Sustaining Mainstream English Language Learners with Universal Design for Learning

Dr. Leslie Cook, Appalachian State Universitycookls@appstate.edu

October 3rd, 20152:30

Room: Robinson 109

La Cigal et La Fourmi

Agenda

● Simulation of mainstream language learners ● Introductions● Some research on Mainstream ELLs● Some talk about UDL● Points of Contact Case Studies ● Wrap up

Where are you coming from?

Language

How many of you speak another language?

How many of you have been a linguistic minority?

How many of you teach English Language Learners?

UDL

How many of you have a good sense of what Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is?

English Language Learners

“The bottom line is that every school‐age child in North Carolina is constitutionally guaranteed equal access to a sound, basic education. Regardless of budgetary limitations or immigration status, ELL students in North Carolina have for years been recipients of a subpar public education and must not be ignored if the state wishes to improve economically and socially.”

N.C. Justice Center

Education and Law Project | NC Justice Center

North Carolina Clearinghouse for Language Acquisition

NC English Language Development Wiki

What is Universal Design for Learning?

“Theoretical and pedagogical bases for UDL can be found in the work of Lev Vygotsky and in the work of sociocultural researchers. One of Vygotsky’s positions envisions learning as directly affected by the environment.” (Cook, 2105)

Engagement

● Incorporating choice and promoting self-directed learning (through scaffolding and self-monitoring)

● Purposeful and flexible grouping (reducing language anxiety)

● Mastery approach to language learning and providing mastery-oriented feedback (removing the barrier of deficiency)

Representation

● Offering alternatives for auditory and visual information and for customizing the display of information

● Curriculum design that activates students’ prior knowledge and highlights connections between academic content and personal experiences

● Cross-language teaching and learning● Examining the words, symbols, numbers, and icons through which

content is represented● Clarifying syntax and structure

Expression

● Multimodal assignments challenge students to acquire the ability to combine print, spoken, visual, and digital processes

● Options for responding orally or in writing● Encouraging and guiding metacognitive strategies

that aid in critical self-reflection

CASE #1

Miri is a new student from Japan who recently moved to the U.S. because of her mother’s job. She is enrolled in your American Literature class and is struggling to get through The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; the dialect is very confusing for her. Though she has taken multiple English language classes in Japan and has a good command of oral and written language, this is the first time she has had to read and respond to literature that contains non-standard English.

Case #2Mario was a junior in high school who had come to the U.S. in 8th grade, spent a year in ESL support classes, and was then moved into mainstream courses. He had taken English in Mexico and was considered an average student there. He reported that he enjoyed school in Mexico, but since coming to the U.S. he had developed a strong dislike for school and was working in a plastics factory where he planned on working after graduation. Mario appeared to fluent in spoken English and his writing revealed errors typical to an ELL. Aware that Mario had failed English previously, his teacher noticed quickly that Mario had not learned to read strategically, found no purpose for reading beyond assignments, and was not reading for meaning, only decoding. Mario did state that even reading in Spanish was not something he did regularly.

adapted from: Cohen, J. (2007). A case study of a high school English-language learner and his reading. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51(2). 164-175.

Discussion of Application of UDL Principles

Helpful sites

CAST

National Center on Universal Design for Learning

For Further ReadingCAST (2014). National Center on Universal Design for Learning. http://cast.org/index.html

Hall, T. E., Meyer, A., Rose, D. H. (2012). Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom Practical Applications What Works for Special-Needs Learners. New York: Guilford Press.

Rappolt-Schlichtmann, G., Daley, S. G., & Rose, L. T. (2012). A research reader in universal design for learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Roberge, M., Siegal, M., & Harklau, L. (Eds.). (2008). Generation 1.5 in College Composition: Teaching academic writing to U.S.-educated learners of ESL. New York: Routledge.

Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the Digital Age : Universal design for learning. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Sanguineti, V. R. (2007). The rosetta stone of the human mind: Three languages tointegrate neurobiology and psychology. New York: Springer.