New Beginnings for ELL: Innovation through Technology for English Literacy and Academic Success
Project Description:
The purpose of this proposed 5-year project is to develop, provide, and evaluate high-quality professional development (PD) activities that will result in improved academic achievement with enhanced English skills and motivation of English Language Learner (ELL) students. We will address the competitive priorities 2) and 3) by enabling more data-based decision-making and by promoting Science, Technology, and Mathematics education for ELLs.
This proposed project will be built on the lessons learned from the PD courses we have developed and offered since fall 2007 and will take steps forward to include state-of-the-art technology to provide individualized differentiated instruction to enhance writing skills with meta-cognitive strategies across the content areas, and to develop cross-cultural understanding to help in-service teachers become more effective in teaching ELLs.
In the first year, we will complete the production of PD training modules (including manuals, training videos, assessment tools, and resource materials) and establish full website capability for online teaching. The modules will be offered as PD courses through the University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Education, in collaboration with our partners, the departments of education of Hawaii, American Samoa, and the Marshall Islands. Our partners will provide the following: (a) information on their own aligned systems of K-12 English language proficiency standards, content standards, and assessments; (b) recruitment of participating teachers and other school personnel; and (c) resources, such as computers and internet access needed by teachers to take the online PD courses. The PD courses will be developed by UH content experts with input from our partners' teams. The trained school personnel will be supported to adopt and implement the strategies learned into their school settings. The PD courses will be evaluated at the end of each semester, modified based on the needs and feedback of the PD participants, and offered repeatedly across years 2-5 in different school districts. Over 500 school personnel (GPRA Measures 1.4 and 1.6 in relation to the proposed project Goals 1 and 2) will be trained, and over 1,000 English Language Learners (ELLs - Goal 3) will benefit during the 5-year period of the project. We also anticipate that the indirect impact of our local capacity building activities (Goal 6) through the Project Team and Master Teachers (MTs) will be enormous. Experience from our current grant shows that our PD components are being used by local schools and teachers to at least double the number of PD participants and their ELLs that we directly trained and supported.
Keyword(s):
ELL; literacy; technology; science; math; K-12
Core Function(s):
Continuing Education/Community Training
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Other - Cultural Diversity, Other
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Professionals and Para-Professionals
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Territory, Geographic Area - Other, Other
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State, Regional, International
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
