Building Communities of Practice for the Empowerment of Historically Marginalized Students: A Focus on Students with Disabilities and English Learners
The educational landscape of the 21st century is a vibrant tapestry of diverse identities, cultures, languages, and abilities. Yet, a significant number of students, specifically those who are historically marginalized, such as students with disabilities and English Learners (ELs), find themselves grappling with barriers to equitable education.
This article delves into a meaningful change project, directed at improving instructional practices and student learning within an educational setting. This article navigates through a phased approach to identify, design, and implement one change effort that is focused on the work of one school district in California.?
For this project, we focused in on one district, an educational institution, that focuses on committed to nurturing the whole child to thrive in a global community. The district's mission is to ensure every student feels safe, valued, and loved in a supportive and inclusive learning environment while receiving the best education possible. It also encompasses a diverse community with an enrollment of over 8,000 students spanning various cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Additionally, this district is dedicated to providing high-quality education to all students, with a strong emphasis on academic achievement, character development, and the cultivation of 21st century skills. It is comprises several elementary and middle schools, each offering comprehensive programs in various academic disciplines, along with a robust array of extracurricular activities. the district believes in creating a rich, diverse learning environment that encourages critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.
Phase I: Identify the Change
This district has been facing major challenges in terms of adequately serving its marginalized student populations, particularly students with disabilities and English Learners (ELs). The needed change is to establish an effective community of practice (CoP) that will facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration, and development of innovative instructional strategies tailored to these specific student groups. CoPs, as proposed by Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder (2002), provide an avenue for professionals to share ideas and create deep foundational knowledge across the educational community, eventually improving the the organization's effectiveness and increasing student learning and engagement.
CoPs are defined as groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise. They form naturally among people who engage in a common activity regularly. These communities are deemed a powerful way to develop and share knowledge, stimulate learning, and foster innovation within organizations. These CoPs focus on:
This change is pivotal for several reasons. First, implementing a CoP will improve collaboration among educators, fostering a sense of collective responsibility towards the learning outcomes of all students, including historically marginalized students. Second, it could help address the diverse needs of ELs and students with disabilities more holistically. Lastly, a successful CoP has the potential to transform the overall learning culture in the district, providing a model for other districts facing similar challenges.
This proposed change will have a far-reaching impact, encompassing the district stakeholders, including students, teachers, administrative staff, parents, and the larger community. Establishing a CoP not only benefits the immediate users (educators) but also brings about improved learning outcomes for students, thereby indirectly affecting all stakeholders and the larger community.
Phase II: Designing the Change
Drawing from the concepts in Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder's (2002) "Cultivating Communities of Practice," we envision creating professional learning communities (PLCs) within the district. These PLCs would serve as a platform for teachers to collaborate, learn from each other, and cultivate effective strategies for teaching ELs and students with disabilities.
A cornerstone of our proposed change is a coaching model, as detailed in Teemant, Wink, & Tyra's (2011) study. This study investigates the impact of coaching on the incorporation of sociocultural teaching practices by teachers.
Sociocultural teaching practices refer to the methods and approaches that recognize the importance of students' cultural backgrounds and societal contexts in their learning. These practices emphasize collaboration, discourse, and the integration of students' unique cultural experiences into the curriculum.
The results showed that coaching had a significant positive effect on teachers' adoption and use of sociocultural instructional practices. Teachers who received coaching were more likely to incorporate these practices into their teaching, demonstrating a greater awareness of students' cultural backgrounds and societal contexts in their instruction.
In addition, teachers who received coaching showed increased confidence in their ability to teach diverse student populations. They were more comfortable creating collaborative, inclusive classroom environments that recognized and respected students' unique cultural experiences.
This Community of Practice (CoP) model will foster sociocultural instructional practices, helping teachers to better recognize and utilize the cultural resources that their students bring into the classroom. The program would include an initial training session for all teachers, followed by ongoing coaching to support the application of new strategies in their classrooms. In addition, PLC meetings will allow teachers to share their experiences, discuss student outcomes, and refine their approaches collectively.
领英推荐
Phase III: Implementing the Change
The implementation of this change would occur incrementally over a year. The initial phase would involve training sessions and the formation of PLCs. The following months would focus on classroom application and ongoing coaching. PLCs would meet monthly, offering spaces for teachers to collaborate and share their experiences.
According to Artiles et al. (2010), it is important to note that culture is complex and dynamic, and it should not be reduced to a set of static traits or seen as the root cause of educational difficulties. The authors propose a new approach to address disproportionality, which involves recognizing the dynamic nature of culture and its influence on teaching and learning. They suggest that culture should be seen as a resource for learning, rather than a barrier. This includes recognizing and valuing the knowledge and skills that students from diverse backgrounds bring to the classroom, as well as adapting teaching methods to be more culturally responsive. With this in mind, it would be important to build on the collaborative learning experiences of educators in their PLCs to create internal accountability during the implementation process.
For this change to succeed, it will be important to consider the organizational culture of the district and actively involve all stakeholders. Administration, teachers, parents, and students all need to be on board with the changes, understanding the goals, and the ways in which it will affect them. Their feedback should be solicited and considered at each stage of the implementation.
Phase IV: Evaluating the Impact
The impact of this change can be assessed at multiple levels, starting with teacher instructional practices. Observations and surveys can be used to measure the extent to which teachers integrate sociocultural instructional practices into their teaching.
Furthermore, it will be crucial to evaluate the impact on students' learning. Measures would include student achievement data (standardized test scores, grades), language proficiency assessments for ELs, and the learning goals on the individualized education program (IEP) progress for students with disabilities.
Lastly, it will be vital to measure the changes in school culture over time, particularly in terms of inclusivity and collaboration. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups with teachers, students, and parents can provide rich, qualitative data on these aspects.
In conclusion, this change project aims to address the pressing need in the the district for improved teaching practices that cater effectively to ELs and students with disabilities. By fostering communities of practice and implementing a coaching model, we hope to cultivate a more inclusive, responsive educational environment in the district. Implementing this change will require careful planning, ongoing support, and rigorous evaluation. Yet, the promise of improved student outcomes and a more equitable educational experience makes this endeavor profoundly worthwhile.
References
Artiles, A. J., Kozleski, E. B., Trent, S. C., Osher, D., & Ortiz, A. (2010). Justifying and explaining disproportionality, 1968–2008: A critique of underlying views of culture. Exceptional Children, 76(3), 279-299.
Hehir, T., Grindal, T., Freeman, B., Lamoreau, R., Borquaye, Y., & Burke, S. (2016). A summary of the evidence on inclusive education. Abt Associates.
Lee, O., Quinn, H., & Valdés, G. (2013). Science and language for English language learners in relation to Next Generation Science Standards and with implications for Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics. Educational Researcher, 42(4), 223-233.
Teemant, A., Wink, J., & Tyra, S. (2011). Effects of coaching on teacher use of sociocultural instructional practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(4), 683-693.
Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Harvard Business Press.
Learn More about Effective Practices to Support English Learners at the Empower Your English Learners! Podcast.