Teaching simulations can be used to field test a selected teaching approach in isolation or in context. Teaching simulations have become increasingly popular as a viable pedagogical method that affords TCs essential learning experiences that mimic real-world application in a low-stakes setting ( Bautista and Boone, 2015). Moreover, teacher educators need to help their TCs address the needs of their ELs in in-person, virtual, or hybrid educational environments. Given the constraints of campus closures during the 2020–2021 academic school year and moving traditional face-to-face (F2F) instruction to virtual learning or some hybrid model, teacher educators needed to provide TCs with different teaching-learning experiences to supplement the diminished quantity and quality of meaningful field experience. EL-related field experience is designed to provide time and space for TCs to 1) learn to observe ELs’ behaviors in academic learning, 2) evaluate or assess ELs’ learning outcomes, 3) practice general and content pedagogy acquired in method classes, and 4) confirm or confront their educational beliefs and teaching philosophies based on their interactions with ELs in class. California schools continued to implement distance learning throughout the 2020–2021 academic year however, the question remained how teacher preparation programs could support TCs to gain meaningful field experience or to provide an alternative experience during campus closures when the interactions with K-12 students were extremely limited. These events blocked TCs from completing student teaching face-to-face. The national stay-at-home orders and campus closures due to COVID-19 increased the lurking achievement gap and digital divide for ELs whose familial resources were already lacking ( Sawchuk, 2020 Watson and Rosenhall, 2020). Teacher preparation programs in California public universities must bear the responsibility to educate upcoming TCs to teach ELs in their communities effectively.ĬOVID-19 has presented additional barriers in receiving meaningful learning for ELs and TCs who are about to instruct them. Additionally, California's EL student population statistically represents socioeconomically disadvantaged families that hover below the poverty level ( Public Policy of California, 2020) and suffer from intersectional disadvantages. California has the highest percentage of ELs in the United States, with over 18% of the total student population identified ( California Department of Education, 2020). Research shows ELs, many of whom are students of color, are negatively impacted disproportionately by poor-quality instruction than their English-only counterparts ( Public Policy of California, 2020). Teachers might also formulate their own assumptions on these ELs’ motivation, engagement, and capabilities based on their beliefs or interaction with ELs. Subsequently, teachers might adopt a deficit perspective of their ELs’ educational outlook, lower the standards, or adjust their expectations of ELs’ ability based on their performance. Based on their personal experience or the empirical evidence such as data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Report Card, some teachers might believe it is expected that ELs’ educational performances would lag behind their English-only peers.
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Supporting teacher candidates to develop the competency of teaching ELs is imperative for teacher preparation programs.Įqually important, teacher educators and teacher candidates (TC) need to join in the collective reflection on their perception of ELs and the persistent achievement gaps between ELs and non-ELs.
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FISHBOWL INVENTORY FORUM PROFESSIONAL
All teachers must acquire professional knowledge and teaching strategies to address the learning barriers that are related to ELs’ English language development and their struggles of accessing the content of instruction delivered via academic language. For these ELs, robust generic instruction is necessary but not sufficient to support their academic learning needs. By contrast, 20–25% of non-ELs’ reading scores in the same grade were at or below Basic levels. For example, since 2002, 68–74% of ELs’ reading scores in Grade 8 were at or below Basic levels. According to the NAEP Report Card published by the National Center for Educational Statistics (2020), the achievement gaps between English learners (ELs) and non-ELs in the United States have remained stable over the years.