My
Google Alerts this week focused on how ESL instruction fits into the STEM
curriculum. I found two different
articles that focused how schools are working to blend the ESL and the STEM
curriculum in order to better serve their students. The article: “What do robots, eggs, and laws
of motion have in common? Ask these 100 students”, discusses how more than 100
students participated in the Summer Engineering Academy at Loachapoka
Elementary School. This program was
taught by several teachers including an ESL certified teacher over the summer
break. The students who participated in the program ranged from pre- first
grade to seventh grade. The students spent
the month of June problem-solving with their peers exploring the scientific
method and mathematical reasoning. The work in the camp was differentiated with
each grade level being given a different challenge to solve. Then within each
grade, the students were then broken down into into groups of three or four
students to design a project. This
design allows for lot of collaborative learning and discussions using academic
vocabulary, which is especially important to ELLs.
The program used curriculum from Project Lead the
Way, a nonprofit organization that introduces STEM (science, technology,
engineering, mathematics) concepts to classrooms in schools around the country.
Ms. Blanco, the ESL teacher at the district stated “Even though it doesn’t seem
like it would, it (STEM) goes hand in hand with language development, because
students are working together collaboratively to talk and solve problems.
You’ve got to be able to read the problem, read the directions, follow procedures,
write about it as you go through the engineering design process, to log and
evaluate the results that you got and make adjustments to your design.” It is important for both ELLs and mainstream
students to be exposed to academic vocabulary, which is an area that many of
our students are lacking in.
The second article: “Programs aim to improve Merrill
School Performance” concentrated on how Merrill Elementary School in the Beloit
district will focus on promoting parental environment, curriculum development
and school climate. In Merrill
Elementary School, 95 percent of the students are economically disadvantaged,
and 27 percent are English Language Learners. The school's first area of focus
is centered on improving curriculum and better exposing the students to STEM
curriculum and programs. The school district
is currently researching how to make its curriculum more rigorous and engaging
for all students including its growing ELL population. Some possible options that
were discussed in the article include offering more science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) classes or foreign language. I think that it is great that a school
district is keeping its ELL population in mind when it is looking to improve
its curriculum and the overall achievement level of its students. More school districts need to follow a
similar plan when looking to improve the curriculum for its students. An effective ELL program is not a supplement
to the mainstream curriculum and it should be considered in all subjects taught
in the school. There shouldn’t be a
separate ELL curriculum taught in isolation, instead the ELL program should be
integrated into all aspects of the curriculum.
Both of these articles do a great job presenting how the ESL curriculum can
be integrated into the STEM curriculum and into the science and math
classrooms.
Coleman, K. (2017, June
28). What do robots, eggs, and laws of motion have in common? Ask these 100
students. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from
http://www.oanow.com/news/local/what-do-robots-eggs-and-laws-of-motion-have-in/article_90fde828-162d-5f79-b5b2-e1ab43f98e4f.html
Gavan, H. (2017, June 27).
Programs aim to improve Merrill School performance. Retrieved June 28, 2017,
from http://www.beloitdailynews.com/article/20170627/ARTICLE/170629780
No comments:
Post a Comment