Creating an improvement network to enhance the results obtained by an English language learning program in a rural community

• In Event: Poster session I
  In Poster Session: Poster session 1

Proposal

Learning English as a foreign language contributes to students’ prospects of global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity. This is particularly true in the case of rural communities, where the isolation of the areas may cause lower exposure to cultural diversity than in urban communities. We Learn is a program whose aim is to broaden the opportunities in early childhood of learning English as a foreign language in public schools from rural communities. It was created in 2006 and it currently gives assistance to 14 schools from 2 school districts in Chile. The program has undergone external evaluation in 2012, 2014 and 2016 to better comprehend the impact of its implementation. Whilst the results have shown higher achievement gains in the intervened schools than those of the comparison group, the progress through those years for the intervened schools was moderate. The challenge for the program then became mobilizing the progress of the students.

Schools in rural communities tend to work in isolation from one another, which is why the creation of an improvement network was an innovation worth testing to encourage students’ progress within the intervened schools. The thesis was that building local capabilities and having different types of expertise working together towards a shared goal would improve the program’s system and translate into higher progress in English language learning in students. The We Learn Improvement Network was created in 2017 by using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) model. As defined by Díaz Maggioli (2012), effective professional development “promotes dialog rooted in evidence from trying new things (…) and it is done with teachers, and not to teachers”. In this spirit, the network builds experiential learning among its members, putting emphasis on the protagonistic role of teachers and school leaders. The auspicious results after the first year compelled us to continue working with this model and recommend it for mobilizing processes in education.

The 2017 WL Improvement Network’s aim was to have 90% of 284 first and second grade students that attended the 13 schools of the network at an intermediate level, 10% of the group in an advanced level, and 0% of students in the initial level by December on a communicative competence test Pre A1 level (CEFR). The work towards the goal was focalized on teachers’ professional development, maximizing instructional time, school leaders’ involvement and providing outside the classroom English exposure for students. The network tested innovations in these areas throughout the year, resulting in substantially higher results in students’ progress than expected, with 56% and 59% first and second-grade students respectively in advanced level. We have established a more challenging goal for the year 2018: to have 60% students in advanced level, 40% in intermediate level and 0% in initial level from the 278 students in first and second grade. This poster will show the WL Improvement Network 2018 results and highlight how the members of the network have used continuous improvement methodology to enhance the implementation of the program in their local community.

Authors

• Maria Paz Collao, Fundacion Educacional Oportunidad

• Trinidad Castro Amenábar, Fundación Educacional Oportunidad