A universally designed intervention for

English Language Learners from recent immigrant families in the U.S. :

Successes and challenges

Presented by Sabina Rak Neugebauer

in collaboration with:

Acknowledgement

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305G050029 awarded to the Center for Advanced Special Technology (CAST). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education

A collaborative teamCASTBridget Dalton (Vanderbilt University). Elaine Mo, Kristin Robinson, Ge Vue, Joanne Alunni, Kate Brigham, Tom Green, Matt Brambilla, &

Dave McFarland

Harvard Graduate School of EducationCatherine Snow, Paola Uccelli, & Sabina Neugebauer

Boston CollegePatrick Proctor & Yi-Chien Li

School partners: 3 semi-urban and 1 urban school in northeastern Massachusetts

Today’s Presentation • Study goals• Language Minority children in the U.S. -

Demographics • Universal Design for Learning Perspectives:

What do they contribute in general and for this population in particular?

• Intervention Features • Findings for ELLS and specifically recent

immigrants in the U.S. • Future research

Overall Project Goals

To develop and test a universally designed (Rose &

Meyer, 2002) scaffolded digital reading approach

(Dalton & Proctor, 2007) to improving reading

achievement and engagement of 5th grade students,

including bilingual students and struggling readers

Demographics – Language Minority Students in the U.S.

• One of the fastest-growing groups among the school-aged population in the U.S.

• Over 9 million students, roughly 5.5 million are classified as Limited English Proficient (LEP)

Large populationLarge population

• Over 400 different home languages are represented

• Spanish is the predominant home language 70%

Predominantly Spanish Predominantly Spanish speakersspeakers

• The largest and fastest growing are:

• Students who immigrated before Kindergarten, and• U.S. born children of immigrants

Largest growthLargest growth

By 2015, second generation children of immigrantsare expected to be 30% of the school-aged population

in the United States.

Adapted from Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera (2007) Center on Instruction Report

The contribution of Universal Design for Learning for students

Universal design: Access, beauty and function

Guggenheim Museum, NYC

Universal design: Everyone benefits

Closed captioning

Wheeled luggage

Sidewalk curb cuts

Critical recommendations for ELLsand technology use in the U.S.

Double the work (2007) _ Adolescent ELLs

Integrate All Four Language Skills into Instruction from the Start

Teach the Components and Processes of Reading and Writing

Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies Focus on Vocabulary Development Build and Activate Background Knowledge Teach Language through Content and Themes Use Native Language Strategically Pair Technology with Existing Interventions Motivate ELLs through Choice

Lack of sufficient research on development and instruction

Intervention• Students read 8 fiction and non-fiction hypertexts

with embedded supports for vocabulary, comprehension, and assessment for sixteen weeks.

UDL Program Features:• Multiple means of representation• Multiple means of expression• All instructional supports available in Spanish and

English• Reading is connected to writing, multimedia

composition and oral language

Screenshot from folktale showing student supports

Embedded strategiesStrategies: Predict, question, clarify, summarize, visualize, feeling, self-reflect

Research Questions

What are the benefits and limitations of a UDL intervention for improving 5th grade Spanish-speaking newcomers’ vocabulary and reading comprehension in the U.S.?

What students seem to benefit the most from this intervention?

Participants

• Nine students in a fifth grade Sheltered English Immersion Classroom.

•  Students came from Central and South America

• Students attended a K-8 Title 1 urban school which is 90% Hispanic and 78% speak a language other than English.

ParticipantsStudent Gender Born in U.S. Time in the

U.S.Special Education *

1. Juana F NO 6 months No

2. Jane F NO 2 years No

3. Will M NO 3 years Yes

4. Katy F NO 3 years No

5. Francis M NO 4 years Yes

6. Marta F NO 4 years No

7. Javi M NO 7 years Yes

8. Jose M YES n/a No

9. Rodrigo M YES n/a No

All student names are pseudonyms to protect the identity of these students

Measures

Student Profiles

Individually Administered Pre-test

Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey-Revised

Picture Vocabulary

Letter Word ID

Passage Comprehension

Pre and Post Intervention AssessmentGroup Administered Pre and Post-Test

Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE)

GrowthStudent Pre-Test

Fall, 2006Post-Test

Spring, 2007

Vocabulary Pre-test

Grade EquivalentVocabulary Post-testGrade Equivalent

1. Juana n/a 4.42. Jean 2.7 5.43. Will* 3.0 2.74. Katy 3.0 3.85. Francis* 3.0 2.76. Marta 3.8 5.87. Javi* 3.5 3.88. Jose 3.0 4.69. Rodrigo** . 8.2

Student Performance comparing pre and post vocabulary scores on the GRADE

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Pre Post

2. Jean 3. Will*

4. Katy 5. Francis*

6. Marta 7. Javi*

8. Jose 9. Rodrigo**

1. Juana

K

English Literacy Skills: Student WCJ GE Scores

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

PictureVoc

Word ID Passage

1. Juana

2. Jean

3. Will

4. Katy

5. Francis

6. Marta

7. Javi

8. Jose

9. RodrigoK

Spanish Literacy Skills: Student WCJ GE Scores

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

PictureVoc

Word ID Passage

1. Juana

2. Jean

3. Will

4. Katy

5. Francis

6. Marta

7. Javi

8. Jose

9. Rodrigo K

Complementary English skills (WCJ GE Scores)

0

1

2

3

4

5

Marta Jean

Voc

Word ID

Comp

K

Profiles for Success

• Initial Grade-level English skills– A student with grade-level English skills improved to reach 8th grade

equivalent scores (Rodrigo).

• Initial above-grade level Spanish skills– A student with grade-level skills in the home language improved from

no English up to 4th grade equivalent scores in vocabulary and 3rd grade equivalent scores in reading comprehension (Juana).

• Collaborative work: Complementary Skills in English

– Students with low scores in English, but with complementary reading skills, who enjoyed working together (Jean and Marta) improved.

Recommendations and Limitations

Small sample size

Design needs to be revised to accommodate those who have both a learning disability and low English proficiency.

Some activities were not appropriate for students with low English vocabulary skills (web it)

Recommendations and Limitations

Representation:• Building larger basic English vocabularies• More decoding supports

Expression:• Student voices and lived realities: Book content• Linguistic Awareness: Teaching Academic

English

Future Research

• The role of collaborative learning

• Assessments for U.S. newcomers in their native language