Multilingual Learners

Designing Math Lessons for English Language Learners

Author/Presenter

Kathryn B. Chval

Oscar Chavez

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

A middle school mathematics teacher taught native English speakers for the first fifteen years of her career. As immigrants from other countries moved into the community and student demographics began to change, she realized that she was not prepared to teach mathematics to students who were English language learners (ELLs).
The demands that she faced are not unique. The recent growth of the ELL population in the United States has challenged teachers to identify effective strategies to meet the needs of ELL students and their families.

The Use of Pictorial Supports as an Accommodation for Increasing Access to Test Items for Students with Limited Proficiency in the Language of Testing

This paper reports on an NSF-funded project that examines vignette illustrations (VIs) as a form of testing accommodation for English language learners (ELLs)—students who are developing English as a second language yet they are tested in English, in major assessment programs in the U.S. VIs are pictorial supports intended to make the content

Author/Presenter

Solano-Flores, Guillermo

Year
2010

The Use of Illustrations in Large-Scale Science Assessment: A Comparative Study

In this paper, we report on a study that compares state, national, and international assessment programs as to the characteristics and functions of the illustrations used in their science test items. We used our conceptual framework for examining the characteristics of illustrations in science items (Solano-Flores & Wang, 2009, 2011) to code the illustrations of samples of items.

Author/Presenter

Wang, Chao

Solano-Flores, Guillermo

Year
2011

STEM ELL Publication List

This list of ELL resources is a working document prepared by CADRE for the ELL Working Group. New resources will be added as they are identified. This list includes the citation and the article abstract. Please do not circulate or quote this list of resources. Sources are organized alphabetically by STEM Content area (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and by the general education topic explored in the paper (assessment, curriculum, instruction, language, professional development, system/policy, technology, and writing).

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2011

Mathematics Teachers Teaching English Language Learners: What Knowledge Do They Need? (Driscoll, Heck, Chval)

Author/Presenter

Mark Driscoll

Daniel Heck

Kathryn Chval

Year
2009
Short Description

Mathematics teachers of English language learners (ELLs) are increasingly expected to help ELLs learn academic language. This session focuses on the question, What knowledge do teachers of mathematics need in order to support the learning of ELLs?

Math and Science Education with English Language Learners: Contributions of the DR K-12 Program

To investigate the contribution of the DR K‐12 portfolio to the knowledge base on math and sciencelearning among ELLs, CADRE designed a study to explore the ELL work that is being conducted in theDR K‐12 projects. This paper summarizes the work of this study. It begins with a description of themethodology employed, followed by a presentation of the findings, and finally a discussion of theconclusions drawn from this work.

Author/Presenter

Martinez, Alina

Rhodes, Hilary

Copson, Elizabeth

Tiano, Megan

DellaRocco, Nicole

Donoghue, Nathaniel

Year
2011

Including English Language Learners in the Process of Test Development: A Study on Instrument Linguistic Adaptation for Cognitive Validity

This paper reports preliminary results from an investigation, still in progress, on the use of verbal protocols among native Spanish-speaking, English language learners (ELLs) of various proficiency levels and background characteristics. We focus on language use among ELLs during various stages of a cognitive interview designed to probe whether and how students

Author/Presenter

Prosser, Rachel

Solano-Flores, Guillermo

Year
2010

Illustrations with Graphic Devices in Large-Scale Science Assessments: An Exploratory Cross-Cultural Study of Students’ Interpretations

In this exploratory, cross-cultural study, we examined students’ interpretations of graphic devise-based illustrations used in science tests. Graphic devices are visual components (e.g., arrows, dotted lines) intended to ensure proper understanding of the scientific processes or phenomena represented by the illustrations. We address cultural differences in terms of the interaction of two factors, students’ country of origin and items’ country of origin.

Author/Presenter

Wang, Chao

Solano-Flores, Guillermo

Year
2011

Examining Problem Solving Strategies on Multiple-choice Science Items Among English Language Learners Through Cognitive Interviews

This paper introduces a coding system used to compare the ways English language learners (ELLs) and mainstream students make sense of multiple-choice science items administered in English. Thirty-nine native Spanish-speaking ELLs and thirty-nine monolingual, mainstream students participated in cognitive interviews in which they were asked to report their thinking during and after responding to science items. The coding system was developed based on the analysis of the transcriptions invoking theories of bilingualism, sociolinguistics, and reading comprehension.

Author/Presenter

Prosser, Rachel

Solano-Flores, Guillermo

Year
2011