The following is a synthesis of the challenges my colleagues Brighde Reed, Cristina Landazabal, Dianne Gamage, Kristen Simmers and I identified during the course Differentiating Instruction: Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners we took in February 2014 with WIDE World (Wide-scale Interactive Development for Educators), an innovative professional development program based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
1. Language Learning Outcome Clarity:
Language learning outcomes need to be explicitly identified to provide a planning lens. Unit of inquiry need explicit planning time to carefully and mindfully select language learning objectives that best fit the needs of students, the mainstream and ELLs. Through the lens of agreed language targets, opportunities for collaborative planning, co-teaching and differentiating day-to-day transdisciplinary lessons to best meet the learning needs of ELLs are more successful. The collaboration of everyone involved in the students’ learning community is key.
2. Maintaining Outcomes, Differentiating for Learning Difference & Cognitive Challenge:
Conceptual “watering down” for limited language proficiency needs to be avoided. Pedagogical strategies and scaffolding techniques to support ELLs need to be consciously and actively adjusted and evaluated to ensure conceptual outcomes are maintained for ELLs. Consideration of sociolinguistic profiles and “how-to” access to conceptual understandings are essential for success. Various and differentiated knowledge components of concepts can be adapted for students’ successful access to conceptual targets.
3. Providing & Tuning into Extensive Real-life Experience:
Context rich experiences to build meaning and understanding. The most meaningful “long run” learning begins with experience, language learning included. It can be a challenge to facilitate frequent and extensive experience to build meaning for specific language learning outcomes.
4. Age & Readiness Appropriate Concepts & Resource Materials:
Unit conceptual understanding outcomes can sometimes be a challenge for native speaking children to access with depth of understanding, not to mention ELLs with developing language proficiency. Easily accessed differentiated resources for ELLs’ engagement with content that provide access for inquiry into challenging concepts are the tools for improved success.
All educators within an ELL community need to continuously seek learning practices to connect with the students' level. Differentiation requires careful attention to detail to ensure each student is learning to the best of their ability. Searching for 'language rich experiences' and the material to pique students’ interest is an on-going task.
Language learning outcomes need to be explicitly identified to provide a planning lens. Unit of inquiry need explicit planning time to carefully and mindfully select language learning objectives that best fit the needs of students, the mainstream and ELLs. Through the lens of agreed language targets, opportunities for collaborative planning, co-teaching and differentiating day-to-day transdisciplinary lessons to best meet the learning needs of ELLs are more successful. The collaboration of everyone involved in the students’ learning community is key.
2. Maintaining Outcomes, Differentiating for Learning Difference & Cognitive Challenge:
Conceptual “watering down” for limited language proficiency needs to be avoided. Pedagogical strategies and scaffolding techniques to support ELLs need to be consciously and actively adjusted and evaluated to ensure conceptual outcomes are maintained for ELLs. Consideration of sociolinguistic profiles and “how-to” access to conceptual understandings are essential for success. Various and differentiated knowledge components of concepts can be adapted for students’ successful access to conceptual targets.
3. Providing & Tuning into Extensive Real-life Experience:
Context rich experiences to build meaning and understanding. The most meaningful “long run” learning begins with experience, language learning included. It can be a challenge to facilitate frequent and extensive experience to build meaning for specific language learning outcomes.
4. Age & Readiness Appropriate Concepts & Resource Materials:
Unit conceptual understanding outcomes can sometimes be a challenge for native speaking children to access with depth of understanding, not to mention ELLs with developing language proficiency. Easily accessed differentiated resources for ELLs’ engagement with content that provide access for inquiry into challenging concepts are the tools for improved success.
All educators within an ELL community need to continuously seek learning practices to connect with the students' level. Differentiation requires careful attention to detail to ensure each student is learning to the best of their ability. Searching for 'language rich experiences' and the material to pique students’ interest is an on-going task.
