Topic Question: How do elementary teachers of intermediate grades address literacy challenges successfully in their classrooms?
Introduction
Teachers are noticing their classrooms are becoming progressively diverse by English language learners, gifted students, students with disabilities, and students who are culturally diverse (http://www.ascd.org). This paper will investigate the experiences that elementary school teachers of intermediate grades 4-5 encounter during the school year. Students come from all walks of life, therefore the background of the students have an impact on their academic success. For example, research tells us that if a student lives in poverty, he/she will struggle with their education because their focus is not on …show more content…
Most ELL students are misidentified and are sent to special education classes. When they are put into these classes they are not given the proper accommodations. Zimmerman (2014) collected data as to how many ELL students are misidentified as having learning disabilities. The setting of the study was in the New York State school districts; the focus is on middle school (6-8 grades). Teachers feel they have a lack of support with ELL students. This study suggests there is a lack of professional development in this field. A solution that was mentioned in the study was having bilingual psychologist in the school to better assist with the needs of the ELL students. The study also mentions assessment test that schools use, but the scoring system is not reliable. A major issue with the assessment test that is given does not look at the language differences. Best practices that are discussed in the study are multiple test accommodations, hiring consultants to help with professional development, Early Response to Intervention (RTI), and Read Naturally (small reading …show more content…
A qualitative approach aligns with my research purpose because the focus is primarily on the teacher and not the students. To insure validity and reliability data collection will come from interviews with 4-5 grade teachers and classroom observations to see how teachers interact with students who are identified as having reading/learning disabilities and ELL students.
Interview questions that would be asked are:
(1) How do you tailor your lessons to meet the needs of different learning styles in your classroom?
(2) What effective strategies and/or techniques do you use in teaching literacy?
(3) What kinds of assessments do you use to determine if students comprehend the material being taught?
(4) What kind of literacy support do you offer to students who will be entering middle school the following year? (question for fifth grade teachers)
I will analyze the most common challenges and successes among teachers of intermediate grades as well as what strategies and/or techniques were most effective to meet student’s needs. I will avoid favoring positive perspectives over negative perspectives. I will report all information that pertains to the research. Member check will be performed after all data and information has been compiled.
Timeline for Continued Work
I plan to continue my research during the
Introduction
Teachers are noticing their classrooms are becoming progressively diverse by English language learners, gifted students, students with disabilities, and students who are culturally diverse (http://www.ascd.org). This paper will investigate the experiences that elementary school teachers of intermediate grades 4-5 encounter during the school year. Students come from all walks of life, therefore the background of the students have an impact on their academic success. For example, research tells us that if a student lives in poverty, he/she will struggle with their education because their focus is not on …show more content…
Most ELL students are misidentified and are sent to special education classes. When they are put into these classes they are not given the proper accommodations. Zimmerman (2014) collected data as to how many ELL students are misidentified as having learning disabilities. The setting of the study was in the New York State school districts; the focus is on middle school (6-8 grades). Teachers feel they have a lack of support with ELL students. This study suggests there is a lack of professional development in this field. A solution that was mentioned in the study was having bilingual psychologist in the school to better assist with the needs of the ELL students. The study also mentions assessment test that schools use, but the scoring system is not reliable. A major issue with the assessment test that is given does not look at the language differences. Best practices that are discussed in the study are multiple test accommodations, hiring consultants to help with professional development, Early Response to Intervention (RTI), and Read Naturally (small reading …show more content…
A qualitative approach aligns with my research purpose because the focus is primarily on the teacher and not the students. To insure validity and reliability data collection will come from interviews with 4-5 grade teachers and classroom observations to see how teachers interact with students who are identified as having reading/learning disabilities and ELL students.
Interview questions that would be asked are:
(1) How do you tailor your lessons to meet the needs of different learning styles in your classroom?
(2) What effective strategies and/or techniques do you use in teaching literacy?
(3) What kinds of assessments do you use to determine if students comprehend the material being taught?
(4) What kind of literacy support do you offer to students who will be entering middle school the following year? (question for fifth grade teachers)
I will analyze the most common challenges and successes among teachers of intermediate grades as well as what strategies and/or techniques were most effective to meet student’s needs. I will avoid favoring positive perspectives over negative perspectives. I will report all information that pertains to the research. Member check will be performed after all data and information has been compiled.
Timeline for Continued Work
I plan to continue my research during the