Online-Learning and the Training of ESL/Bilingual Teachers: The Case of North Park University, Chicago

• In Event: Online Spaces of Language Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Proposal

In recent years, the accelerated rate of global broadband internet access throughout the world has revolutionized education with many institutions implementing online learning – also referred to e-learning, virtual learning, or distance learning. Whereas it is now imperative that all schools be connected to the internet, there continues to be international debates over the role, challenges, and benefits of this mode of instruction, especially within tertiary education. The proponents claim that e-learning promotes quality education and that among its many advantages it contributes to a higher student participation rate; a better understanding of material; digital competency; flexibility; enhanced time management skills; more free time; improved technological skills; and self-paced learning. The opponents who favor in-person classes maintain that online learning is inadequate for numerous reasons which often include social contact restriction and isolation; an inappropriate learning environment as both professors and students turn their homes or offices into classrooms; technological glitches and limitations; along with obstacles in students being motivated, organized and adhering to deadlines.

Despite such reluctance, educational institutions across the globe were abruptly forced to replace face-to-face courses with online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Various online approaches were quickly adopted involving either synchronous or asynchronous learning. Once universities reopened, some programs and departments transitioned back to the traditional setting, while others chose to go hybrid or remain virtual. One of the main reasons for this paradigm shift in switching completely to online programs was that during COVID many students and professors tried e-learning/teaching for the first time and developed new educational applications which they liked. They had acquired experience in doing so and recognized the previously mentioned benefits along with many new options for teaching and learning. Consequently, both the pandemic and e-learning also revolutionized the fields of study in teaching and education, including pre-service teacher education.

Until recently, most teacher preparation institutions embraced traditional in-person, face to face delivery in which students attended classes physically in a classroom setting with the professor and peers. It was believed that through face-to-face learning, students benefited from immediate feedback, social interactions with classmates, and the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities and discussions. Many educators were against online teaching especially within teacher preparation programs since numerous studies demonstrated that the then current methods of educating teachers for online professional development were lacking (Darling-Hammond, Linda, Maria Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner. 2017). One of the biggest concerns was designing and providing a class that incorporated pedagogical best practices, rich learning experiences, and research-based teaching approaches and strategies. How could one train effective teachers and strengthen the existing educator preparation programs through quality education within virtual learning environments?

Ever since the COVID pandemic ended, there has been a surge in literature and research examining the effects of online teaching. Most have mainly focused on the negative consequences that occurred within educational institutions when forced to teach online during that period. Where there is some mention about teacher preparation programs during this era and how school closures prevented student teachers from completing student teaching in person and for sitting for the exams that they needed to get credentialed, there is a great void in studies focusing on how post-COVID universities have switched their teaching preparation programs to online teaching, the curriculum modifications that have been implemented, and the results of these programs. Even more so, studies on online programs for training ESL/bilingual teachers are nonexistent. Thus, there is a great need for such studies that will not only provide information about these programs but also help and guide those who are interested in implementing similar programs.

The current study focuses on how North Park University’s School of Education in Chicago transformed its ESL/Bilingual Endorsement Program to become fully and synchronously online. In compliance with the university, it was necessary for the instructor to complete training for all program courses through Quality Matters (QM) which is a nationally recognized peer-reviewed process for the rigor of online and hybrid courses. The duration of this undertaking took nearly two years to complete and consisted of designing rubrics, incorporating standards, mapping the alignment between course objectives, modular objectives, course materials and assessments, and finally participating in a rigorous peer review process. Special attention was given to aligning the Illinois State Board of Education Standards along with those of the North Park School of Education objectives with those of QM and ensuring that best practices for training ESL and bilingual candidates were incorporated within this online program.

In addition to the above objectives and description, the current study also describes the program courses and how they were modified with best practices for virtually teaching future ESL and bilingual teachers, along with defining the outcomes and consequences of this transformation. It mirrors the theme of the CIES 2025 conference and helps provide answers to the questions on what and why we are doing with online programs. Lastly through a comparative study the study examines ESL/Bilingual endorsement programs in Illinois universities and colleges to determine how many programs are currently being taught online due to the rapid transformations and technological advancements that will be the focus of the CIES 2025.














References
Darling-Hammond, Linda, Maria Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner. 2017. “Effective Teacher Professional Development.” Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Effective_Teacher_Professional_Development_REPORT.pdf.
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Author

• ANGELYN Balodimas-Bartolomei, North Park University