Collaborating for Greater Success

In Science for English Language Learners

Written by: Elizabeth Park

STUDENTS AS TEACHERS:

Presented by: Liriett Herrera

This program was developed in a middle

school in New Jersey because the state and federal

mandates requiere that eightth grade students

perform at a level considered proficient on

standardized content area assessment within a few

years of their arrivals in the United States.

This program iwas based on the ideas that

students learn best in groups and students who

are encouraged to leverage their learning

strengths may read most successfully in

heterogeneous groups. For instance, groups of

Literature are good example of this method.

All the ELLs in the Students as Teachers are native

Speakers and the school is located in a town with

A population identified as 75% Spanish speakers.

The students in this program are classified as

Beginners , intermediate and advanced.

Beginners receive content instruction in Spanish

In addition to the ESL classes. Intermediate level

Students are offered sheltered content area

Instruction in English with ESL instruction reading

and writing, math,e social studies, and science.

Students at advanced level attend English only

Content , reading, and writing classes and have no

Classes period of ESL support each day.

The curriculum consists of four distinct segments :

First is an introduction to content. The teacher assign students

To one of the three groups taking into account the need for each

Group to include students with the diverse abilities.

Second: is the content exploration, during which each group

Works together to learn the content. They support each other

encouraging , anto each other, explaining the textbook

The teacher monitors the progress of eadh group.

The third segment is the creation of texts, including

Writing, illustrating, developing assessment, laying

Out the pages , printing,and assembling the booklets.

They should create and produce 8-12 pages

textbook in English .

The last segment involves teaching, a critical

Element of which is performance assessments.

Throughout all these steps, the teacher works closely with

the students Answering questions, facilitating group

process, and guiding s tudents to resources that may

provide them with additional Support.

Teachers will make clear that each student must

take responsability for his or her work. The teachers

also creates opportunities for students to take

responsability for their owm learning, individually and as

members of groups.

Teachers do so by supporting student ideas and questions

and by encouraging students to pursue them. Teachers

give individual students active roles in the design and

implementation of investigations , in the preparation and

presentation of student work to their peers, and in student

assessment of their own work.

Negative factors:

Classroom management was profoundly affected

By this program. Disciplinary actions (for infractors

Such as missing homework, class disruption,

And sidebars conversations unrelated to class work)

Dropped by approximately 50% as measured

By the number of detentions issued for breaking class

Rules against these kinds of behaviors.

CONCLUSION:

A program like this offers challenges and rewards .

But as the author of this chapter mentioned “If the

Student can study in collaborative groups and create

Their own materials , many of them learn more

Comprehensively. Students who know content

Exceptionally well can and should in turn teach

Their peers.