Clara Lee Brown

The Ameliorating Effects of High Socioeconomic Status: A Secondary Analysis.

Abstract A secondary analysis of previously published data shows that high-socioeconomic status (SES) English language learners (ELLs) outperform low-SES fluent English speakers on tests of math, and they do about as well on tests of reading. Thus, for ELLs, SES can offset the effects of language proficiency on standardized tests of math and reading. This result suggests that we can improve the performance of all ELLs by providing aspects of high SES known to impact school performance. This can be done by improving the print environment and providing bilingual education.

The Effects of Poverty and Language on Mathematics Achievement for English Language Learners

This chapter acknowledges that access to mathematics plays a role in potential earnings and that this access is closed to English language learners (ELLs) and to students living in poverty. We provided evidence that poverty, academic language development, and discourse diversities are intertwined and cannot be easily separated when it comes to mathematical achievement. In fact, evidence is provided to suggest that English-speaking students living in poverty may be more severely impacted by discourse diversities and academic language development than ELLs. Even the discourse practices espoused by reform curricula can have a negative influence on the achievement of students in poverty. The authors suggest a pedagogical approach, such as Cognitively Guided Instruction, to aid both ELLs and students in poverty because of its focus on identifying and using what students already know to plan instruction and its focus on developing mathematical language through negotiation and discussion of students’ thinking.

Maximizing Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Potential for Teaching Science Literacy to ELLs: Findings from a Professional Development Program

This chapter reports findings from a state-funded professional development program designed to increase high school science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge/skills of teaching Common Core State Standards (CCSS)-aligned informational texts to English language learners (ELLs). Teachers’ year-long reflections on their own teaching and peers’ pointed to the importance of teachers constructing their own pedagogical knowledge by figuring out classroom applications that made sense to them. Teachers discussed that learning about second language acquisition was pivotal for them to understand ELLs’ struggles as learners and the effect of English proficiency on informational text comprehension in science. As a result, they deepened their understanding about their role as teachers in helping ELLs access informational texts. Follow-up interviews a year later revealed that teachers developed and sustained new instructional practices and assisted their peers to adopt the newly acquired instructional strategies.