Allocate at least 5 hours in the field to support this field experience.

Interview an ELL instructor from a Title I school about how assessment is used for placement. You may interview one of the instructors that you have observed during your observations for this course. Inquire also about how placement and accommodations are determined for both special education and gifted ELLs. Your questions might include (but should not be limited to) the following:

1. What are the indicators of exceptionality a classroom teacher should look for when a student also has a language barrier?
2. How can informal as well as formal assessment results factor into placement?
3. What role do parents and teachers have in placement?
4. What are some primary factors that are exhibited in underachievement that may not necessarily signal special education needs?
5. What are some examples of classroom assessment techniques utilized for ELLs with special needs and gifted ELLs?
6. How are changes among individual ELL proficiency levels over the course of the school year accounted for?
7. How are diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments integrated for ELLs in mainstream classrooms?
8. What are the benefits of the SIOP protocol for native English speakers as well as those for whom English is an additional language?

Use any remaining field experience hours to assist the mentor teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.

Consolidate your findings in a 750 word essay, supporting your findings with at least three current sources from your readings and the GCU library to support your reasoning.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a grading rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Description

1. 750 word essay with at least three current sources- the interviewee is not a source
2. Use the attached template.
3. You may interview one of the instructors that you have observed or someone else from the school or district office with this information.

Interview:

Interviewee: Alaina Chipman Leeks

Founder and Executive Director, Atlanta Unbound Academy

1. What are the indicators of exceptionality a classroom teacher should look for when a student also has a language barrier? – Student’s ability to truly comprehend what is being asked of him/her, understanding the social cues based in the English language is another factor that creates a barrier for English language learners. This becomes important when comprehending texts and pictures are used to understand nuanced situations.
2. How can informal as well as formal assessment results factor into placement?-Informal assessments are simply data points that educators collect daily from observing different interactions with their students. The formal assessments are usually national normed referenced tests that provide a formal data point for what teachers already observed informally.
3. What role do parents and teachers have in placement?- Parents being open and honest about their child’s home language is key. Schools and teachers can create this enviornment by celebrating all cultures and all languages. Showing parents that the more information we know, the more we can support our students is helpful rather than judgmental.

   4. What are some primary factors that are exhibited in underachievement that may not necessarily signal special education needs?- social emotional needs, especially if a child feels insecure about their ability to learn in comparison to others. The child could also become withdrawn.

   5. What are some examples of classroom assessment techniques utilized for ELLs with special needs and gifted ELLs? -There is a lot of research about how ELL students grasp more concepts when taught in their primary language. I wonder about this in terms of assessments? For subjects like math, should we give students word problems in their primary lang, since we are testing their math ability and not their reading. For reading, I think about the benefits of giving students assessments in their home language and in English, that way we can assess if it is a reading deficit or a language barrier.

   6. How are changes among individual ELL proficiency levels over the course of the school year accounted for?–through data driven processes, their scores are tracked as other student scores are tracked in data platforms.

   7. How are diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments integrated for ELLs in mainstream classrooms?–these assessments would be given like any other assessment on the same time schedule, the only difference would be how they are given to students who are ELL. Some schools decide to give the assessments in the native language.

   8. What are the benefits of the SIOP protocol for native English speakers as well as those for whom English is an additional language?– (I’m not sure what this is)