Making Science Accessible to English Learners Professional Development

Who Should Attend

• Science teachers grades 6-12 (may include grades 4-5)
  
• Secondary level English language development (ELD) and science leaders, coaches, staff developers

Goals of the Workshop

Science teachers enhance their knowledge and skills to differentiate instruction and assessment for diverse learners, particularly English learners, thereby giving all students universal, equitable access to a rigorous science curriculum.

School and district leaders blend the workshop into an ongoing professional support system for teachers.

Format of the Workshop

Participants can participate in either a full- or half-day professional development workshop.

Full-day workshop participants engage in a hands-on lesson as the facilitator models effective teaching practices based on WestEd’s Making Science Accessible to English Learners: A Guidebook for Teachers. Participants have many opportunities for questioning, inquiring, reflecting, and problem solving with each other and the facilitator.

The half-day professional development focuses on instructional strategies and offers streamlined hands-on learning.

Both the half- and full-day workshops support applied understanding of Making Science Accessible to English Learners.

For more information about additional professional development that delves deeper into differentiated instructional strategies and classroom management, and classroom assessment that allows English learners to demonstrate what they have learned, contact John Carr, jcarr@wested.org, 925.673.0801.

What You Learn

• How to tailor the five E’s (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) into an inquiry-based approach to teaching science to English learners
• How to use a chart of eight essential language skills to plan lessons that include English learners at different English language development levels
• An approach for teaching and applying academic language during lessons
• Seven research-based strategies as scaffolds to rigorous content standards
• Accommodations to design equitable classroom assessments
• How to integrate the instructional tools and strategies into “doable” daily pedagogy

Who Facilitates Your Learning

WestEd Senior Associate Ursula Sexton conducts all workshops and tailors the presentation to fit the local context. A nationally recognized science teacher and veteran workshop leader, Sexton coauthored Making Science Accessible to English Learners.

What Resources Support Your Learning

Participants each receive a copy of Making Science Accessible to English Learners: A Guidebook for Teachers, as well as other supporting materials.

What the Research Says

This workshop reflects effective professional development by engaging participants in practical learning activities. Accordingly, the facilitator models tools and teaching strategies cited in research and professional literature of what works in classrooms.

Dennis Sparks (in Guskey, 2000, p. X - Introduction) states: “To be successful, staff development must focus on the content that teachers teach and the methods they use to teach that content, and it must be sufficiently sustained and linked to daily classroom practice to affect student learning.”

Participants in this workshop engage in a real science lesson for English learners, using research-based instructional strategies and reflecting on how they will apply what they have learned in their own classrooms. The workshop supports understanding and applying research-based concepts, tools, and strategies presented in Making Science Accessible to English Learners: A Guidebook for Teachers.

Guskey (2000) states that effective professional development in a school or district reflects a series of small steps with a single, unified long-range plan about improving student learning. With this in mind, WestEd consults with school districts about how the district will embed this workshop within a long-range plan of professional development activities. For districts that would like more extended professional development, we offer a variety of follow-up specialty sessions. County offices of education have sponsored the workshop as part of a theme focusing on English learners and invited educators to attend.

Cost

The half-day workshop costs $2,500 plus travel expenses (cost of guidebook not included).

The full-day workshop costs $3,100 plus travel expenses (cost of guidebook not included).

Participants receive a 30% discount on the price of Making Science Accessible to English Learners.

Contact Information

John Carr
925.673.0801
jcarr@wested.org

Ursula Sexton
650.381.6442
usexton@wested.org