School Infrastructure Changes as Catalysts for Instructional Improvement Among High School Teachers of English Language Learners

• In Event: 56.032 - Research to Action: Equity and Opportunity for Immigrant English Learners in High Schools

Abstract

Objectives
This paper presents findings from a national research project in which high schools adopted significant changes to their school infrastructure to facilitate instructional improvements in an effort to increase graduation and college readiness for ELLs. The goal of this research is to advance the theory, knowledge, and practice needed to improve access and opportunities for ELLs by identifying instructional methods and structural supports required more broadly for diverse groups of ELLs to be successful at the high school level.

Perspectives
Despite unprecedented numbers of immigrant adolescents entering US schools in high school, graduation rates reveal a crisis: ELLs graduate at a dramatically lower rate than their English proficient peers. In traditional high schools, ELLs are enrolled in courses taught by teachers who are content area experts but who are given little opportunity or support to help their students develop English skills. As the population of ELLs grows in schools and districts, few teachers can work effectively without background in second language acquisition, yet high school faculty continue to teach in isolation within their disciplines while their ESL teacher peers are mandated the responsibility for ELLs’ academic language development – an approach that has largely failed. Consistently, students’ native languages are declared off-limits in the classroom, thus depriving them of opportunities to engage with complex concepts or provide peer supports that could boost achievement and strengthen classroom communities. While ELLs are struggling, school structures continue to isolate teachers from one another, limit opportunities for peer support and professional learning and undermine the creation of school communities that provide equitable opportunities for this growing population of students.

Methods and Data Sources
Findings presented are from a national mixed-methods study exploring the implementation and impact of targeted interventions on ELL achievement in high schools in two large urban school districts. Data sources include interviews and extant data, such as student and teacher records, instructional artifacts, and other implementation records.

Findings
Results from this study suggest that to create and sustain instructional changes supported by research, such as differentiation of instruction, collaborative learning, and integration of language development into content classrooms, teachers in all disciplines need school infrastructure that supports the development of professional expertise to address English language development. Results highlight two structural changes – student scheduling and a formal structure for teacher collaboration – as promising in promoting, developing and sustaining school-wide shared responsibility for ELLs, continued professional learning, and interdisciplinary support.


Significance
Findings address a significant gap in the literature on school reform and immigrant education and can assist in implementing equitable educational policies for English Language Learners in high schools. This research fills the gap in scholarship on school structures that can facilitate equitable learning environments for immigrant ELLs, improve student achievement, and lead to graduation. The study expands on current methods for educating high school ELLs – a rapidly growing population that is not typically the focus of interventions.

Authors

• Trisha Borman, American Institutes for Research

• Natalya Gnedko-Berry, American Institutes for Research

• Marguerite Lukes, Internationals Network for Public Schools