Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, EDU Teaching and Learning
The intent of the present study was to document (describe) and evaluate the impact of a PD program for the education of ELLs called ESL-content Teacher Collaborative (ECTC) on the learning and teaching practice of secondary content teachers. By employing a mixed methods multiple case study design, this study sought to answer the following four research questions:
1. What did the ECTC participants learn about teaching ELLs through the program?
2. How did the teachers' learning from the ECTC program facilitate changes in their teaching practices?
3. What were the individual or contextual factors that either fostered or hindered changes in teacher practice?
4. How did the teachers perceive the content and design features of the ECTC program and the impact of these features on their learning experience?
Six-nine ECTC alumni teachers responded to a survey that was designed based on the four research questions, and three of them were recruited to participate in the case studies. Both the quantitative and qualitative findings indicated the effectiveness of the ECTC in bringing about changes in teacher knowledge and instructional practices for the education of ELLs. The teachers reported considerable improvement in their knowledge, beliefs, and skills with regard to TESOL methods and strategies, culturally responsive teaching, concepts and issues in sociolinguistics related to TESOL, the SIOP Model, selection and development of second language instructional materials, and second language assessment. Application of the teachers' learning to their classroom practices primarily occurred in the following three areas: implementation of the SIOP Model, modifications made to assessments and assignment, and teacher collaboration. However, reported improvement in the skills for the development of ELL students' literacy skills (i.e., reading and writing) did not seem to induce much change in classroom instruction except vocabulary instruction. With regard to the (open full item for complete abstract)
Committee: Keiko Samimy (Advisor); Alan Hirvela (Committee Member); George Newell (Committee Member)
Subjects: English As A Second Language; Secondary Education; Teacher Education