Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners and Special Education

Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse Learners and Special
Education

Ch.12

EDMS 4102

Kimberly Garcia, Georgina Flores, Krisztina Lindsley, Yesenia Rodriguez

Who are CLD Learners?

●
●

●

Vestibulum conue

Culturally and Linguistically

Diverse (CLD) refers to

students who have a language
other than English who may or
may not be participating in ESL

services.

CLD students have been

disproportionately

represented in special

education

There are CLD students
with special needs and
identifying the issue is

complex

The term also includes

students who come from a

home, community or

school environment where
another language has had

a real and significant

impact on the student’s
development of English

language proficiency.

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-preteen-friends-park-smiling-camera-735971812

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true about CLD students with special needs?

• Identifying their needs is complex.

• They are always overrepresented in special education.

• They do not require any additional support.

• None of the above.

Scenarios & Issues

Essential Questions:

●How can these student’s
language acquisition, cultural
adjustment and emotional/
motivational difficulties be
distinguished from learning
problems?

●How can these problems be
addressed?

●How can a school district avoid
inappropriate referrals and
placements, AND ensure
access for CLD learners who
are learning disabled?

5th grade, Sonia

A native Spanish speaker from
Domin. Repub., did not attend
school until 2nd grade, learned
to read in Spanish, but now
does not have access to Span.
instruction. She now has low
reading skills, should she be
referred to SPED?

4th grade, Luke

Student who emigrated from
Romania, doesn’t want to
come to school, rather be at
home working, does his poor
performance at school
indicate a learning disability?

4th grade, Tran

Immigrant from isolated village in
Vietnam who’s parents want him
to learn only English, but parents
work all day and he spends
afternoons with Vietnamese
speaking grandma. His dual
personality in school leaves his
teacher wondering if he has a
learning disability.

5th grade, José Luis

New arrival students at
Kaylor elementary are
considered “fresh meat”
for gangs around the
neighborhood. José Luise
comes to school fearful
and never speaks at
school. Should he be
referred for help?

Principles in the Education of English Learners

There are five principal domains that characterise fair and effective processes for determining the
education services appropriate for CLD learners who may be experiencing learning difficulties.

Responsibility of
Students

ELL need to become
self-responsible and active
students who know how to
learn.

Student’s Need for
Self-Knowledge

Students need to
understand their own
learning styles, preferences,
and discover their strengths

Goals for
Instruction

Students need relevant
language and academic
goals that promote
effective communication in
social and academic areas

Need for Informed
Decision Making

Educational decisions about
CLD learners should involve
specialist, parents, and other
professionals, using fair
assessments of the child’s
language, culture, needs,
talents

Relationship of
Educational Services to
Mainstream Instruction

Any education setting
must provide educational
content and approaches
that facilitate a smooth
transition to mainstream

Testing for Special Education

Testing or evaluations will need to show a student’s strengths and challenges.

●Involves attention to linguistic as well as cultural factors that may interfere with students
academic performance. Krisztina Lindsley (KL)

Phase 1:

Descriptive
analysis.
Observations of
the student in
the classroom of
Oral dialogue,
and monologue
to see if student
has a
communication
deficiency
problem.

If Yes:

The student may
be referred to a
speech/language
therapist for
additional
mediation in
language
development

OR

the student may be referred for
additional interventions in language
development and the evaluation process
may continue, indicating that the student
has a communicative proficiency
problem as well as other problems.

Testing for Special Education continued

Krisztina Lindsley( KL)

If there is evidence of a learning problem phase 2 can begin:

Phase 2:

Explanatory Analysis

The examiner checks for extrinsic
factors, such as cultural or ethnic
background or level of acculturation
that determine if normal
second-language-acquisition or
crosscultural phenomena can
account for the student’s learning
difficulties.

Phase 3:

If the factors in phase 2
do not account for the
described difficulties,
then testing for Intrinsic
factors may begin

Check for Learning
disabilities.

●Teacher- family
conferences are a vital
component of
sustaining support for
the student.

●Teacher needs to have
student work samples
to share with parents
for context- does it
meet grade level? If
not family may be
more open to getting
additional support for
their student.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of an extrinsic factor that may affect a student's academic performance?

• Family background

• Cultural background

• Language proficiency

• All of the above

Collaboration among ELD Resource teachers &
Special Educators Yesenia R.

If a school has the funds to hire

an ELD specialist, this

professional engages in planning

content instruction while

imbedding English language

development skills with:

●Mainstream, bilingual, and
Special educators

Additionally, collaboration that is
done very close is refer to the
co-teaching model and it consists
of 2 teachers splitting classroom
duties or rotating roles of lead
and support teacher.

Collaborative relationships with an

interpreter may be helpful for

teachers whose primary language is
different from that of the student

under consideration.

Bilingual instructional aides shouldn't

be pressured to act as interpreters

or translators; instead, skilled

professionals should provide

interpretation.

The teacher should first meet with the

interpreter before meeting with the
parent. Then during the interaction,

the teacher should watch and listen to

the parent's nonverbal cues and

affective responses, as well as pay

attention to their body language,

facial expressions, and voice

intonations.

Throughout the initial intervention,

testing, and recommendation stages of a
special education referral, ELD services
are a constant resource for students.

An ELD teacher may choose to assist a
student directly by carrying out early

intervention strategies or indirectly

through collaborating with other

educators. parents, and peers.

Furthermore, the ELD teacher helps

write the student's Individualized

Education Plan (IEP).

To create and approve an IEP that will
lead to academic progress, cooperation

between ELD, special educators, the
classroom teacher, parents, and the

student is essential.

It is crucial that professionals treat one another with equality, collaborate freely, and share

responsibility for participation, decision-making, resources, and results. Ultimately, finding the

most effective classroom setting for a student is a shared goal.

Teaching Strategies for the CLD Special Learners
KrisztinaLindsley (KL)

Adaptive Listening Tasks
Before: Directly instruct listening
strategies.
Arrange information in short, logical,
well-organized segments.
Model ways to pay attention.
During:Actively involve students in
rehearsing, summarizing, and taking
notes.
Use purposeful, curriculum-related
listening activities.
Model listening behavior and use peer
models. After:
Discuss content. Use teacher questions
and prompts to cue student response
(e.g., “Tell me more”).

Adaptive Reading Tasks
Before:

●Check student’s reading level

●Find versions of the reading so reading level will match
students with below reading level.

●Bridge to students’ existing knowledge or help create new
schemata

●Teach new Vocabulary that will connect to the reading.

●Provide students with outlines or summaries

●Simpler versions may be read with peers or one on one with
an aid/paraprofessional.

During: Help students to focus by providing a noise free listening
area. Provide pictures or other multimodal input to supplement
reading.

After: Discuss and Clarify content. Review key vocabulary to solidify
comprehension.Use formative assessment to ask comprehension
questions one-on-one with students.

Strategies for Writing Conventions
krisztinaLindsley

To help CLD learners with spelling, display a word bank on a classroom wall with commonly used words that native speakers would already know.

●Help students select the most comfortable method of writing (i.e., cursive or manuscript).

● To improve handwriting, make available an optional calligraphy center where students can practice elegant forms of handwriting, with correct models available of cursive styles.

●Allow for group written responses

Use Assistive Techonlogy: Technology can help CLD students work along side their mainstream peers.

-Large Print formats for the visually impaired

-Tablets and computers to help with monitoring students progress and performance in real-time.

-Keyboards and touch screens

-Screen readers that read aloud the content on the screen-

-Use preformatted templates after reading to help students fill out questions regarding plot, setting, characters. These can help guide students to write their own stories by assisting
students with organizing and expressing their thoughts.

Adapting Homework Tasks

-Allow students to have more time to complete work by giving a longer due date

-Create Shorter assignments

-Create alternative formats and options for students * for example oral rather than written format)

Assessing Student Performance in the Mainstream
Classroom

Yesenia R.

➔

A key feature of instruction for inclusion is continuous student assessment.

➔

A variety of means are available to assess the success of the student in response to the
curriculum, instructional strategies, and social aspects of the inclusion environment.

Methods of Assessing the

Success of Included

Students

Direct observation

and analysis of

student products are
two ways to assess

the success of

included students.

Assessing Student’s Work

Before an IEP is approved, the

grading process for students with a

modified curriculum needs to be

addressed.

Districts establishing alternative

grading systems must make sure that

all rules and practices related to

grading are inclusive.

For students with disabilities, most

teachers consider pass-fail and

checklist ratings is more useful than

letter and number grades.

Using the Results of

Assessment

Continuous evaluation tracks the
degree to which the student's IEP

is being met. When the IEP is

approved, the assessment

activities must be quite specific so
that everyone in the collaborative

team knows exactly what their

duties and responsibilities are. The

results of the assessment are

promptly compared to the

performance goals outlined in the

IEP.

Assessing Student Performance in the Mainstream
Classroom Continued
Yesenia R.

➔

Under the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), states
must have guidelines in place for assessment accommodations and must report the number of
students using accommodations during state and district assessments.

➔

The purpose of these assessments accommodations is to more accurately measure the student’s
knowledge and skills.

Type of Accomodation

Examples

●Informational
presentation

●Equipment and material

●Response

●Setting

●Timing/ scheduling

●Use large print, braille, repeat
or read aloud directions

●Use a calculator, amplification
equipment, manipulatives

●Point, mark answers in book,
scribe, or record responses

●Use an individual carrel, student’s
home, or a separate room

●Provide extended time, frequent
breaks

Categories of Assessment Accommodations

Multiple Select

Which of the following is an example of a response accommodation?

• Providing extra time for the student to complete the task.
• Allowing the student to use a calculator during a math test.
• Giving the student a copy of the teacher's notes.
• Allowing a student to give their answer orally instead of writing it down.

Universal Design for Special Populations of English

Learners - Kim

The purpose for Universal Instructional Design (UID) is to “give each student meaningful
access to the curriculum” (Pg. 355)

UID is based off UD which stands for Universal Design.

Who is the “Special Population”?

EL’s with special needs include students with learning disabilities and vision, hearing, and mobility

impairments.

Universal Design for Special Populations of English

Learners - Kim

Universal Design was more physical access like wheelchair ramps and translators.

Universal Instructional Design ensures accessibility to learning resources and tools.

Universal Design seven

principles are:

1.Equitable

2. Flexibility

3. Simple and intuitive use

4. Perceptible information

5. Tolerance for error

6. Low physical effort

7.Size and space for approach and use

Principles of Universal Instructional Design

Applied to ELs with Special Needs

Principle

Definition

Application

Inclusiveness

A classroom climate that impacts all students

Use multiple forms to communicate. Welcome aides.

Physical access

Equipment and activities that minimize
continual physical effort, and accommodate
those with limited physical abilities

Use assistive technologies for deaf and hearing-impaired
students.

Delivery methods

Lessons given in multiple ways so all students
are provided the lesson.

Use audiovisuals like powerpoint, online read alongs, audio
recorders, provide copy of notes.

Information access

Use of captioned videos and accessible
electronic formats.

Information should be understandable and complete, not to
complex, key points should stand out and give clear criterias
for tests and assignments.

Interaction

Everyone should be able to access the
information without accommodations. Many
ways for students to participate.

Heterogeneous groups students work with other students who
are at different reading levels than them. In a homogeneous
group student's work with students who are at the same
reading level that they are.

Feedback

Prompting during an activity and constructive
comments after.

Have formative assessments for ongoing feedback

Demonstration of Knowledge

Many ways to show knowledge –group work,
demonstrations, portfolios and presentations.

Offer to whole class so that special needs students don’t feel
singled out.

English Learners with Communication

Challenges

Teachers should receive some sort of

training working with blind students

because visual teaching is our main way

of teaching.

Students with hearing impairments have

a different challenge and that is they are

from three communities; their ethnic

backgrounds, the Deaf community, and

the mainstream hearing people.

How to Help

Blind English

Learners

ELs with Hearing

Impairments

-Ask for access to a braille textbook. Or

create a group that can read for the

student.

-USE TECHNOLOGY. Text-to-speech and

voice recognition are both already

provided of Chromebooks.

-Teacher will need to be more vocal and

repeat words on board

-Classroom effort to give instruction

• Captioned when showing videos.

• Learn sign language as a class

• Increase the use of visual materials

• Speak face-to-face using natural

speech.

• Group work

• Use gestures to help understanding

when teaching.

• Use peer buddies

Multiple Choice

How can we support ELs with a visual impairment?

• Use tactile objects and models
• Use audio descriptions
• Provide braille materials
• All of the above

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

White Children 1 of 83

Latino Children 1 of 127

African American Children 1 of 98

• Behavioral Training

• Speech and language therapy

• One-on-One work

• ELD Services like RSP

Classroom intervention

Multiple Choice

It is easier for student with impairments because they receive more services and accommodations than the general population of students?

• True

• False

Bilingual Special Education primary goal:

Teachers should be actively involved
throughout the assessment process,

with assessment-based curricular

adaptations becoming a major part of
the intervention process before a new

student is referred for special education

services, and a diagnostic teaching

model put in place instead of a remedial

approach

Classroom should

conform to the needs
of students rather than
students conforming to

the classroom

Efforts should be
made to increase

academic

performance of CLD

special education

students

Multiple Choice

Bilingual Special Education primary goal:

• To focus on teaching English language learners without disabilities.
• To provide specialized instruction and support to students without disabilities.
• To provide specialized instruction and support to English language learners with disabilities.
• To prioritize the needs of English language learners over students with disabilities.