A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Finding #4.4

Literature-Based Language Arts. The exemplary schools delivered high quality language arts curricula to LEP students. By incorporating literacy development strategies that are used with English-speaking students into bilingual and sheltered English programs, teachers guided LEP students to develop the advanced literacy skills needed for success in later grades. In particular, the exemplary elementary schools employed literature-based language arts curricula that included grammar and phonic instruction. In bilingual programs, students developed literacy skills in English as well as in their primary language.

The language arts curricula at the exemplary schools focused on developing students’ reading and writing skills. Teachers adapted innovative strategies commonly used with monolingual English speakers, such as literature-based curriculum, to the needs of LEP students so they could learn English and develop their native language. Teachers drew on a number of instructional approaches in language arts, including Whole Language, Writer’s Workshop, Reader’s Workshop, and Accelerated Reading. In addition, teachers embedded more traditional approaches to language arts aimed at teaching phonics and grammar into reading and writing activities. A range of strategies was incorporated into bilingual and sheltered English instruction programs and employed to develop English reading and writing skills as well as to develop literacy in students’ primary language when that was a goal of the program.

Whole Language. The whole language movement began in New Zealand, a nation that has led the way for many years in the study of reading and writing. It is based on four key assumptions:

• Language is used to communicate: Although this assumption seems obvious, in the traditional classroom, language becomes a subject of study rather than a way of communicating. Unlike real world communication, students have traditionally been asked to state whether a vowel is long or short, to parse a sentence, or to tell whether a particular "g" is hard or soft. Whole Language advocates argue that the study of language isolated from its use becomes meaningless.

• Children increase their ability to use language by trying to use it: Again, although seemingly obvious, learning language is a natural activity. Researchers used the analogy of learning to walk in describing language learning. It is assumed that children will learn to walk successfully; praise is given for effort; and perfection is not expected from the start. No one believes that telling a child how to walk will help a child learn. Similarly, proponents of the Whole Language approach argue that success in reading and writing should be assumed, that praise should be provided for effort, and that errors should be tolerated.

• Children learn to use language better by becoming involved with language that is somewhat more complex than their regular language: Proponents argue that deliberate simplification of language is counterproductive. Students learn from exposure to real language in context, such as in stories, rather than in the stilted world of the traditional primers that use language as it is not used elsewhere.

• Children do not increase their ability to use language by being taught about language: Proponents of the Whole Language approach argue that abstract knowledge about language is not useful in helping students learn to read. Students need to become involved with language in the classroom in a thoughtful and purposeful way, much like natural use outside the classroom.¹¹

Writer’s Workshop. Writer’s Workshop teaches writing through an iterative process that involves multiple steps, including development of a first draft, reflection, peer and teacher review, and a final product. Revisions are made after students reflect on their own work, as well as after receiving feedback from their peers and teacher. The following sign providing directions for the process was taken from a second grade bilingual class at Hollibrook:

Teachers at Hollibrook, as well as at Del Norte and Inter-American used the Writer’s Workshop to develop students’ literacy skills in both English and Spanish. Over time, students became familiar with the Writer’s Workshop process. As a result, students knew what was expected of them and were able to function as independent learners. Teachers circulated among the students, asking questions and helping students sharpen their writing. Students’ ability to work independently for sustained periods of time afforded individual students the opportunity to work one-on-one with their teacher during the teacher review stage of the process.

While students were permitted to write in the language in which they were most comfortable, they were often encouraged to challenge themselves by writing in English when they felt ready. Teachers coached Spanish-speakers in Spanish about their English writing, helping them to express their thoughts using correct English grammar and vocabulary.

Box I-4.5 Exemplary Sites Implement a Variety of Whole Language Strategies Story Maps. Students created a map that showed the physical landscape of a book or a story. In the process of creating the map, the students became much more involved in the action of a story than they would have by only reading it. Students were also required to understand sequencing because they were asked to represent the chronological action of the story in a spatial arrangement. In one of the exemplary classrooms, students were engaged in a complex example of the use of a story map. The class of middle school students had been learning English for less than a year. The class was reading Sarah, Plain and Tall and as part of a cooperative learning assignment, students were asked to identify Sarah’s path across the country. Each group selected a state through which Sarah traveled as she moved from east to west across the country. The group traced the path through the state, identifying the site of major action in the book. In addition, students were responsible for learning about the state’s demography and economy, both at the time of the story and at present. Literary Letters. Students wrote a letter to a character in a book to encourage the students to draw inferences from the story and to promote understanding the character’s motivations. In one of the exemplary classrooms, students were asked to write a letter from James to his aunts in the novel James and the Giant Peach. The assignment required students to understand the nature of the interaction between James and his aunts. The students were to explain why the aunt’s treatment of James was upsetting and to give the aunts reasons why they should treat James better. Reader’s Theater. Students used dramatic interpretation to make part of a story come to life. A group of students stood or sat together and delivered lines of dialogue from the text. A moderator read the narrative portions. Dramatization of a story helps develop greater comprehension for both the actors and the listeners. Students were asked not just to identify with a character but to become that character. In one of the exemplary classrooms, students in a bilingual class used the Reader’s Theater process. Students who were learning English were the actors in the Reader’s Theater and presented the story to their classmates using the techniques of dramatic reading. The teacher served as a guide to the story, asking the actors to pause occasionally in their reading of the narrative to ensure that all students were understanding the text. At Del Norte fourth graders in a bilingual class read James and the Giant Peach in English if they were able to do so; the recent arrivals read it in Spanish. All students had read the book. The teacher first discussed themes in the book for the Spanish readers separate from the English readers. The teacher asked students in one cooperative group to perform a portion of the book in a Reader's Theater for the entire class, and assigned each student a role. Students enacted a scene from the book, reading in English. The teacher asked the students in English to describe what happened in the scene, and what they thought the characters might feel about different aspects of the story. Throughout the discussion with the entire class, the teacher asked some of the same questions in English that she had previously asked the small group in Spanish.

Reader's Workshop. Like the Writer’s Workshop, this strategy encourages students to work independently, to be reflective, and to consult with peers. It outlines a process for thoughtful reading and enhanced comprehension. Box I-4.6 provides an example of the Reader's Workshop as implemented at Hollibrook.

Accelerated Reading. Accelerated Reading is a program developed at the University of Wisconsin designed to increase student reading and comprehension. At Del Norte, students chose a reading goal every six weeks and read that number of pages in books they selected. Reading was done outside of class and could be done in Spanish or in English. Students gradually increased the goals they set for themselves from 300 pages in six weeks to 900 pages in six weeks. To receive credit for pages read, students took a computer-based comprehension test on each book. The computer maintained a cumulative record for each child. Demand for books from the school library escalated during the year. Teachers found that students were engaged in their reading and were willing to try increasingly sophisticated books. Del Norte’s third through sixth graders participated in Accelerated Reading. Teachers felt the program increased reading comprehension, love of reading, and exposure to a wide variety of experiences through books.

Box I-4.6 4th Grade English Language Learners Engage in Readers’ Workshop Students in Hollibrook’s fourth grade bilingual class engaged in a collaborative reading process called Reader’s Workshop. The students, who were developing English literacy, were reading Where the Broken Heart Still Beats. A chart hung from the ceiling delineating the Reader’s Workshop process: Reader’s Workshop Express punctuation Ask the meaning of words Summarize Use personal experience Talk to yourself Guess Make predictions Talk about your feelings (about the book) Make connections The list of steps was generated by students during a whole-class brainstorming session. It is added to as students learn new strategies. Working in pairs, students read aloud to one another and discussed reading strategies. The students in this class had been together with the same teacher since kindergarten; as a result they were expert cooperative learners and understood what was expected of their Reader's Workshop. The Reader's Workshop process helped students to develop their reading comprehension skills and gave them opportunities to express their ideas and thoughts about their reading.

Finding #4.5

Experiential Science. Exemplary schools established high standards in science learning for LEP students and used new curricular and instructional approaches to science learning consistent with school reform. These approaches: included thematic and project-based science learning; were offered in the primary language or in English with primary language support; were effective for LEP students at different stages of development of oral, reading and writing skills in English were either taught in the primary language employing (1) appropriately qualified teachers who were fluent in the students’ native language and (2) learning materials available in the primary language; or taught using Sheltered English strategies by (1) appropriately trained teachers who often were fluent in the students’ native language and where (2) learning materials were suited to sheltered strategies.

Innovative science programs have been found to effectively involve LEP students in learning about science in hands-on experiential ways. Highlights of the science instruction seen in study sites at the middle grades included scientific sense-making through instructional conversation and students actively engaged in expeditions, experiments, and projects.

Fundamental change in science instruction is consistent with school reform. Reforms in science education call for students to learn the scientific method through application: by performing experiments, observing natural phenomena, and formulating conclusions based on scientific evidence. Students learn that there is not necessarily one right answer but rather many ways to reach many right answers. They discover that teachers are not the sole source of wisdom for them; they can also learn things for themselves, with their peers, or through systematic observation. Science is exciting for students when taught in a hands-on experiential way.

The study sites described in this study are unique in their approach to science with LEP students. The schools in this study offered stimulating science instruction that was comprehensible to LEP students, either by offering it in their primary language or in English using sheltered techniques. All the grade 6-8 schools succeeded in having LEP students participate fully in science, including laboratory experiences. The exemplary nature of the case study schools is particularly outstanding in contrast to Minicucci and Olsen’s finding ¹² that most schools do not teach grade level science to LEP students at the secondary level.

At the exemplary sites, students discovered scientific principles, honed their powers of observation, and learned first-hand application of the scientific method. TERC's program with Creole speakers was especially noteworthy in this regard. Teachers used a method called "science talk" in which all students gathered in a circle and discussed a pre-arranged topic relating to findings in their experiments. Science talk allowed students to guide the discussion, develop topics, argue evidence, explore their findings, and formulate additional questions which would be explored in the next set of experiments. The teacher played a facilitative role, while allowing students to lead and introduce relevant topics. An experiential science lesson used at Hanshaw is described in Box I-4.7.

Box I-4.7 Students Collaborate in Hanshaw Science Class Eighth grade students at Hanshaw Middle School studied salinity and temperature in currents in a fully equipped science lab. Of the 31 students in the class, eight were LEP students. The teacher asked each student group to select one person to gather equipment, and directed the students to take notes on the results so they could answer questions. The teacher reminded the class that they had resources other than the teacher--the lab sheet and others in their group. If questions remained after those sources had been consulted, she would be glad to help. The students were accustomed to working in groups and were comfortable dividing up tasks. The teacher moved from group to group asking students to consider their results from various perspectives. "What do you think will happen?" "Why do you think they are not mixing?" "How is this experiment like the salinity one?" "What do the two experiments together tell us about the ocean?" LEP students in the class were concentrated in two of the groups. At least one student needed help in Spanish and another student in the group translated the directions or answered questions in Spanish. The groups with LEP students performed the experiments as proficiently as the non-LEP groups, but they needed more time to answer the questions and they consulted more with their peers than did the native English speakers. Though the teacher spent time with each of the groups, she spent a little more time with the groups that included LEP students.

Faculty at exemplary schools who implemented innovative science curricula for LEP students were trained in second language acquisition. Teachers who taught in the primary language were fluent in the students’ primary language. In most cases, teachers who taught science to LEP students using sheltered instruction were also fluent in the students' primary language. Teachers at exemplary schools, and the external partners working with them, reported that science lessons provided excellent language development opportunities for LEP students.

Advanced LEP students were effectively mainstreamed into science classes taught in English with certain adaptations. Adaptations to the learning environment seen in exemplary schools included: 1) clustering a small group of LEP students who spoke the same primary language in the mainstream English class and allowing the students to clarify meaning for each other in the primary language in cooperative groups; 2) employing teachers trained in second-language acquisition to teach mainstream science classes that included advanced LEP students; 3) using a paraprofessional fluent in the students’ primary language to accompany transitioning students into mainstream classes; and 4) allowing transitioning LEP students to sit through the class during a different period to hear the same lesson a second time.

Finding #4.6

Constructivist Mathematics. Constructivist and project-based approaches to learning mathematics were effective with LEP students where they were implemented and were offered in the primary language or in English with primary language support. However: Exemplary schools, with some exceptions, had fewer high quality learning environments in mathematics than in science Exemplary schools, with some exceptions, did not have external partnerships to work on math with the same frequency as they did with science partnerships.

Exemplary math instruction for LEP students was found in schools in which teachers relied on constructivist and project-based approaches in teaching mathematics to LEP students. Constructivist learning environments are those in which "students search for meaning, appreciate uncertainty, and inquire responsibly." ¹³ Although constructivism is a major underpinning of many current reforms in mathematics education, such environments are rare in American schools.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1989 promulgated standards for mathematics instructional reform. NCTM set forth the following goals for students: "that they learn to value mathematics, that they become confident in their ability to do mathematics, that they become mathematical problem-solvers, that they learn to communicate mathematically, and that they learn to reason mathematically." ¹⁴ NCTM endorses the constructivist approach to mathematics teaching and learning in which students discover multiple ways to solve problems and the teacher becomes a facilitator of student learning and discovery rather than the imparter of knowledge to passive learners.

In contrast are learning environments in which teachers dominate "learning" through lecture and direct instruction. In such cases, curriculum tends to be textbook-driven, leaving little room for students to construct meaning for themselves. In another Studies of Education Reform Project funded by OERI, the Curriculum Reform Project, a review of the literature on reform in science and math curriculum identified the weaknesses of math teaching in the United States. ¹⁵

"[M]any students learn that mathematics is a disconnected set of rules, produced by others, that must be memorized so that correct answers to irrelevant exercises can be obtained...[Students] take a passive role in learning information over which they have no control."

The exemplary schools experienced difficulty in finding ways to deliver challenging content in mathematics in a real-world context. At Wiggs, for example, teachers of newcomer students integrated manipulatives and authentic material as a part of their mathematics curriculum, but often needed to teach basic mathematics content that students had not mastered prior to coming to this country. The goal was to have students operate at grade level in mathematics, but teachers had to deal with the tension between that goal and ensuring that students have a sound foundation in mathematical principals to build on for further study. Teachers at the exemplary schools reported that it was often difficult to include enough mathematics in thematic units to provide for appropriate grade-level coverage of mathematics. A particular challenge for faculties was to create opportunities within thematic units to integrate mathematics. Teachers reported that sometimes after the completion of a thematic unit, they still needed to go back and do direct instruction in math to ensure that students had mastered the concepts. Box I-4.7 describes an example of constructivist mathematics instruction.

Finding #4.7

Integrated Use of Technology. Some of the exemplary schools used technology in the classroom to build knowledge and facilitate communication. Technology served as a medium to promote thinking, creativity, and self- directed student learning of complex tasks. However, most of the exemplary schools did not use technology extensively with LEP students.

At the sites where technology was used to enhance the engaged learning environment, it was used as a tool to facilitate collaboration, expand the possibilities for accessing information, and provide an additional medium for expression. These uses marked a significant deviation from the more common use of technology--for drill and practice exercises--that occur at the periphery of the learning environment. ¹⁶

Some exemplary schools used technology in a meaningful, integrated context to enhance student learning. At these sites, students engaged in a self-directed learning process that involved complex, thought-provoking activities. Technology was used as a learning tool to build knowledge and facilitate communication. It served as a medium to promote thinking and creativity. The curriculum was project-based and relied on technology as a constructive tool. The roles of the students and teachers shifted and the interactions changed in these technology-rich learning environments. Teachers and students became collaborators in an environment in which both teachers and students were learners and experts. This type of learning environment is compatible with the principles of education reform and instructional strategies that are effective with LEP students.

In contrast, many applications of technology are often either too passive or are centered on transmission of information rather than on the process of active discovery. Technology is often not well integrated into learning activities. It is used most frequently as an add-on for "drill-and-practice," preempting complex problem-solving, critical thinking, or collaboration. Often, students have access to engaging stand-alone software packages, offering computer-assisted instruction that requires problem solving and critical thinking, but the use of the software is peripheral and is not incorporated into the core learning activities. In such cases, technology is often removed from the classroom and relegated to a computer lab.

Linda Vista Elementary School and Wiggs Middle School used technology in powerful ways. Both schools integrated it into instruction and made it a regular part of students’ learning experiences. Linda Vista was most advanced in its use of hypermedia applications, such as HyperCard (see Box I-4.8). Wiggs made effective use of on-line, interactive networks (see Box I-4.9). Both Wiggs and Linda Vista, as well as other case study sites, used additional technology applications (i.e., word processing, spreadsheet, and graphic programs) as tools for learning; these programs were used in classrooms in conjunction with the regular curriculum and in separate "computer literacy" courses taught in a computer lab.

The application of technology to promote meaningful, engaged learning is highly dependent on the approach and skill of the teacher. Teachers at Linda Vista and Wiggs were well-trained and believed in technology as a tool to help them facilitate student learning. Both schools were involved with external partners who provided training in the form of in-class coaching and intensive teacher practicums.

Box I-4.8 Students at Linda Vista Compose Multimedia "Book Reports" Teachers at Linda Vista made remarkable use of HyperCard, a software application that contains a database of graphics, text, and sound and is used to create multimedia compositions. They used the technology as a tool to support their curricular objectives and instructional strategies. The technology facilitated the learning process and was applied in ways that excited LEP students about writing and producing oral language. For example, in one lesson students were working on a "book report" which, through the use of HyperCard, quickly became a dynamic, multimedia composition produced through the collaboration of the whole class working in cooperative groups of three or four. In this cooperative group setting, multimedia technology allowed students to serve as experts in their areas of strength. Groups at Linda Vista typically had a complementary mix of students with respect to academic strength, computer skills, and English fluency. Technology was used to facilitate the teachers’ goals of providing hands-on, self-directed, student-centered learning. In addition, students were engaged for sustained periods as they worked alone or in cooperative groups on the computer, which freed teachers to work one-on-one with students who needed extra support.

Box I-4.9 Wiggs Students Cross the Country on the Information Highway At Wiggs, students accessed and analyzed data through on-line computer networks. In one class, the teacher made technology part of an integrated ESL lesson. The students read Sarah, Plain and Tall and worked in groups to extend their learning from the book. The story described Sarah’s journey across the country; one of the activities involved learning about the states through which she traveled. A group of students used an on-line database to gather information--relating to population, industry, geography, etc.--on the state they were studying. The process of gathering information on-line provided students with immediate access to up-to-date information. They could easily pursue a specific branch of information, and could manipulate and analyze data. Students were highly engaged in the classes in which they were working on-line, and their work had a direct connection to the class’ core curriculum.

¹¹ Johnson and Louis, 1989; Goodman, 1987.

¹² Minicucci and Olsen, 1992.

¹³ Grennon Brooks and Brooks, 1993.

¹⁴ NCTM, 1989.

¹⁵ Anderson, 1994.

¹⁶ Collins, 1990; David, 1991; Dwyer, 1994; Means, 1994.
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[4. High Quality Learning Environments (part 1)]

[5. School Culture and Structure that Support High Quality Learning Environments for LEP Students]