Project ExCELL Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners

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Project ExC-ELLExpediting Comprehension for
English Language Learners
Daniel S. Hamada Superintendent, Kauai,
HI Margarita Calderón, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins
University
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Overview

• Challenges
• Kauais ExC-ELL Journey
• Outcomes
• Questions Answers

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Geographic isolation
Island communities
Challenges
Limited resources
Multi-Cultural Languages
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Kapaa
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Kauais Challenges

• A high percentage of English Language Learners
  (ELL) students did not have the literacy skills
  necessary to succeed in post high school.
• Middle and high school teachers were challenged
  with teaching their content to struggling
  readers.
• Data showed a need to change obsolete training
  models and teacher attitudes.

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ExC-ELL
Supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York
A staff development program for secondary
teachers addressing instructional design for ELL
students
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Kapaa Middle School2005-06

• Established in 1997
• 719 students in Grades 6, 7, 8
• 44 teachers
• Principal 2 vice-principals

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Stanford Achievement Test 9th Edition

• 2005-06 Math Problem Solving (grades 6- 8)
• 2005-06 Reading Comprehension (grades 6-8)

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Kapaa High School2005-06

• Established in 1883 (during the
  monarchy of King Kalakaua)
• 1,108 students in grades 9-12
• 73 teachers
• Principal 2 vice-principals

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Stanford Achievement Test 9th Edition
2005-06 Math Problem Solving (grade 10 )

2005-06 Reading Comprehension (grade 10)
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Kapaa Community Profile

• 40 on free or reduced lunch
• 14 Enrolled in Special Education
• 4 Identified as ELL
• Title I Schools
• 43,305 Median household income
• (8.6 lower than state of Hawaii)
• 16.5 Living below poverty level
• 9 At risk (3 times the state norm)
• Mother not high school graduate
• Single, divorced, or separated
• Below poverty level

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Student Ethnicity
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Targeted Population

• New ELL students with or without prior schooling
• Students who have been in public schools for
• Long periods of time and not making progress
  toward academic standards
• Reading well below grade level

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ExC-ELL Pilot Focus

• Help core content teachers develop students
• word knowledge
• basic reading skills (fluency)
• comprehension of classroom texts
• discussion skills
• grammatical knowledge
• orthography
• writing skills

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10 Day Teacher Institute

• All lesson components
• Demonstrations/modeling
• Practice of strategies
• Research-base/rationale
• Reflection and discussions
• Development of content lessons
• Data collection

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Institute Follow-up

• Two-day refresher workshops, ongoing follow-up
  expert coaching and collegial activities in
  Teachers Learning Communities (TLCs).
• Researchers/Trainers observe each teacher four
  times a year to collect implementation data and
  coach teachers.
• Principals, coordinators, coaches, and
  regional/district administrators are trained to
  support, observe/coach each teacher with the
  ExC-ELL Observation Protocol.

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Teaching Practices

• BEFORE
• Silent reading
• Minimal discussions interactions
• Questions copied from the board
• Worksheets
• Lack of meaningful assessment data

• AFTER
• Variety of reading strategies
• Partner, team, silent and integration activities
• Focused vocabulary targets
• Word and concept learning/discussions for all
  lessons
• Semantic awareness
• Assessment data Benchmark/performance testing
  and observation protocol

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Cooperative Learning Strategies
Kapaa Middle School Students
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Ms. Donna DAlessio of Kapaa High School displays
the Hawaii Content Performance Standards (HCPS).
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Wordwall
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ExC-ELL is a program that was developed by a
group of individuals under the direction of Dr.
Margarita Calderon to help us teach English
Language Learners (ELLs) but has become a method
of teaching that helps ALL of our students.
(Kara Panui, Kapaa High School Teacher)
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RESULTS

• Increased Gates-MacGinitie reading scores
• Increased Language Assessment Scales (LAS) levels

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AMAO Annual Measurable Achievement
Objectives No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of
2001 for Limited English Proficient Students
Requirement

• AMAO 1 Percent of Students Making Progress
  (Gains)
• AMAO 2 Percent of Students Attaining English
  Proficiency (Exits)

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• AMAO 1 Kapaa Middle School
• Percent of Students Making Progress (Gains)
• in Learning English

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AMAO 2 Kapaa Middle School Percent of Students
Attaining English Proficiency (Exits)
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AMAO 1 Kapaa High School Percent Of Students
Making Progress (Gains) in Learning English
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AMAO 2 Kapaa High School Percent of Students
Attaining English Proficiency (Exits)
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Sustaining the Efforts
On-going Teachers Learning Communities (TLCs)

• Examine student performance data.
• Analyze student progress toward meeting state
  standards.
• Identify student strengths and weaknesses.
• Examine frequency and fidelity in the use of
  effective teaching strategies.
• Examine alignment with state standards and
  grade-level materials.

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TLC Table Talk
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IN SUMMARY

• ELL students demonstrated improvement.
• Teachers implemented effective instructional
  strategies.
• Training models ensure sustainability.
• All students benefit from ExC-ELL.

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Island-wide
State-wide
Vision
Nation-wide
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• What is ExC-ELL?
• On-going Studies

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Currently

• Carnegie Corporation Phase 2 (2006-08) to test
  the ExC-ELL Observation Protocol device and
  software in New York City middle and high schools
  with ELL, Students with Formal Interrupted
  Education (SIFE), special education, and
  mainstream students.
• The Alaska Native Americans 5-year study in
  middle and high schools (Dept. of Ed.-OELA).

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Reading Instructional Goals for Older Readers
RIGOR

• Reading program for 4th-12th grade students who
  are reading at the K-1 level.
• Reading program for 4th-12th grade students who
  are reading at a 2nd-3rd grade level.
• Reading program for 4th-12th grade students who
  are reading at 4th grade level use ExC-ELL.

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BASIC PREMISES OF ExC-ELL

• Without reading instruction from content area
  teachers
• SURFACE COMPREHENSION--Literal comprehension
  students read on their own and answer questions
  questions are low-level.
• With reading instruction from content area
  teachers
• DEEP COMPREHENSION --Critical comprehension
  students learn new vocabulary continuously
  associate new readings with prior knowledge add
  new knowledge, discuss ideas, interpret facts and
  information, and apply critical thinking skills
  to text.

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Teaching Vocabulary

• Why does ExC-ELL emphasize vocabulary so much?
• Vocabulary knowledge correlates with
  comprehension.
• Comprehension depends on knowing between 85 and
  95 of the words in a text.
• To overcome the vocabulary disadvantage, we need
  to teach vocabulary explicitly on a daily basis.

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Teaching Vocabulary / Concepts

• Why does ExC-ELL emphasize explicit
  instruction in reading through
  content?
• ELLs typically do not get to read content texts.
• Each content area uses different genre/skills.
• To catch up, ELLs need to practice reading on a
  daily basis.
• Silent reading without prior teacher instruction
  on vocabulary and reading skills does not help
  ELLs.

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ESL
CONTENT
SHELTERED INSTRUCTION
AND READING!
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ExC-ELL Observation Protocol Data Collection
Reports.

• Logitech Digital Pen
• a pen that records the data as it is written down
  on digital paper
• ExC-ELL Observation Protocol Digital Form
• 9-page digital paper form to note observations in
  the areas of Vocabulary, Oracy, Reading, Writing,
  Classroom Context and Assessment
• Reports
• 6 reports created from the recorded data
• Observation Summary Report
• Observation Detail Report
• Teacher Profile Summary Report
• Component Implementation Summary Report
• Vocabulary Usage Report
• Student Application Summary Report

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Logitech Digital Pen
Pen Docking Station To store recorded data on
the computer
Camera To record data as the user writes on the
digital paper
Ink Pen To write observations on the digital
paper
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Student Data

• Pre- Post-tests with Gates McGinitie - vocabulary
  and comprehension.
• Content teacher exams.
• New York City Regents exams and ELL exams.
• RIGOR Level 1 2 pre- and post-tests of
  graphophonemic knowledge, phonics, fluency,
  vocabulary, cognates, listening and reading
  comprehension.

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IN SUMMARY

• Math, science, social studies, language arts,
  ESL, and foreign languages can improve student
  literacy at the same time they develop content
  knowledge.
• In fact, effective teaching in their subject
  areas will be boosted by complementary literacy
  instruction related to the texts, communication
  demands, and assessments.
• Content teachers report that when they infuse
  vocabulary and reading techniques, all their
  students do better on content exams.