Professional Development for Staff Serving ELL

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

In her article, Facilitating the Transitions of Secondary English Language Learners: Priorities for Principals, Tamara Lucas identifies support of professional development as one of her six priorities.

She recommends multiple opportunities for ongoing learning for teachers and other school staff. She states that for professional development to have a long-lasting effect, it should go beyond a traditional workshop delivered by experts. Educators need to develop a vision and plan for their own learning. (NASSP 2000)

Lucas indicates that professional development should focus on the following:

• The nature of culture and cultural diversity
• The history and nature of immigration and the education of immigrants in the United States
• The relationship of language to culture and identity
• First and second language development
• Approaches to teaching content area material to ELLs
• Approaches to assessing content area learning by ELLs

For school staffs encountering ELLs for the first time, it is important to be comprehensive in learning about the multiple issues facing ELL students and their families.

Source:

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Bulletin - November 2000, Vol. 85, No. 619. Tamara Lucas is an associate professor at Montclair State University, New Jersey. Her work has focused on improving the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

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