Steps for Equitable Outcomes for English Learners: PACE
by Alma L. Contreras-Vanegas, Baburhan Uzum, and William Blackwell
Teachers in inclusive classrooms are responsible for
supporting a broad range of student learning needs. For English learners (ELs),
these learning needs often dictate that teachers need to address issues related
to language development, academic skill growth, and sometimes disability
support. When faced with this challenge, generalist teachers may opt to rely on
interventionists such as bilingual and English as a second language (ESL)
teachers and special educators to address these needs. Though these interventionists
play an important role, achieving equitable outcomes for ELs requires the
continued commitment and support of all teachers in inclusive
classrooms.
Research on high-leverage practices in inclusive
classrooms (McLeskey et al., 2019) has demonstrated that teachers can focus on
a set of core strategies to address a broad range of student needs. Drawing
from this work, we suggest that teachers in inclusive classrooms can establish
a consistent “pace” to guide their work. We present this framework with an
easy-to-remember acronym: PACE.
- Patience as students
develop new skills
- Affirm and build on
students’ strengths
- Collaborate with
families and other educators
- Adopting an Equity
perspective for all students
Figure. The PACE framework.
The following sections provide recommendations for
how you can PACE your approach for establishing inclusive learning
environments.
Patience (as Students Develop New Skills)
Patience is a skill that can be developed in
inclusive classrooms to help students know they belong and can learn. An
initial step toward practicing patience is to establish meaningful learning
goals that are both challenging and attainable for students (Alber-Morgan et
al., 2019). It is important to communicate that there is a clear set of goals
that will help guide your shared journey toward language and academic
proficiency, and it takes time and practice to get there. As students work
toward these goals, you can use a variety of strategies that establish a
supportive learning environment.
Wait Time
Providing wait time helps students to possibly
translate from one language to another before they are able to produce an
answer. According to Echevarria, Vogt, and Short (2018), wait time “refers to
the length of time a teacher pauses between asking a question and soliciting a
response” (p. 165). For example, you can ask a question to the entire class and
provide a 3- to 5-second wait time before asking someone to share the answer
with a partner or aloud to the whole class.
Alternative
Responses
Patience also requires teachers to consider
flexibility in how students are able to demonstrate understanding. If a student
is at the beginning stages of learning English or has a disability that
prevents them from writing or orally sharing their learning, you can provide different
ways for them to demonstrate their knowledge. For example, students
may be able to draw or act out what a story was about rather than writing a
summary. You can also provide sentence stems, word banks, or partner work to
better scaffold students who need extra support.
Multiple
Modalities
Addressing different learning styles and strategies
in inclusive classrooms takes time and effort. Using visuals, tactile,
auditory, and kinesthetic activities helps learners engage with content
meaningfully. By using multiple modalities, students are exposed to a topic in
various ways that help them make connections to their real-life applications.
For example, while teaching the water cycle, you could use visual aids to
demonstrate the cycle, sing a song doing the motions of the water cycle, and
have students create the water cycle using manipulatives.
Affirm (and Build on Students’ Strengths)
Along with practicing patience, teachers in
inclusive classrooms need to affirm and build on students’ strengths. Finding
ways to reinforce the knowledge and skills that students already possess is an
important step toward building a culture of belonging and acceptance. Armstrong
(2012) conceptualized this approach as positive niche
construction. He recommended that teachers capitalize on the
interests and skills of students when designing their curricula. As you help
ELs acquire new language and academic skills, there are strategies you can use
to acknowledge and build on their interests and strengths.
Getting to Know
Students
Before any lesson is taught, you should get to know
your students’ interests to better engage them. One strategy is to provide an
interest survey that asks about their hobbies and favorite things. This survey
can be done with pencil and paper, verbally, or with visuals at the beginning
of the school year. We also recommend conducting another interest survey in the
middle of the year in case students have changed their interests. If a child
has difficulty expressing their interests, you can ask family members what
their child likes to do.
Drawing From Students’ Cultural
Backgrounds
Acknowledging students’ backgrounds as a strength is
crucial for them to feel accepted and take risks within the classroom. For
example, if a lesson is about landforms, you could share examples of different
landforms from different countries students may be from. Students may also
share landforms they have seen from visiting different places.
Collaborate (With Families and Other Educators)
Engaging in collaborative partnerships with
families and other educators is an essential step in establishing the PACE
needed to provide high-quality inclusive education for ELs. Recent research on
collaboration between teachers and parents of ELs with disabilities has
highlighted the need for a commitment to authentic, reciprocal partnerships
that are respectful of cultural diversity, build on student and family
strengths, and establish a high level of trust (Hagiwara & Shogren,
2019).
FAST
Framework
Uzum and Contreras-Vanegas (2020) developed the
FAST framework, which helps establish a relationship among family,
administrators, students, and teachers.
-
Families
should be directly involved with their child’s education by meeting for
conferences and helping to set academic goals.
-
Administrators
should remember to be flexible when working with families and provide a
welcoming environment for everyone.
-
Students
should be held accountable for their own learning; they should ask questions in
class if they are confused, review and practice new learning, and share their
academic goals with others.
-
Teachers
need to be aware of the cultural backgrounds and learning abilities of their
students. The cultural background may determine how the family engages in
school events and the learning style of the child. You can create a welcoming
environment for children by displaying decorations in different languages and
receiving professional development that offers best practices for teaching ELs
and children with disabilities.
Intercultural Communicative Competence
Families and educators can also practice
intercultural communicative competence. Jackson (2014) defines intercultural
communicative competence as “the abilities needed to communicate effectively
and appropriately with people who are linguistically and culturally different
from oneself” (p. 373). To this end, you can familiarize yourself with
different languages, cultures and traditions, and World Englishes. You can do
this by learning another language, practicing communicating with people from
different cultural backgrounds, and training your listening and communication
skills for different Englishes.
Adopt an Equity Perspective (for all Students)
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of
teaching in inclusive classrooms is maintaining a focus on student equity. It
is sometimes easy to get caught up in providing the same amount of
time/support/practice for each student in the classroom. In doing so, teachers
may lose focus on the ultimate goal of achieving equitable outcomes for ELs and
all students. Not all students require the same amount of time/support/practice
to develop various skills. A key component of establishing the PACE for an
inclusive classroom is seeking equity in the learning outcomes.
This means designing learning environments that are flexible enough to provide
the time, resources, and strategies needed for each student to achieve their
learning goals.
Adaptations
When designing curricula, you can incorporate
accessibility features to ensure your students can access information and
demonstrate knowledge however is most appropriate for their current skills and
needs. Differentiating instruction and materials according to the English
proficiency and/or academic level is necessary for the success of all students.
With any EL, the first step is for you to learn their English proficiency level
(beginner, intermediate, advanced and advanced high) in the four language
domains (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Once you know the students’
proficiency level, you can make adaptations to your instructional strategies
and assignments accordingly.
For example, with a second grade EL at the
intermediate level across four language domains, you might use visuals when
explaining new material, speak at a pace the student is able to keep up with,
provide texts that may be simplified at the independent reading level, and
provide sentence stems (e.g., sentence starters such as “the main idea in the story
is…”) for writing assignments. A similar approach can be taken for ELs with
disabilities, considering their individualized education programs when making
adaptations.
Feedback on
Performance
If students are shamed or ridiculed for their
mistakes in their formative years, they may develop social and psychological
problems associated with mistakes and may feel discouraged to participate in
school. A key point is to direct any praise to the work done
instead of to the person. (E.g., “you worked hard on this
project; you did a great work” versus “you are so smart.”) A good strategy to
create an environment where mistakes are welcome is to model it. You can openly
acknowledge your mistakes. This provides a strong model for students that
demonstrates a growth mindset (Dweck, 2007) when a mistake is made.
Conclusion
The PACE framework is an easy-to-remember acronym
that summarizes some of the critical components in teaching ELs and students
with disabilities. Teachers can PACE their teaching and keep an eye on student
learning in an effort to accomplish equitable outcomes for all students in
their classrooms. Teachers can PACE their approach for establishing inclusive
learning environments that address a wide range of language, academic skills,
and disability support needs.
References
Alber-Morgan, S. R., Helton, M. R., Oif Telesman,
A., & Konrad, M. (2019). Identify and prioritize long- and short-term
learning goals. In J. McLeskey, L. Maheady, B. Billingsley, M. T. Brownell,
& T. J. Lewis (Eds.), High leverage practices for inclusive
classrooms (pp. 145–156). Routledge.
Armstrong, T. (2012). Neurodiversity in
the classroom: Strength-based strategies to help students with special needs
succeed in school and life. ASCD.
Dweck, C. (2007). Mindset: The new
psychology of success. Ballantine Books.
Echevarria, J. J., Vogt, M. E., & Short, D.
J. (2018). Making content comprehensible for elementary English
learners: The SIOP model (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Hagiwara, M., & Shogren, K. A. (2019).
Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed
services. In J. McLeskey, L. Maheady, B. Billingsley, M. T. Brownell, &
T. J. Lewis (Eds.), High leverage practices for inclusive
classrooms (pp. 34–48). Routledge.
Jackson, J. (2014). Introducing language
and intercultural communication. Routledge.
McLeskey, J., Maheady, L., Billingsley, B.,
Brownell, M. T., & Lewis, T. J. (Eds.). (2019). High leverage
practices for inclusive classrooms. Routledge.
Uzum, B., & Contreras-Vanegas, A. L. (2020,
September). 4 Factors to develop language proficiency FAST. TESOL
Connections. http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2020-09-01/4.html
Alma L. Contreras-Vanegas is an associate professor of bilingual
education/ESL in the School of Teaching and Learning at Sam Houston State
University, Huntsville, Texas, USA. Her research interests include bilingual
children in special education (gifted and talented children and children with
disabilities) and second language acquisition.
Baburhan Uzum is an associate professor of ESL in the
School of Teaching and Learning at Sam Houston State University, Huntsville,
Texas, USA. His research interests include multicultural education and second
and foreign language teacher education.
William
Blackwell is an assistant professor of
special education in the School of Teaching and Learning at Sam Houston State
University, Huntsville, Texas. His research focuses on a broad spectrum of
strategies for improving educational outcomes for children and adolescents with
disabilities.
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