiences and knowledge to bear on new content area topics. This can be done through whole class and small group brainstorming activities, including graphic organizers, semantic webs or lists. New vocabulary is introduced through the mathematics problems and tasks. • Comprehensible Input: Teachers will use a graphic organizer to represent students conceptions of division. Students will be also represent their ideas about division through speech, writing and illustrations • Interactions: Students will have opportunities to discuss division with peers and the teacher. A variety of questions will be used. This lesson will include whole group and small group interactions.

26. Being part of the lesson study teams at dual language schools • Preservice Teachers at the dual language school reported on their experiences where they saw many of the strategies and supports for diverse learners through the lesson study process

27. Next Steps • Preservice teachers have introductory experiences in the methods courses in which they explore, discuss, and develop strategies for inclusive instructional practices in mathematics But… • We are continuing to think about how to provide opportunities for preservice teachers to support diverse learners in mathematics. • Suggestions? Other ideas? • To obtain this presentation please go to: http://MC2.nmsu.edu • Reference: Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2000.  Making Content Comprehensible for English Language Learners: The SIOP Model.  Needham Heights, MA:  Pearson Education Company.