Using Student Surveys to Inform General Education Teachers about their English Language Learners

• In Event: Teacher Leader Research: Urban English Language Learner Facilitators Inquire Into Their Leadership Practice

Abstract

Around the country, populations of ELL students are rising, making public schools more diverse and presenting new challenges to schools that may be ill-equipped to offer services to students with a wide range of language, academic, and social needs. Many secondary schools struggle to provide equitable access to rich learning opportunities for ELL students, while also maintaining support to ensure their success (Cho & Reich, 2010).

There is a clear need at the high school level to provide assistance for ELL students in general education classrooms. Subject-area teachers need the support of ELL specialists to build skills to help their ELL students engage with grade-level material. As an ELL specialist, my role is to bridge between the ELL department and content area teachers who serve ELL students.

As a new staff at my school, I began looking for opportunities to collaborate with classroom teachers. I wondered how a survey of ELL students in their classrooms might help three general education teachers build knowledge of student needs and experiences. I planned a collaborative inquiry process with the teachers to answer their questions about how best to serve the ELL students in their content area classes with the goal of making ELL experiences more visible.

I collaborated with the teachers by (1) meeting with them to discuss their ELL students and (2) attending each teacher’s class to observe the students and the classroom environment. I then met with each teacher to design a student survey—each teacher’s survey took on a different focus based on the interests of the teacher and our knowledge of the students. I developed and administered the surveys and then met with each teacher to analyze and discuss the data. I asked each teacher to reflect on the inquiry process and to share their final thoughts with me. I collected and analyzed teacher interview notes, classroom observation notes, student survey data, and my reflective journal notes.

Findings indicated that the teachers each learned a great deal about the needs of their ELL students through this collaborative inquiry process. For example, one teacher explicitly targeted motivation and engagement (in the survey) after observing that her students were not participating or turning in assignments with a frequency equal to her non-ELL students. Following the collaborative inquiry, all three teachers recognized the need for students to develop greater self-advocacy skills and confidence to participate in classroom discussions.

The study suggested a number of actions that I can take through my role as an ELL facilitator. Teachers at my school might benefit, for example, from professional development about second language acquisition, culturally responsive teaching practices, and specific strategies to engage English Language Learners. The study highlighted the need to increase collaboration between the school’s ELL department and general education teachers, particularly around building student self-advocacy skills and corresponding with families. The outcomes of the study indicate that teachers want support to improve ELL access and participation.

Author

• Stephanie Forman, Highline Public Schools