A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
School Reform and Student Diversity - September 1995
M. Implications for Needed Research
In the course of our work on this project, we became aware that a good deal of research guided the reform efforts we documented. All of our sites reflect a strong relationship between the research community and the schools.
However, it also became apparent that a number of significant questions require further research. Our study has determined what exemplary schools do. Now we need to find out how they have been able to do it. We need to research more systematically what resources are required to support exemplary teaching and learning environments, and which instructional strategies are most effective. In general, we need information to help formulate the resource and practice standards that are necessary to enable schools to teach their LEP students as well as they are capable of teaching other students.
In this section, we suggest a number of questions that indicate directions for future research. This list is not exhaustive; it reflects the range of data and issues that will be required if we are to reform schools to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students.
It is important to point out that the essential issue of education reform for these students is how they are taught in the classroom; research must illuminate both student and teacher learning. We need to discover how different strategies affect the quality of student learning--with respect to both school performance and students' ability to function in society later on. We need to find out how teachers translate knowledge gained through professional development into practice in the classroom.
The suggested research topics are organized in a progression from the classroom outward to the teacher, school, and external factors. The touchstone is the classroom. In each instance, further research needs to show how the various elements in exemplary schooling support enhanced learning for diverse students.
The Classroom Learning Environment
- How can children become responsible for their own learning? How do children become effective learners in cooperative groups?
- How do cultural differences affect the success of cooperative learning experiences? What modifications need to be made in cooperative learning strategies to fit the needs of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? Are mixed-age groupings more successful with these children?
- Which strategies maximize opportunities for contact between monolingual English speakers and LEP students in the classroom? Which strategies are ineffective? What effect does such contact have on the process of second-language learning?
- What modifications to school and classroom organization and instructional strategies need to be made to meet the needs of older students who enter the school with little knowledge of English?
- What instructional strategies are needed to fit the real-life experiences of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? What topics for thematic instruction are particularly effective for these children?
- How is thematic instruction used over time by teachers to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds? How are high standards of learning in science achieved through thematic instruction? How are high standards of learning in mathematics achieved through thematic instruction?
- How is second-language development furthered through thematic instruction? What strategies are available to take into account the difficulties LEP children have with the language, without modifying the curriculum?
- Is it better to group children on the basis of their ability in English or their ability in their primary language?
- How do children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds differ from other children in their use of classroom technology? What adjustments need to be made to take into account the child's language abilities?
- How does the use of technology promote thinking and creativity for these children? What use can be made of the opportunities technology provides for cross-cultural communication and for second language learning?
- Which assessment practices are most suitable to the needs of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? How does limited English proficiency affect performance on standardized tests? What benefits do portfolios and other alternate forms of assessment provide for these students?
- How can assessment be embedded in everyday learning tasks? How does assessment help to focus instructional goals?
- What kinds of homework contribute most to student learning? What kinds of activities outside of school contribute most to cognitive development?
- What factors help teachers adopt teaching strategies that promote engaged learning, learning by doing, learning from peers, and other forms of independent learning? What classroom-management skills do teachers need to use to foster independent learning in their students?
- How does knowledge of the second-language learning process affect the way that teachers teach LEP students? What adjustments do teachers make as a result of gaining understanding of the processes of second-language acquisition?
- How does professional development in the area of cultural understanding affect the way teachers teach children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? What adjustments do teachers make as a result of this knowledge?
- How do teachers promote motivation to learn in students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? To what extent are these strategies subject-specific? What kinds of interaction with parents promote high aspirations for children?
- What are the factors that influence success in new approaches to teaching language arts? How appropriate are these methods for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? How effective are these approaches with children from such backgrounds?
- What are the factors that influence success in new approaches to teaching science? How do such approaches as learning science by doing science, learning from peers, and learning from observation prepare students for later science classes in upper grades? How appropriate are these methods for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?
- What training do teachers need in sheltered English strategies when teaching science?
- What are the factors that influence success in new approaches to teaching mathematics? How appropriate are these methods for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? What training do teachers need in sheltered English strategies when teaching mathematics?
- What teaching strategies are most effective for mixed-ability groups in mathematics and science? What teaching strategies are most effective for mixed-age groups?
- How much time do teachers spend on non-instructional tasks when they teach children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?
- How can teachers use peer-tutoring most effectively with children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? How can teachers use parents and paraprofessionals most effectively in teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students?
- What kinds of learning occur outside the classroom in the experience of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? How can teachers capitalize on the work that students do at home so that students see the relevance of their independent work?
- How can teachers best be supported in their efforts to restructure the teaching and learning environment to foster the learning of all students? What strategies help teachers overcome barriers to teaching for engaged learning in their classrooms? What kinds of resources are most helpful in developing new ways of teaching?
- What is the best way to assess the language development and proficiency of LEP children?
- What assessment procedures are best suited to determine the level of achievement of LEP children in subject area courses? How are schools to demonstrate that these children meet national (or widely accepted) performance standards?
- What language development approaches are most effective for children from different primary language backgrounds? What approaches are most effective for schools with children from multiple language backgrounds?
- What are the benefits from sustained teacher-student contact over a number of years in fostering English literacy and reading skills, parental involvement, and the development of a sense of community with children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?
- What are the forces that initiate, characterize, and sustain the process of reform in schools serving children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds?
- How effective are restructuring strategies that protect student time to learn in meeting the needs of LEP students? How effective are restructuring strategies that extend the school day or year for LEP students? How effective are restructuring strategies that promote staff development in meeting the needs of these students? How effective are restructuring strategies that lead to flexible school organization and the creation of small school organizations, such as families, in meeting these students' needs?
- What effect do experiments with different time configurations (such as alternative schedules, different amounts of time for different students, longer school years) have on the performance of culturally and linguistically diverse students?
- What are the effects of school size on academic performance of culturally and linguistically diverse students, on retention, morale, student behavior, parent involvement?
- How may schools set aside time for teachers to develop a community of learners? What methods of teacher collaboration are most effective? What methods are least effective?
- What can schools do to promote learning in the home? What are the best methods of involving parents in their child's learning? What are the best methods of involving parents in school activities?
- What barriers exist at the federal, state, and local levels to prevent or frustrate the integrated delivery of health and social services to children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? What policies are required to bring necessary services to these children? How can the various agencies involved be held accountable?
- How do federal and state mandates and policies for LEP students affect the quality of education these children receive?
- How do national standards affect the instruction of LEP students? How will new approaches to assessment affect these students?
- What is the role of initial (government) funding of curriculum development that is crucial to the success of exemplary programs? How does federal or state funding for poor and LEP children affect the school's ability to provide an exemplary program?
- How do successful programs utilize funding sources to implement an integrated vision? What strategies do such programs use to win competitive awards and other funding?
- What are the factors that lead to successful long-term alliances between schools and external partners? What keeps the relationship dynamic and collaborative?
- What factors promote the development of a sense of being part of a larger, perhaps national, network of schools undertaking similar reform efforts?
- What state and district efforts are necessary to increase the school's sense of local autonomy? What state and district efforts are necessary to increase the school's sense of local accountability?
[Implications for Policy and Practice]
[Appendix: Cross-Site Analysis Tables]