Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz

Relationship Between Opportunity to Learn and Student Performance on English and Algebra Assessments

The purpose of this study was to examine how various opportunity to learn (OTL) variables impact student outcomes and whether these effects are consistent across different subject areas. In this study, we examined the impact of OTL variables on student performance on English and algebra assessments. Despite the differences in the subject areas, 3 consistent findings emerged. First, we found a significant positive relationship between teacher expertise and student performance. Teacher expertise in this study is defined specifically as expertise and knowledge within the content areas covered in the standards and the district assessment, rather than overall expertise in the subject area. Our study also showed that content coverage was positively correlated with student performance in English and algebra. Finally, consistent with previous findings, our study indicated that the socioeconomic status of the classroom has a significant impact on student performance.

Improving the Equity and Validity of Assessment-based Information Systems

This chapter focuses on issues of validity and equity of assessments as they guide educational policies and practices for the education of limited English proficient students. Although estimates of the number of students who are English language learners (ELLS) vary, from self-reports in the 1990 census (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990) to surveys conducted of school districts (Fleischman & Hopstock, 1993), their proportion is rising and may reach 10% by the end of the century. Although Spanish is the primary language for about three fourths of these students, Asian group languages — Vietnamese, Hmong, Cantonese, Cambodian, Tagalog, Laotian and Korean — are represented in large numbers. Navajo and Russian are also significantly represented.

Defining Opportunity to Learn for English Language Learners: Linguistic and Cultural Dimensions of ELLs' Instructional Contexts

Past research demonstrates the critical role of the context of learning in the achievement of students. This body of work justifies research and development of more contextualized opportunity to learn (OTL) models. We expound on an OTL framework that represents contextual features that can enrich or constrain opportunities for English language learners (ELLs). Specifically, we aim to broaden the conception of OTL beyond exposure to content and begin to define the types of affordances ELLs should be provided to achieve content standards. A central argument is the integration of academic language instruction as an OTL component for examining ELL achievement.

A case study approach to increasing teachers’ mathematics knowledge for teaching and strategies for building students’ maths self-efficacy

Teachers of middle school mathematics should have a deep conceptual understanding of the elementary mathematics taught in middle school, should possess the mathematics knowledge for teaching that is required to effectively teach mathematics in middle school and should have the ability to effectively teach mathematics to, and enhance the maths self-efficacy of, a culturally and socially diverse middle school student population. The challenge is to design effective professional development activities that enhance these desired attributes in both in-service and pre-service middle school mathematics teachers. This article reports on an attempt to design and evaluate one such activity that focuses on mathematics knowledge for teaching and self-efficacy building.

Functional Grammar Instruction Impact on Writing Quality

Traditional grammar instruction at the elementary level tends to focus on isolated linguistic features such as the eight parts of speech and sentence types. This type of instruction omits an important part of writing which is the interrelatedness between grammatical structures and meaning. Using a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) framework, this mixed methods study examined the use of SFLinspired writing instruction in fourth grade classrooms over the course of the fall semester to develop students’ descriptive writing. A sample of 24 students representing three ability levels was randomly selected for detailed text analysis. Writing samples from each student at three separate time intervals were collected and evaluated. Both quantitative and qualitative examination of students’ essays revealed a significant improvement in students’ descriptive writing over time. These improvements were linked to greater command of the linguistic elements that were the targets of instruction. Stabilization in writing progress was observed when instruction focused on test preparation. Implications are discussed.

Students’ ratings of teacher practices

In this paper, we explore a novel approach for assessing the impact of a professional development programme on classroom practice of in-service middle school mathematics teachers. The particular focus of this study is the assessment of the impact on teachers’ employment of strategies used in the classroom to foster the mathematical habits of mind and mathematical self-efficacy of their students. We describe the creation and testing of a student survey designed to assess teacher classroom practice based primarily on students’ ratings of teacher practices.