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Leadership for ELL Success
Powerful Learning Experience #1: Managing Change
Element / Description/Instructions / Teaching NotesPurpose / • Identify current local demographic changes
• Understand the complexity of the ELL population needs
• Expose candidate biases about the implications of growth of ELL population
• Candidates will identify how the leader makes sense of changing school demographics and how that influences her leadership / This module is called “Managing Change” because we believe that leaders have a role in addressing, facilitating, and optimizing change in order to ensure school conditions that foster learning for all students.
Candidates know little about changes in ELL populations that may exist in their own districts (especially if not reflected in their school). These local conditions often are microcosm of national trends.
Candidates have assumptions about how these changes affect their school culture and structures. Consequently, most schools respond by isolating ELL students (and teachers) and using deficit approaches to instruction.
Candidates have little exposure to alternate and additive approaches that recognize and maintain the value of L1 and L2.
Pre-Activity / In order to gage how much students know about ELL trends and needs, we provide a simple, short T/F “quiz” that highlights some basic information and gets at underlying assumptions.
The focus of this activity is to emphasize the complexity of the knowledge necessary in leading for ELL success. / These are not “trick” questions. They address the underlying theory of ELL education regarding language acquisition, instructional programs, and policy issues.
The quiz can also be given “whole class” (rather than individually) to spark a discussion about what the do/do not know about ELL education.
If you are able to integrate this more into your class, these questions can be used as “study questions” in which students break into small groups and investigate the questions. Response can be presented in class or through an on-line discussion board.
Video Viewing / Video can be assigned independently or in-class as part of a guided discussion.
If viewed independently, discussion/reflection questions are embedded.
If viewed in-class, clips can be paused for discussion. Discussion can be whole class or in small groups. / These clips raise staff assumptions and some new vocabulary. The video also highlights the complex nature of the ELL population.
The principal introduces,
• Different mobility trends (movement within school district and movement from without the school district)
• Different educational experiences (students with educational experiences in their native country, students with educational experiences in US schools, and students with interrupted formal education/SIFE)
• Different language groups (one large language group versus several smaller language groups)
• Sources of teacher frustration (lack of teacher knowledge/skills, challenges to existing instructional systems, and concern over achievement levels)
• Strain on existing structures (increasing reliance on ESL teacher and other support staff)
Guided Discussion / There are discussion questions embedded in the video. For example,
- What kinds of challenges did the demographic changes pose?
- How did the staff respond of these changes?
- How might those changes and attitudes affect the school’s ability to address ELL needs?
Questions can also focus on the more complex issues of
Readings / Fry, R.. The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Public Schools. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, August 2007.
Fry, R. The Rapid Growth and Changing Complexion of Suburban Public Schools. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, March 2009.
Heifetz, R. & Linsky, M. (2004, April). “When Leadership Spells Danger.” Educational Leadership. Washington, DC: ASCD.
McLaughlin, B. (1992). “Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teachers Needs to Unlearn.” National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning.
/ These readings highlight the role of school in ELL achievement. Rather than “blaming” ELL students for, assumed, low achievement, these articles force students to address issues in schools and leadership.
Supporting Materials / Osorio-O’Dea, P. (2011). Bilingual Education Overview. Washington, DC, Congressional Research Services.(PDF)
Flynn, K. & Hill, J. (2005) .“English Language Learners: A Growing Population,” McREL Policy Brief.
“Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000.” US Census Brief.
Graphic on “Growing Number of English Language Students”
ASCD/Education Leadership on “Supporting English Language Learners”
http: / These materials can be used in conjunction with or instead of the articles suggested.
Related Websites / US Census 2010
National Clearinghouse of English Language Acquisition
Office of English Language Acquisition
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
/ There are numerous websites but these offer both research and policy information on ELL students and communities.
Reflective Journaling / Reflective journals are an important part of individual leadership development. It allows students to capture their thinking and underlying assumptions. Periodically, students can analyze their journal and see how their thinking evolves over time, both in terms of sophistication and skill development.
Candidates journal about of their experiences in changing contexts and their feeling about it, as well as strategies that were used to “manage the change.” / One way to maximize the journaling experience is to give students time in class to share what they are learning about themselves/their leadership. This serves to highlight the value of the journal and also give you insight into where their learning needs are.
These journals can also be done on-line via individual discussion boards, blogs, etc.
Assessment Levels / Level One: Candidates reply to the discussion questions in written form based on principal’s responses.
Level Two: Candidates write a brief case study of the Global Middle School based on principal’s responses
Level Three: Candidates respond to guiding questions based on their own context / These assessments reflect the different levels of integration into existing course. Each “level” becomes increasing more complex and will require more time on the part of students and professor.
The extended activity described below requires extensive work outside of class and reinforces data collection and analysis skills.
Extended Learning /
- Option A: Candidates write an in-depth case study of Global Middle School, incorporating background information and readings, addressing all the leadership areas, based on principal’s responses.
- Option B: Candidates write an in-depth case study, addressing all the leadership areas, based on their own context. This requires that candidates interview their/a principal on some/all the leadership areas and write an in-depth case study based on the data.
Byrne-Jiménez/ThompsonHofstra University