An Analysis of Fully Synchronous Pandemic Secondary Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 250-268
Author(s):  
Mark Patrick Ryan
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Synchronous Learning

Twenty-one grades 6-12 students were interviewed to learn about their experiences participating in a fully synchronous virtual learning environment at a public charter school in California, USA. Students take seven 50-minute classes four days a week and seven 30-minute classes the fifth weekday using the Zoom platform and Google Classroom. One-third of participants were students with disabilities, one-third English language learners, and one-third possessed neither designation. This study identifies several themes regarding the benefits and drawbacks of an entirely synchronous learning experience for secondary students. The participants make recommendations for their general education, special education, and English language development teachers, including strategies to engage secondary students more effectively, assessment suggestions, curriculum design ideas, advice about organizing Google Classrooms in ways that are supportive of student needs, and exhortations about what teachers should not do when planning and implementing synchronous online learning.

Moving from Professional Development to Real-Time Use

2014 ◽  
pp. 2043-2067
Author(s):  
Meghan Morris Deyoe ◽  
Dianna L. Newman ◽  
Kristie Asaro-Saddler
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
At Risk ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Use Of Technology

This chapter demonstrates the importance of teacher training in the use of technology in literacy instruction by focusing on the need to update current teachers' skills and practice. In the setting described, the emphasis was on the transfer of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) strategies, learned via in-service professional development, to program classrooms supplied with twenty-first century technology in a high needs setting for at-risk students in grades 3-9. In addition to the general at-risk setting, specific literacy-related affective and cognitive learning outcomes are noted for students with disabilities and for English language learners. Program findings indicate the benefits of continuous professional development and embedded training along with embedded implementation of technology within pedagogical and content literacy instruction. Positive literacy-related cognitive results are noted for all students enrolled in the program classrooms; data for students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELLs) also reveals potential benefits.

scholarly journals Teacher Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness Standards: Links Among Policy, Instruction, Challenges, and Resources

AERA Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841880686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam K. Edgerton ◽  
Laura M. Desimone
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Career Readiness ◽  
College And Career Readiness ◽  
Rural Teachers ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
College And Career ◽  
Content Coverage

Using state-representative teacher surveys in three states—Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky—we examine teachers’ implementation of college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards. What do teachers report about the specificity, authority, consistency, power, and stability of their standards environment? How does their policy environment predict standards-emphasized instruction? Do these relationships differ for those who teach different subjects (math and English Language Arts [ELA]), different grades (elementary or high school), different populations (English Language Learners [ELLs], students with disabilities [SWDs]), and in different areas (rural, urban, or suburban)? We found elementary math teachers taught significantly more standards-emphasized content than elementary ELA teachers, whereas secondary ELA teachers taught significantly more standards-emphasized content than secondary math teachers. Teachers of SWDs and rural teachers taught significantly less of the emphasized content. In all three states, we found greater buy-in (authority) predicted increased emphasized content coverage among ELA teachers but not among math teachers.

The essence of ESSA: More control at the district level?

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kirk Edgerton
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
National Database ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
State Education ◽  
Every Student Succeeds Act

Using a national database of state education policies related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), as well as data from surveys, interviews, and site visits, Adam Edgerton describes how ESSA has shifted relationships among state education agencies (SEAs) and school districts. Some states have not changed their policies much despite the flexibility afforded under the law, although some states have adjusted what measures are included in their accountability systems. States also expressed concern about how to meet requirements for English language learners and students with disabilities. Overall, SEAs are designing more targeted interventions for underperforming districts, and they are focusing on providing supports rather than punishments. But in this era of increased flexibility, it is possible for states to move from one extreme — punitive test-based accountability — to another — laissez-faire leadership.

Characterizing Remote Instruction Provided by Elementary School Teachers during School Closures due to COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hebert ◽  
John Marc Goodrich ◽  
Jessica M. Namkung
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Elementary School Teachers ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Academic Instruction ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The U.S

The purpose of this survey study was to characterize the nature of remote instruction provided by elementary teachers across the U.S. during school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey included questions on demographics, questions that broadly focused on remote instruction (e.g., live meetings with students), questions focused on academic instruction (in reading, writing, and mathematics), and questions focused on the nature of remote instruction for students with disabilities and English language learners. The survey was distributed to a random sample of teachers across the U.S. Results indicated that although most teachers provided remote instruction, few teachers believed remote instruction was effective at promoting student learning. Moreover, teachers reported that only 60% of students were ready to advance to the next grade level when schools closed. Based on our results, we estimate that between 7.2 and 11.6 million students did not receive any live remote instruction during the shutdown.

Misconceptions About ELLs

2021 ◽  
pp. 698-716
Author(s):  
Lara Christoun ◽  
Jun Wang
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
General Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
English Language ◽  
General Education Teachers ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
School Communities ◽  
American Students

A growing number of American students are English language learners (ELLs) who speak another language other than English. By 2030, the percentage of students who speak a language other than English is expected to increase substantially. Unfortunately, general education teachers often do not feel prepared to teach ELLs in their classrooms or even hold negative attitudes toward ELLs included in their classrooms. As a result, ELLs are being underserved and continually experience lower achievement. This chapter summarizes several important misconceptions related to the teaching practices of general education teachers for ELLs based on the current literature. The authors then make recommendations for practicing teachers about culturally responsive strategies for ELLs in classrooms. Finally, they conclude with remarks regarding the mindset school communities should offer ELLs.

Test-Based Education for Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners: The Impact of Assessment Pressures on Educational Planning

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Clyde Martin
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Test Preparation ◽  
Impact Testing ◽  
School Life ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
The Impact

The article presents a longitudinal study of an urban charter middle school to examine the impact testing pressures can have on the education of students with disabilities and English language learners, and how this may lead to a narrowing of the content they are taught. The study examines various sources of data, including the school's evolving language, literacy, and math programs, high-stakes test results, school improvement plans, and written IEP goals. Over several years, as low test scores and failure to make AYP had an increasing impact on school life, skills specifically targeted on annual state tests became the guide for how math and literacy and language development were addressed. In effect, instruction in these areas became equated with test preparation. As ranges in proficiency led to ability grouping in pertinent courses, there was a narrowing of skills addressed in the lower-level classes that were entirely populated by students categorized as limited-English proficient and/or having a disability. In effect, this turned test preparation into the math and literacy curricula for these students, which in turn affected decisions regarding which skills would be addressed in students’ IEPs. Implications for schools, policy, and further research are suggested.

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