An Ideal ESL Inclusion Program

Spring 2008

Survey to Teachers
Survey sent out to teachers at both our schools Many individual responses Several similar perspectives

What is Inclusion?
Inclusive education means that all students in a school, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its 1997 amendments make it clear that schools have a duty to educate children with disabilities in general education classrooms. http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/

Inclusion AKA
push-in (as opposed to pull-out) team teaching co-teaching

Co-teaching
Co-teaching best exemplifies the ideal: an ESL teacher and a classroom teacher as partners with flexible, interchangeable roles. Co-teachers share students, classroom space, resources, instructional time, and planning.

The 3-Ps of Co-teaching

Personalities Planning Perseverance

Personalities
Willing and compatible partners Similar teaching philosophies and styles Flexible, willing to take risks, innovative Able to think on the feet Committed to inclusion idea and LEP students Tolerant of noise

Planning
Most difficult part of co-teaching. Be creative (daily in-class check-in, longrange, weekly sessions). Both co-teachers need to thoroughly know the curriculum. Invest in more planning time as programs start or new teachers are added. Planning becomes automatic over time.

Perseverance
Understand that inclusion is to some degree experimental. It evolves. Continually assess what is going on. Ask Is this working for the kids? Be willing to get rid of elements that are not working.

Inclusion is NOT
Not a pull-out in the classroom. Not an in-class translation service. Not the ESL teacher functioning as a classroom assistant. Not one teacher sitting and watching or doing paperwork while the other teacher provides all the instruction.

Successful inclusion programs

High intermediate-high to advanced proficiency levels Strong, native English-speaking role models Limited number of problem students Not the best program for newcomers or lower levels of proficiency

Benefits from inclusion

LEP students see natural dialogue and interaction between teachers. Co-teachers make learning strategies and higher-order thinking skills visible. ESL teachers more easily modify classroom instruction and model appropriate ESL teaching strategies. LEP students benefit from interaction with native English-speaking peers.

Benefits continued
Because instruction is shared, co-teachers have the ability to experiment with and implement new teaching practices. Teachers grow professionally. Because instruction is shared, co-teachers have the ability to experiment with and implement new teaching practices. Teachers grow professionally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that kids in inclusion classes may achieve more.

More benefits
Students receive ESL services in a leastrestrictive environment Students do not miss out on whats going on in the classroom (real or perceived) All students receive more attention ESL instruction is more closely integrated with classroom instruction

Still more benefits

ESL teacher can identify and remedy struggles or conflicts students experience in the classroom. Classroom teachers learn through modeling how to execute required classroom modifications. The ESL teacher becomes an integral part of the school community.

Implementing an Inclusion ESL Program

Prepare:
Choose students Choose teachers Provide staff development Evaluate program

http://members.aol.com/adrmoser/inclusio n.html

Sample inclusion strategies

ESL teacher teaches language arts lesson to entire class using ESL methods. ESL teacher, (teaching assistant) and classroom teacher conduct parallel activities with ELL and regular students. (writing conferences, assessments, guided reading groups) ESL teacher assists students with individual work or in small mixed groups. ESL teacher focuses on form (language structures, Thinking Maps, Dinah Zike's Foldables) while classroom teacher focuses on content. Classroom teacher focuses on form while ESL teacher focuses on content. ESL teacher provides testing modifications for classroom tests (read aloud, test in separate room, multiple test sessions, alternative assessment) ESL teacher assists with messy or complicated hands-on activities: cooking, art projects, models, science experiments. ESL teacher teaches lesson while classroom teacher deals with assessments or discipline.

Possible weaknesses
The ESL teacher and the classroom teacher dont have time to prepare lessons together. The classroom teacher is unable to share control of their classroom. Students may not be making satisfactory progress with inclusion services. The ELLs may still be segregated within the classroom. The ESL teacher may be called out of the inclusion classroom to interpret.

Resources
Anne Ogburn and Judy Hill, Hillandale Elementary School, Henderson County Public Schools http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/esl/Inclusion%2 0Ppt.%20-%20Jan.%20'07.ppt Adriane Moser, Winecoff Elementary School, Cabarrus County Schools http://members.aol.com/adrmoser/inclusion.html http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/