This 8-week on-line activity prepares content area teachers to plan and implement instruction and assessments that will meet the educational needs of English Language Learners (ELLs). Participants will demonstrate mastery by performing 80% or higher on a post-test, and communicating with a facilitator and other participants in a Discussion forum. They will demonstrate knowledge of how a second language is acquired using various program models serving ELLs. By the end of the course, participants will be able to identify procedures necessary to ensure the rights of ELLs, and apply current, research-based ESOL instructional strategies that integrate language and content, to meet academic and language proficiency needs of ELLs. Participants will develop lesson plans, alternative assessments, and activities that promote cross-cultural understanding.

Duration: 8 weeks
Inservice: 60 points
Audience: Instructional K-12
Access to Students: No

Syllabus

Week 1: The Big Picture, META Consent Decree, and Other Important Legislation and Litigation
Week 2: Valuing Diversity, The Nature of Culture, Surface Culture and Deep Culture, and Welcoming Newcomers
Week 3: Identification of ELLs, Academic Placement, Programmatic Assessment, and Progress , and Second Language Acquisition Monitoring
Week 4: Content & Language Objectives, Visual, Auditory & Kinesthetic Learning Styles, and ESOL Instructional Strategies
Week 5: Thematic Teaching and ELLs, Practicing and Deepening New Knowledge, and Deeper Learning for English Language Learners
Week 6: Webb’s Depth of Knowledge & Content Complexity, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Support
Week 7: Staffing and Evaluation of the School ESOL Program
Week 8: A Positive Learning Environment, Assessments & Grading, and Performance Tasks

Specific Objectives

Participants will:

• Implement procedures necessary to ensure the rights of ELLs within educational programs as per the META Consent Decree.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how second language is acquired.
• Explore implications a first language may have on the acquisition of a second language.
• Implement research-based instructional strategies that facilitate second language acquisition.
• Apply strategies for integrating language and content instruction.
• Differentiate assessments to monitor ELLs' progress in the acquisition of a second language techniques for classes with multiple levels of language proficiency.

Materials

In order to complete this online course, participants need to be able to access web-based content, including multimedia presentations, professional articles, and various interactive websites.

Inservice

• complete all assignments
• participate each week in the Discussion Area
• score at least 80% or higher on post test

To receive the inservice points, all course requirements must be completed independently by the participant and not plagiarized from any other source or person.