Action Research Plan

Abstract

Through the years, I have found that my English Language Learner (ESL) students seemed to struggle the most in the classroom. I began looking for ways to help them become more successful with English vocabulary and in particular, content area vocabulary. I found some strategies that helped these students build confidence which allowed them to achieve at a higher level than they had previously. I noticed many other teachers experienced the same difficulties with their ESL students. I wanted to find a way to share my ideas about effective ELL classroom skills and strategies with other teachers so they would also be able to help their own students become successful in the classroom setting.  Through professional development sessions, my goal for this research was to offer teachers of English Language Learner (ELL) students more effective skills and strategies using hands-on activities they could immediately incorporate into their classroom and provide lessons in order to promote better understanding in the classroom and improved report card grades for students who are considered English Language Learners. I hoped to gain information through the data in order to determine if these sessions with teachers will help their ELL students become more confident and successful in their academic life. This study will take place at Rennell Elementary in Cypress Fairbanks ISD with five ESL Reading and Language Arts teachers.

In five 45 minute sessions, I provided new skills and hands-on strategies the ESL teachers could use in their classrooms. I led the teachers in make-and-take strategy sessions, led discussions on how to use the products in the classroom with students, and coached teachers with any concerns or problems they were having with the activities. I led the teachers in practice with the new strategies and products ensuring each teacher had a good understanding of the activity and a high comfort level regarding the skill and product.

 

 

Determining the Effectiveness of ELL Professional Development

By

Jennifer Boyd

 

 

Introduction/Background

Rennell Elementary is a PreK through 5^th grade campus that opened in 2010 to service students in Northwest Harris County. It is currently serving almost 1,000 students in Cypress, Texas. The principal is Mrs. Leslie Thomas and the staff includes two assistant principals, one counselor, two instructional support members, fifty-one teachers, and sixteen paraprofessionals. The student population is 40.9% White, 17.9% African American, 27.2% Hispanic, 10.6% Asian, and .43% Native American. Additionally, the campus serves 24.8% economically disadvantaged students, 6% special education students, and 15.8% Limited English Proficient students.  I have seven years of teaching experience all in CFISD.  I came to Rennell Elementary when it opened in 2010 as a fifth grade Reading/Language Arts teacher.

Statement of the problem

I previously taught at a CFISD campus whose population was 72% economically disadvantaged with a predominately Hispanic population. Each grade level had a bi-lingual classroom and the 4^th and 5^th grades each had a Structured English Immersion (SEI) classroom. While Rennell does not currently have these demographics, the ELL population continues to grow throughout the district.  CFISD requires all English/Reading/Language Arts (ELAR) teachers to obtain the minimum 30-hour ESL training to become certified as an ESL teacher, however many of the teachers on my campus have not received additional training and some have never had ESL students in their classroom.

 

Purpose of the Study/ Significance of the Study

The purpose of this study is to increase the effectiveness of ESL teachers working with ELL students and immediately give both teachers and students the tools they need in order to be successful in the classroom.  After speaking with Christine Melancon, my campus supervisor, we determined it would be of great benefit to both the ESL teachers on the campus and the students in their classroom to focus my research on addition training for ESL teachers involving hands-on activities and effective reading strategies and skills for ELL students. This study will add to the knowledge base for teachers working with ELL students on my campus.

 

 

Definition of Terms

ELL- English Language Learners

ESL- English as a Second Language

SEI- Structured English Immersion

ELAR- English/Language Arts/Reading

LEP-Limited English Proficiency

 

 

Literature Review

Across the country, we can observe teachers giving instruction about new words the students need to know and learn.  Vocabulary instruction is not a new theory and the techniques and styles used to help the students learn the new words and their meanings will vary greatly from classroom to classroom. Unfortunately, there is not a set standard used to introduce and teach vocabulary to students and even the best teachers are left with question on how to effectively design and implement vocabulary instruction. (Blachowicz, Fisher, Ogle, Watts-Taffe, 2006) The ELL student, unfortunately, has the added burden of learning not only the word and its meaning, but also learning and understanding the words that comprise the meaning. Their teachers share in their burden but usually lack the skills and strategies to effectively help these students fully understand to the same level of the non-ELL students in classroom.

Like vocabulary instruction, it is also not a new occurrence that ELL students can be found in many of these same classrooms where teachers are introducing new words and meanings to students.  Some of these teachers have little or no prior training with these students and lack a complete understanding of their needs. Washburn stated, “Because areas with the most rapid growth generally have little history of educating the ELL population, there may be a corresponding lack of understanding of and empathy for ELLs.” (2008) In order to allow teachers to experience the frustration felt by ELL students in the classrooms, he devised a reading lesson for the teachers. His lesson was in Chinese. The goal was for the teachers to acquire empathy for the ELL students’ language barrier and stimulate thinking about skills and strategies that could be used in the classrooms. (Washburn, 2008)

Most teachers learn new techniques to introduce vocabulary through professional development trainings, from books about vocabulary introduction, from watching and speaking with other teachers, or from textbook adoptions on their campus. Many teachers take the best pieces from each and try to assemble the best technique for the students in the classroom. Research shows that the best practices in ELL vocabulary instruction are those that include hands-on activities. “It is through the use of hands-on activities that students learn best. They are able to manipulate objects and make sense of them.” (Fishkin, 2010) These activities include vocabulary picture cards, clue cards, sentence strip cues, 4-square vocabulary, and fantasy words. Effective skills that can be used in the classroom to support the hands-on activities include peer mentors and visual checklists or reminders.

Teachers can help their students learn the vocabulary by creating clue cards and sentence strip cues. The words can be used in context with a book the students are reading or created by the student using words from a vocabulary list. These help students with vocabulary skills by allowing them to visualize their words or the sentence they can be found. For ELL students just beginning to learn English, Cipriano suggests also using the sentence strips as concrete examples for phrases ELL students might need in the classroom. Examples: Can I please_______?   I need help with_______. (2011) The use of Fantasy Words in the classroom, where the students draw their vocabulary word in such a way that it depicts the meaning of the word, also allows the students to visualize and produce concrete representations for the student to reference. It is also helpful to add word families to the Fantasy Word drawing. “Visual aids provide students with something concrete that they can refer to when learning.” (Fishkin, 2010) Many researchers discuss the use of visuals to aid the ELL students in acquiring a broader vocabulary. They can also be used to aid the student in boosting their comfort level in the classroom which creates a better learning environment. A simple checklist of the day’s activities and assignment can be written on the board and checked off by the teacher upon completion of each or provided privately for the student to control. This allows the ELL student to recognize the clues and cues for classroom procedures. 

Another effective strategy for ELL students is for students to create Four-Square Vocabulary cards. A large paper is divided into four sections. A different vocabulary activity is completed for the same new word in each section. “They build sentences, compound words, and contractions, and they match synonyms, antonyms, and word families.” (Fishkin, 2010) This strategy can be used as several follow-up activities over several days. The four-square is also helpful when teaching ELL students vocabulary words with multiple meanings.  In order to aid the students in learning and remembering the new knowledge, the new words the ELL students hear or learn during vocabulary instruction need to be used in a meaningful way with follow-up activities. “Instruction that combines definitional information with other active processing, such as adding contextual information, writing, or rich manipulation of words, is consistently more effective than definitional instruction alone.” (Blachowicz, Fisher, Ogle, Watts-Taffe, 2006) The Vocabulary Picture Cards allows students to see the new word written accompanied by a picture or representation of the word. These can be created by the teacher or student and kept in a binder, folder, or on a ring. The ELL students keep the cards for future reference during instructional time, independent reading or practice, or even homework. In their article, August, Carlo, Dressler, and Snow pointed out that the use of picture cards were helpful when direct instruction time is limited. (2005) Because the cards can be used independently by the students, they do not have to wait for a break in instruction in order to use them if they are having difficulty with a word.

Students need the opportunity to hear and use academic content vocabulary in addition to reading and writing. It is important for the ELL students to be paired with a strong English speaker in order for the ELL student to begin to learn through these interactions. Fishkin shares that many ELL students may lack the confidence to speak in front of the entire classroom but will feel more comfortable speaking one-on-one with a partner.  Examples of peer mentoring that could take place in the classroom are think-pair-share, buddy reading, and conversation role play. (2010)

 

 

Action Research Design

Subjects

The target population for this study was ELAR teachers from my campus.  I chose five ESL teachers from four different grade levels to participate in the study with the idea that the sessions could be used in a campus-wide capacity in the future if the study yields high results.

Procedures

After speaking with Mrs. Melancon and deciding on a focus for this study, I developed a questionnaire for teachers regarding their teaching experience, prior ESL training, and the skills and strategies they have or were currently using in their classrooms with ESL students.  Based on this information, I choose teachers I felt would benefit from this experience to participate in the study.

 

I began reading articles and studies involving work with ELL students, attended an ELPS Trainer of Trainers course, and spoke with other ELPS trainers to create a list of effective skills and strategies containing hands-on activities that teachers could use with ELL students in their classrooms. A professional development calendar was created for five sessions set three weeks apart. The teachers took the information and materials from each session and immediately began using the skills and strategies in their classrooms.  After the three weeks, teachers completed a questionnaire regarding their experience with the materials, the students’ experience with the materials, as well as any observable increases or decreases in student grades and/or test scores during the time period between sessions.

 

Session 1: Empathy Builder

In order for teachers to understand the dilemma faced by our English Language Learners (ELL), teachers were given problem cards in which they had to determine an answer to a question.  Most of the words were nonsense words with few words they could identify. The nonsense word problem allowed teachers to experience the problem as an ELL student. The teachers were given additional clues one at a time until they were able solve the problem. The clues represented the strategies teachers need to use in order to aid our ELL students.

 

Session 2: Non-Verbal Cues/Peer Mentor

Teachers made color-coded cards for students to turn in order to show their level of understanding. One color indicated that more instruction was needed, while another color indicated they felt they had a clear understanding of the assignment.  Peer mentors for ELL students were discussed as a strategy to allow the ELL students to check their understanding immediately when they felt they were having difficulty. This also gave them a chance to hear and use academic vocabulary when they were partnering for activities.

 

Session 3: Vocabulary Picture Cards

Cards with pictures were made with content area vocabulary. In the classroom, these would be made by the students. Pictures could be printed from the computer, drawn, or cut for a magazine.  These cards could be put into either a binder, a folder, or on a ring for the students to use during class or at home with their homework.

 

Session 4: Four-Square Vocabulary/Fantasy Words

To teach specific vocabulary in a small group, teachers folded paper into four squares or drew four boxes on plain paper. A different activity was then completed in each square regarding the vocabulary word depending on the grade level and abilities of the student. Some suggested activities were synonym, antonym, sentence, picture, and example of the vocabulary word. Examples of Fantasy Words were created by the teachers to allow the students to get an idea of how to use this in the classroom with their own vocabulary words. A picture was drawn of the vocabulary word to depict its meaning.

 

 

 

Session 5: Visual Checklist/Clue Word Cards and Sentence Strips

Teachers practiced writing their lesson plan into a checklist format. These lists can be written on the board for the whole class to see. Each item can be removed or checked when completed. This gives the ELL student a visual to let them know exactly what is happening. The checklist can also be written or typed on a sheet of paper for a more private visual timeline. Teachers were shown how to create clues for vocabulary words by placing them on cards with the vocabulary word. Students use the clues to determine the meaning of the words on their own.

 

 

Data Collection

Questionnaires, surveys, and reflection sheets were used after each three week period following each skill and strategy session to collect the data for this study. My goal was to introduce new, effective skills and strategies to ESL teachers they could immediately use with their ELL students in their classrooms to increase student grades and scores on standardized tests. The participating teachers completed questionnaires and surveys regarding their experience with the sessions, skills and strategies learned from the sessions, teachers’ observation of students’ use of the strategies, and the amount of use of each strategy by the teacher and by the student in the classroom. In order to determine the effectiveness of the new skill and strategy, each ELL teacher kept a detailed tracking log for each ELL student’s grades on report cards and standardized tests to show.  To protect the privacy of the students, students’ names were omitted and were identified by numbers only for the use of this study.

 

The data from the teacher’s reflections regarding the use and effectiveness of each skill and strategy and their observations regarding students’ use of the skill and strategy was collected and presented in two separate grids. The data regarding each individual ELL student’s grades and test scores were collected and presented in line graphs to show their progress in each area throughout the study. Teacher reflections regarding presentation of sessions were collected and presented in a narrative section. 

 

 

Findings

I found that most teachers responded favorably to the new skills and strategies I introduced during the professional development sessions. The comments expressed the most praise in that they were able to use the new materials immediately in their classrooms with their ELL students. The “make and take” style sessions provided examples they could use to get started as well as offer the knowledge of how to use the new strategy. Many also noted they were able to use the strategies with other students in their classroom who may have been experiencing difficulties with vocabulary or assignments. All participating teachers responded they would like to continue to attend ELL skill and strategy professional development sessions with hands-on activities if they are offered after the study.  This gave me encouragement that teachers are in need of new and effective methods of helping their ELL students become successful in the classrooms. The data indicates that most students’ report card grades did increase throughout the study. The average grade increase was by 12 percent.  All students’ benchmark scores increased. The average increase was 8%.

Conclusions and Recommendations

My experience leading teachers in ESL professional development was positive and I plan to continue to look for ways to help teachers develop skills to help aid ELL students in the classrooms. I shared the results of the surveys and questionnaires with my site supervisor, Mrs. Melancon, and she was excited about the outcome. She was encouraged by the positive feedback from the participating teachers regarding their experience in the study. She asked me to share the activities in several campus-wide Staff Development sessions that will take place during the upcoming school year. I have stated that I would be thrilled to help the staff in ESL training and providing the teachers with even more effective skills and strategies to use in their classrooms.

While I am thrilled with the positive comments and outcomes from the teacher surveys to the study, I am not as thrilled with the student results. While the results have been mostly positive and the students gained in both grades and test scores, I feel it is hard to determine if it is a direct result of the activities the teachers learned from the professional development sessions I led or from everyday good teaching that occurs in the classrooms on my campus or from a combination of both.  Many of these same students were in LEP pull-out programs and ESL tutoring. I am sure that all could have and did play a role in the increased scores for the ELL students.

 

 

References

August, D., Carlo, M., Dressler, C., & Snow, C. (2005). The critical role of vocabulary development for English language learners. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 20(1), 50-57.

Blachowicz, C. Z., Fisher, P. L., Ogle, D., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2006). Vocabulary: Questions from the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 41(4), 524-539.

Carlo, M. S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C. E., Dressler, C., Lippman, D. N., & White, C. E. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2), 188-215.

Cipriano, J. (2011). 32 Tips for ELLs. Instructor, 121(1), 36-38.

Fishkin, O. (2010). Effective primary literacy strategies for English language learners. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 38(4), 14-19.

Klingner, J. K., Boardman, A. G., Eppolito, A. M., Schonewise, E. (2012). Supporting Adolescent English language learners’ reading in the content area. Learning Disabilities—A Contemporary Journal, 10(1), 35-64.

Washburn, G. N. (2008). Alone, confused, and frustrated: developing empathy and strategies for working with English language learners. Clearing House, 81(6), 247-250.