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Presentation to Teach for AmericaFebruary 27, 2012
MANY THANKS TO DR. LUNINE PIERRE JEROME (BPS) AND
DR. ESTA MONTANO (OELAAA*)FOR THE CONTENT CITED / USED HERE!
EMAIL US with comments/questions!:HEIDI PEREZ
[email protected] HARTWICK
* OFFICE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION &ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Who Are the Students We Call SIFEs?
Working Focus Group / OELAAA
Determine a definition for Massachusetts Determine efficacious procedures for identification,
appropriate diagnostics and assessments to inform programming
Determine what qualifications a teacher may need to teach SIFE
Current working definition:Massachusetts Definition of SIFE (Student with Interrupted Formal Education) SIFE (Student with Interrupted Formal Education) refers to an English language learner,
who is typically a newcomer between the ages of 8 and 21 and has experienced an interrupted education or has little to no schooling experience. Interruptions may be due to gaps in academic history, possibly caused by unavailability of schooling, civil unrest, immigration, transience, trauma, or other factors that would limit the student’s ability to perform and achieve in a Massachusetts classroom with students of a comparable age group.
Moreover, a Student with Interrupted Formal Education may have experienced limited schooling, characterized by a non-rigorous quality of education in the home country, which is incomparable to schools in Massachusetts. This may include a shorter school day and/or school year, and a weak curriculum. Also, students may have been educated by teachers who were not high school or college graduates.
Based on assessments, the student’s academic level is a minimum of two years below grade level in literacy and numeracy and lacks the general knowledge and/or practical life skills required in a typical Massachusetts classroom.
Constructing a common language…
Immigrant studentsLack of schooling / disrupted or weak
educational backgroundLack literacy in L1Rural areas / war torn areas3 years behind academically Literacy / numeracy / academic / contentHigh-risk for drop out
What makes a SIFE different from an ELL?
Are over-age for their grade levelHave needs beyond the traditional ESL or
Bilingual programAre socially and psychologically isolated from
mainstream students [and maybe the ESL population as well]
And are not SPED!
What profiles of students might be found in a “typical” SIFE program?
Diverse educational backgroundsVarious skills, interests, backgrounds, life
experiencesDifferent learning stylesMultiple livesMultiple levels of English proficiencyLimited self-concept as a learnerPrior educational experience may misalign with
MA curriculum expectationsAccount for about 10% of ELLs
Causes of Limited Formal Schooling
Need to work to support family incomeNeed to provide child care for familyLive in remote locations away from schoolsLack parental supervisionDisplacement / frequent moves due to
economic need or political turmoil
Literacy Levels
Pre-literate – no exposure to literacy May speak a language with no written form
Non-literate – no access to literacy Language may have a written form and strong literary
tradition but students do not have access to literacy instruction
Semiliterate – not a high level of literacy Some literacy development but below grade level
expectations of U.S. schools
The Challenge: Academic Literacy
SIFE “not only need to develop cognitively demanding grade-level academic language proficiency while learning grade-level content knowledge, they must also confront the additional challenges of developing basic literacy and numeracy skills and acquiring basic academic knowledge, all within the relatively short time from of secondary school.”
(DeCapua et. al., 2009, p. 3)
The Challenge: Academic Literacy
SIFE students are unable to do these because the skills are not used in context:
Defining, Categorizing, Classifying, Synthesizing, Critical
thinking, Decontextualization
SIFE are able to use the skills they have when they are required within context!
What do SIFE need?
“…systematic, explicit and targeted at diagnosed need…what gets taught is what is needed by the student. Now how do we find out what is needed? We diagnose in language and we diagnose in reading: looking at both the language and the literacy profiles determines how we instruct…” instruction “has to be quick, it has to be purposeful, it has to be focused on academic English language, and it has to be focused on literacy attainment – word recognition, comprehension, and again, focused on diagnosed needs.”
(Schifini, 2002, Natl. Conference on Newcomers Programs, p. 39)
SIFE and US School dichotomies:
U.S. schools stress future purpose – Ss implicitly understand they are learning for the future
SIFE are used to immediate application – they observe, practice, get feedback – learning is pragmatic and it parallels life
U.S. schools expect transfer of prior learning to new learning SIFE lack prior knowledge to transfer to new learning
U.S. schools foster independence/individual responsibility Most SIFE come from a collectivistic culture/interconnectedness
in primary/shared responsibility
U.S. schools use written language to process learning SIFE may be used to oral language only to process learning
…The list goes on and on!
What to do about SIFE?[there is too much to present today – maybe a Part II on methods, practices,
strategies?]
Consider learning environment: learner-centered? Knowledge-centered? Assessment-centered*? Community-centered?
BPS currently uses an assessment-centered learning environment for their two levels of SIFE programming. An assessment-centered learning environment is alternative:
Requires in-depth understandingRequires use of skills learningIs holistic and integrativeAllows for more flexibility ( especially time)Embeds a stress-free/cooperative environment
What to do about SIFE?
Successful SIFE programs use Thematic units A pedagogical mode that is interactive and
experiential Engages in constant dialog between students and
students and students and teachers Dialog is both oral and written Integrated curriculum Integrated language processes Uses multiple intelligence theory to plan lessons Creates individual student plans – themes are the
same, goals are the same, activities are differentiated
What to do about SIFE?
When designing programming and lessons, a MALP model can provide the framework you need:
from: DeCapua, A., Marshall, H. (2011) p. 49
If your interest has been piqued…
DeCapua, A. and Marshall, H. (2011) Breaking New Ground: Teaching Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in U.S. Secondary Schools. Ann Arbor: MI. University of Michigan Press.
DeCapua, A. and Marshall, H. (2009) Meeting the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Schooling. Ann Arbor: MI. University of Michigan Press.
