Research Site: Secondary School in Regina, Saskatchewan with approximately 1600 students from Grades 9-12. 20% of students are EAL students originating from 35 different countries including China, Pakistan, India, Korea, the Philippines, and Russia.

Terminology: English as an Additional Language

(EAL) Students/Teachers; Content Teachers; Mainstream classrooms

Increasing number of EAL students in the school

district. Need for English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers and content teachers to work more collaboratively to support students.

Peercy and Martin-Beltran (2012) - “when pairs envisioned their work as collaborative, they created a synergy that constructed a broader network of resources for ELLs by bringing together more people, materials, ideas, and abilities than either teacher was able to generate alone.”

Creese (2006) - The content teacher is responsible for ensuring that students learn content and meet the required outcomes while the EAL teacher seeks to ensure that metalinguistic needs are being met.

Fu et al. (2007) - As a result of teacher collaboration, ELLs gained confidence and were more willing to take risks in the mainstream classroom. Teachers learned a great deal about teaching and about themselves as teachers.

Arkoudis (2003) - Emphasizes the importance of pedagogical relations between teachers and urges that teachers remain open to constant negotiation where understandings emerge as they develop.

How do I understand my practice better as a result of collaborating with content teachers to provide sheltered instruction for EAL students in mainstream classrooms? How can I help content teachers to better support EAL students?

Which collaborative activities do we perceive to be most effective for teachers’ professional development and for EAL students’ academic success?

The Literacy Engagement Framework (Cummins, J., Mirza, R., & Stille, S., 2012)

Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008)

The Five Levels of Collaboration framework developed by Davison (2006)

Action Research Study Five participants in total. Myself as the practitioner-researcher. One EAL teacher as a “critical friend”

Costa and Kallick (1993). Three content teachers including two

English teachers and a science teacher.

Pre- and Post-Interviews Observations SIOP Lesson Plans Participant Journals (E-Mails, Journals,

any written communication)

EAL teacher (Beth) as “critical friend”. “…[O]ur world is getting a lot smaller and we need to learn

about each other and [I] find that working together, we can achieve more.”

“I think that collaborative team members need to recognize that these are all of our kids and they are not just the EAL teachers’ responsibility and if you have them on your class list, you need to treat them like you treat everybody else. I also feel like …if the work is too difficult, then it’s your responsibility to make it more accessible for your kids so you have to highlight key terms or I know that more one-on-one time for them or assign a buddy to them…something that the classroom teacher should have to do so I think we all need to come together and talk about, you know, the special needs that our EAL kids have.”

“The lesson was lengthy to plan and deliver.”

Content Objectives: I can recognize familiar common place phrases in writing and replace them with original or distinct words, phrases, or images. Language Objectives: I can write clichés using words and images. Key Vocabulary: cliché, tone, concrete image, sensory language, parallel constructions Higher Order Questions: What general idea or theme are you suggesting through your clichéd

images? (Be specific!) How do the images create a particular tone? For example, critical,

admiring, objective tones. Scaffolding: Modeling Guided Independent Grouping: Whole Class Small Group Partners Independent

Processes: Reading Writing Listening Speaking Can volunteer to read their poems aloud. Strategies: Hands-on Meaningful Links to Objectives Review and Assessment (Check all that apply): Individual Group Written Oral Review Key Vocabulary: Create a colour coded system to identify the vocabulary in own writing piece. For example, highlight three words that identify the tone in your writing. Review Key Content Concepts: Create a unique poem about personal identity using the style of Duke Redbird and including the key concepts.

Extensive prior experience collaborating as part of an inter-disciplinary team

Fewer opportunities to meet and discuss “Tuesdays with Morrie” Example Ranked lower on Davison’s Levels of

Collaboration

EAL Science and Chemistry 20 SIOP Lesson Planning Co-Teaching Science 10 Course

(www.scienceten.wordpress.com) Highest level of collaboration Used SIOP strategies, planned, assessed &

reflected

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Finding time to meet for planning, grading, reviewing reflections, focusing on the models of collaboration.

Lack of common prep time Trying to balance our roles as co-teachers

(content/EAL)

Expand knowledge of each other’s areas › Ability to observe students while other is teaching › Introduce different teaching strategies – try new

things! Better support students

› Both content and language needs addressed › Students may connect with one teacher more

than other › Content being presented in different ways › Lower teacher to student ratio

The Five Levels of Collaboration framework developed by Davison (2006) 1. Pseudo-compliance or passive

resistance 2. Compliance 3. Accommodation 4. Convergence 5. Creative Co-Construction

How do I understand my practice better as a result of collaborating with content teachers to provide sheltered instruction for EAL students in mainstream classrooms? How can I help content teachers to better support EAL students?

Which collaborative activities do we perceive to be most effective for teachers’ professional development and for EAL students’ academic success?

EAL and content teachers have much to learn from each other.

Sharing with another EAL expert is valuable to reinforce knowledge.

Co-teaching involves open communication, mutual respect and commitment to learning

Effective professional learning Content teachers

Enjoyed incorporating content/language objectives Appreciated alternative point of view Realization they can be very flexible Lots of benefits to collaboration for teachers and

students

Collaborative training in teacher collaboration Educate teachers on how to use common

collaborative tools such as SIOP lessons or Davison’s Levels

Provide teachers with education in teacher leadership/facilitation

Ensure that time is made available to support collaborative opportunities from an administrative perspective

“All teachers working with ESL students [ELLs] need to be equipped with not only knowledge of language and culture, but also skills of collaboration, leadership and critical reflection, to engage all educators in the innovative process that leads to change in schools. Not only do all teachers need to understand and embrace their roles as language teachers and cultural facilitators, but they need to take on the challenge of being an advocate for ESL students and collaborating with other educators, parents, and the community in advancing our efforts to prepare ESL students for the twenty-first century.” He, Y., Prater, K., & Steed, T. (2011). Moving beyond 'just good teaching': ESL professional development for all teachers.

Arkoudis, S. (2003). Teaching English as a second language in science classes: Incommensurate epistemologies. Language and Education, 17(3), 161-173.

Costa, A., & Kallick, B. (1993, October). Through the lens of a critical friend. Educational Leadership, 51(2), 49-51.

Creese, A. (2006). Supporting talk? Partnership teachers in classroom interaction. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(4), 434-453.

Cummins, J., Mirza, R., & Stille, S. (2012). English language learners in Canadian schools: Emerging directions for school-based policies. TESL Canada Journal, 29(6), 25-47.

Davison, C. (2006). Collaboration between ESL and content teachers: How do we know when we are doing it right? The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(4), 454-475.

Echevarria, J. V. (2008). Making Content Comprehensible for Secondary English Learners: The SIOP® Model. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Fu, D., Houser, R., & Huang, A. (2007). A collaboration between ESL and regular classroom teachers for ELL students' literacy development. Changing English, 14(3), 325-342.

He, Y., Prater, K., & Steed, T. (2011). Moving beyond 'just good teaching': ESL professional development for all teachers. Professional Development in Education, 37(1), 7-18.

Peercy, M., & Martin-Beltran, M. (2012). Envisioning collaboration: including ESOL students and teachers in the mainstream classroom. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16(7), 657-673.

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