Standard 2 (7): The unit must ensure each program provides effective instruction on using a student's native language as a resource in creating effective differentiated instructional strategies for multilingual learners developing literacy skills.

The UED recognizes and instructs teacher candidates that each urban student comes to school, not only with a variety of academic needs, but also with unique background experiences, culture, language, personality, interests, and attitudes toward learning. It is also one of our guiding principles that effective urban teachers focus on students’ assets rather than deficits. While English mastery is important for success in school, a 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes that being fluent in more than one language contributes to academic success. Thus, urban teacher candidates in each of our licensure programs are instructed to use a student's native language as a resource in creating effective differentiated instructional strategies for multilingual learners developing literacy skills. They learn how to strategically and intentionally celebrate and extend multilingual children’s linguistic expertise as well as their participation in learning activities.

UED teacher candidates are equipped with knowledge and skill to effectively design instruction that is accessible to ELLs or multilingual learners. Teacher candidates are taught how to leverage a student’s native language skills as a foundation for learning English and for all later learning starting with getting to know as much as possible about the student and their cultural/linguistic background. While taking the reading courses, teacher candidates are introduced to a number of strategies to support home multilingual learners including: (i) Building on a child’s prior experience and Background Knowledge, (ii) Including the family’s cultures and traditions in learning to Support Background Knowledge, (iii) Supporting Book Knowledge and Print Concepts by reading books and telling stories in the child’s home language, (iv) Using props and materials for hands-on learning that promotes Oral Language and Vocabulary, (v) Supporting Phonological Awareness as well as Alphabet Knowledge and Early Writing in the home language, and (vi) Explaining the meanings of words in the home language and English to build Oral Language and Vocabulary.

Additionally, teacher candidates are introduced to technology that is helpful, like Google Translate for ELLs to quickly translate key words and phrases. Moreover, by embracing technology, students can preview learning materials in their native languages using multilingual videos and other online resources. With this additive approach to language, multilingual learners are supported to do better and have a greater chance of mastery.  

Intentional focus on using multilingual children’s linguistic expertise for literacy in elementary, secondary and special education programs is covered in the Teaching and Assessing English Learnings in K-12 Content Area Classrooms (EDU 435/635) course. During the course, students are exposed to learning opportunities that include reading assignments from the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol Model and developing original lesson plans using this model. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model is a research-based and validated instructional model that has proven effective in addressing the academic needs of English language learners throughout the United States: specifically referenced for use with L1 students to clarify concepts for students. This is integrated in several other courses as well. For example within the ESL licensure program, in the Theories and Methods of Language Learning (EDU 452/652) course, there is a strong focus on recognizing the importance of leveraging students’ home languages as resources in differentiating instruction rather than a strict English-only approach. Specifically, this is done through classroom simulations that are forced immersion experiences in a new language (Korean), as well as structured dialogues about how these experiences inform their teaching and what strategies were effective in helping them to grasp the language, followed up by lesson planning assignments demonstrating how this can be implemented in the classroom. Candidates in the Early Childhood Education program learn how to work with families and build upon home languages in the Urban Infant-Toddler Curriculum & Practicum (EDU 321) course as well as Language and Communication Development in Early Childhood (PSYC 417) course. In PSYC 417 all Early Childhood Education candidates are introduced to foundational knowledge of the development of the communication skills in young children from birth through age eight. The process of learning more than one language is addressed as well as strategies for working with children for whom English is not the first language.

Elementary and Secondary candidates are taught several differentiated strategies to encourage and promote literacy among English learners. In EDU 483 course, teacher candidates are introduced to reading materials, assessment methods, and submit a chapter presentation and book chapter report. For example, in the book, "Teaching Children to Read", each chapter has one session that focuses on supporting home literacy practices, for instance "how family and community connections can foster phonics development outside the classroom" or, "how family and community connections can support early reader" etc. Other reading materials address different languages and literacy practices at home and community. In EDU 330, teacher candidates participate in storytelling, where they are encouraged to read a traditional story or folktale from any cultural tradition, and share it with classmates. Also, the Young Adult (YA) books chosen for class reading  are written either by BIPOC authors, women, or folks from the disability community. Candidates are required to choose a book that has been significant to their life in some way, bring it to class and share it, in “book talk” format, explaining about the book, its significance, and how it might be used in their future classrooms.

Additionally, UED faculty have participated in an in-house enrichment session on multilingualism as an asset facilitated by the ESL program faculty coordinator. The faculty development session began with a workshop in the fall of 2022, and included an interactive classroom simulation allowing faculty colleagues to deconstruct benefits of integrating multilingualism as an asset and to consider how to integrate this into their own teacher education classrooms in ways that the teacher candidates can also adapt into their own K-12 teaching practices. This professional development topic will continue to be addressed annually at faculty meetings.

The instructor who teaches the Teaching and Assessing English Language Learners (EDU 435/635) course is qualified as reflected in their credentials evidenced in Standard 24 of this report. In addition to the terminal degree, the instructor has a Masters degree in Second Languages and Cultures and has completed 18 graduate credits in the area of instruction, a dissertation and a state-approved teacher preparation program, and published in a peer reviewed journal. Additionally, the instructor has a Minnesota State Spanish K-12 teaching license and has over 15 years ESL teaching experience in St. Paul Schools and currently serving as the Executive Director of the Office of Multilingual Learning in St. Paul Public Schools.

Evidence of effective instruction is derived from the signature assessment in the Teaching and Assessing English Language Learners (EDU 435/635) course and the course syllabus for Elementary, Secondary, and Special Education licensure programs. Key teacher candidates course activities include demonstrating teaching strategies, developing lesson modifications, and evaluating textbooks, other learning materials, and resources available in the field for incorporating home languages. In the Urban Infant-Toddler Curriculum & Practicum (EDU 321) course, Early Childhood Education teacher candidates prepare a picture book for very young children using L1 and L2. Course instructors use a rubric built and accessed in Taskstream to score the assignments to demonstrate candidate mastery of knowledge and also capture more detailed data to support program improvement.

Starting in the fall of 2022, all teacher candidates also complete a questionnaire in TaskStream just before starting student teaching and at the completion of student teaching about the effectiveness of instruction they received related to this component and all other components of Standard 2. Wherever and whenever either candidates’ scores or questionnaire responses point to the need for improvement to ensure instructional effectiveness, these data are used to re-examine course curriculum, assessments and instructional methods to ensure effectiveness.