News from CDE on iTunes U
The summer is in full swing and we have added some new content we think you will find helpful. Hopefully you are finding moments to relax and enjoy this time of year with your family and friends.
Featured Content
English Learner Webinar Series Now Complete
We have added the final three sessions from the ongoing series of Webinars that feature sections from Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches, which was recently published by the California Department of Education (CDE). The series was hosted bySchoolsMovingUp.org, a WestEd initiative, in collaboration with the CDE.
Each of the six sessions features nationally recognized researchers and professional development providers speaking on the key topics covered in the book. The latest three sessions are (descriptions from Schools Moving Up):
ELD: Issues and Implementation at Grades 6-12
Presenters for this Webinar series on English learners are Susana Dutro, a founding partner of E.L. Achieve, and Dr. Kate Kinsella faculty member in San Francisco State University’s Center for Teacher Efficacy. They address English language development (ELD) for adolescent English language learners based on current research, endemic challenges, and promising practices. They outline a model for rigorous standards-aligned ELD instruction, provide illustrative examples as well as practical tools to inform ELD program design. In addition, they focus on the explicit teaching of vocabulary and syntactical structures as critical components in building students’ oral and written academic English.
Programs and Practices for Effective Sheltered Content Instruction
In this Webinar on English learners, Jana Echevarria, Professor Emerita of Education at California State University, Long Beach, and Deborah J. Short, Director of Academic Language Research and Training, LLC, describe effective strategies aimed at providing English learners access to the core curriculum. The presenters review current practices and explore various pedagogical models of sheltered content instruction, focusing on the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model, sample lessons, and a review of research findings on the effectiveness of this model in increasing student outcomes. Short and Echevarria then discuss issues around implementation of sheltered instruction program models and classroom strategies and share examples from exemplar schools. Finally, they conclude by reflecting on the centrality of teacher professional development to sustained implementation of these strategies.
Alternative Educational Programs for English Learners
Kathryn Lindholm-Leary, Professor in the College of Education, San Jose State University, and Fred Genesee, Professor in the Psychology Department at McGill University in Montréal, discuss dual language programs for English learners that use both English and another language to teach oral and written language as well as academic content. After briefly describing these models, they explore the importance of oral language skills and the influence of native language oral and literacy skills for the development of English literacy skills. Genesee and Lindholm-Leary then reflect on research findings on English learners’ academic achievement in dual language programs and on the influence of certain learner or school characteristics on student outcomes. The presenters discuss issues of program implementation and share examples from the field to illustrate their discussion.
From The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
California's Teaching Force 2010: Key Issues and Trends
Each year, the Center publishes a report on the status of teaching profession. This year’s report focuses on the implications of the recent budget cuts and policy shifts for the state’s teacher workforce. The report is targeted toward a broad audience of policymakers, education leaders, philanthropic organizations, and researchers, with particular attention to issues relevant to the new governor, state superintendent of public instruction, and new legislators as they prepare to take office.
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CDE on iTunes U
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