Project English Language and Literacy Acquisition – Validation (ELLA-V)
Between 2003-2008, researchers with Project English Language and Literacy Acquisition (ELLA) investigated the efficacy of structured English immersion and transitional bilingual education models in teaching Spanish-speaking kindergartners English language and literacy skills.
The current research validates and scales up the earlier project. Investigators are conducting a randomized, controlled trial to validate the individual interventions of Project ELLA and determine the degree of impact on English acquisition for native Spanish-speaking students in grades K-3. This research impacted 75 elementary school campuses, 600 teachers, and 15,000 students across the state of Texas.
Sponsored by the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund, U.S. Department of Education
Purpose
The purpose of Project ELLA-V, is to validate the intervention components of the original Project ELLA (funded by the Institution of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education). It will take place in 75 elementary schools across Texas in grades K-3 to determine the degree of impact that each intervention independently has on ELs English oral language, reading and/or science.
Goals
- To determine (a) the extent to which each of the ELLA intervention components, when implemented independently over 28 weeks, impact K-3 ELs’ growth in English language, reading and science; and (b) differences between treatment and control group ELs in the same areas, beginning with grade 3 and working backward each year through kindergarten so as not to contaminate any grade level by teacher or student exposure to any of the intervention components.
- To determine the impact of one of the original ELLA intervention components, professional development of teachers, in ELLA-V as was in ELLA, on a bimonthly basis but in an altered condition as virtual professional development.
Timeline & Design
Timeline
Year 1-2: Grade 3
Year 2-3: Grade 2
Year 3-4: Grade 1
Year 4-5: Kindergarten
Design
Step 1
- Select all districts with 6,000+ enrollment
- Select all schools with 80+ ELs in 2011-2012
Step 2
- Categorize schools by prior English achievement
- Cluster schools in groups of three by district, then by percent SES and percent EL
Step 3
- Randomly select 25 clusters
- Randomly assign schools to conditions
Total: 75 schools, 150 classrooms, 3,000 students per year
Advisory Board
- Wanda Bamberg, Ed.D., Superintendent, Aldine ISD
- Roberto Loredo, M.Ed., Superintendent, Donna ISD
- Catherine Robinson, M.Ed., Executive Director of Elementary Teaching & Learning, Spring Branch ISD
- Gwendolyn von Zharen, Ed.D., Regents Professor, Texas A&M University-Galveston
- Molly Weinburgh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Texas Christian University
- Judith Marquez, Ph.D., Professor, University of Houston-Clear Lake
- Alma Contreras, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Sam Houston State University
- Vivian Pratts, M.Ed., Director of Bilingual/ESL Programs, Spring Branch ISD
- Edith Landeck, Ph.D., Director of Grants Administration, United ISD
- Cynthia Cruz, M.Ed., Bilingual Director, Laredo ISD
- Altagracia “Gracie” Guerrero, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual Programs, Houston ISD
- Tracy Mansfield, M.Ed., Program Director of Elementary and Intermediate Science, Aldine ISD
- Melinda Perzan, Ed.D., Component Director, Region VI
- Pam Wells, Ed.D., Executive Director, Region IV
- Alma Cardenas-Rubio, M.Ed., Bilingual/ESL/Title III Administrator, Brownsville ISD
Our Partners
- Official School District Partners
- Third-Party Evaluation Team
- Official Private Sector Partners
- Collaborating Vendors
- Citrix Online
- GoToLearn
- Inline Resources
- McGraw-Hill Education
- Steps to Literacy
- thereNow
- Tk20
- Diem Technologies
- Pearson Education
- Riverside Publishing
- Avinext
Interventions
Year 1: Grade 3 Curriculum Interventions
Treatment I: Content Reading in Science for English Language and Literacy Acquisition (CRISELLA)
CRISELLA incorporates English language learning and literacy skills through the use of expository science text using the 5E lesson plan model, including at least three of the five E’s daily:
- Engage: making connections between past and present learning, helps focus student learning.
- Explore: provides students with a common base of experience though manipulating materials or exploring the environment.
- Explain: students verbalize understandings, teachers introduce formal definitions and explanations for concepts.
- Elaborate: students develop deeper and broader understandings by practicing skills extending learning.
- Evaluate: students and teachers evaluate understandings of concepts.
Lessons are designed to incorporate listening, speaking, reading, and writing as students learn English vocabulary, reading, and comprehension while learning academic science concepts. Reading fluency and comprehension are supported with strategies such as:
- Sound pronunciation,
- Partner reading and discussion of leveled questions,
- Graphic organizers, and
- Questioning strategies.
Lessons are aligned to the 3rd grade English language arts and science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), Common Core, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) – Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI).
Download CRISELLA lesson planTreatment II: Story retelling and higher order Thinking for English Language and Literacy Acquisition (STELLA) & Academic Oral and Written Language in Science (AOWLS)
Story retelling and higher order Thinking for English Language and Literacy Acquisition (STELLA) is a 35-minute scripted curriculum. The curriculum uses expository children’s literature in accordance with each of the 3rd grade science TEKS. One book per week is used to script the weekly lessons. STELLA is designed to include components that will help students increase their oral language and listening comprehension as well as their academic science vocabulary. The questions scripted in STELLA target the different question levels found in the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.
STELLA lessons are aligned to the TEKS in science and English language arts, the ELPS, the NGSS – DCI, and Common Core.
Academic Oral and Written Language in Science (AOWLS) aligns directly with science topics covered in the STELLA books. AOWLS:
- Targets academic vocabulary,
- Provides sentences using words in context,
- Asks a daily question using the target words,
- Presents visual aids for comprehension, and
- Aligns to state ELPS, science TEKS, and NGSS.
Presentations
Validating What Works
Dr. Rafael Lara-Alecio, Dr. Beverly Irby, Dr. Fuhui Tong, & Cindy Guerrero
i3 Project Directors Meeting, Washington, D.C., May 2013
Validating What Works
Dr. Rafael Lara-Alecio, Dr. Beverly Irby, Dr. Fuhui Tong, & Cindy Guerrero
ERC Seminar, Texas A&M University, September 2013
RCT District Highlights: Grade 1
Dr. Rafael Lara-Alecio, Dr. Beverly Irby, Dr. Fuhui Tong, & Dr. Cindy Guerrero
CRDLLA & ELRC Research Seminar, Texas A&M University, November 2016
ELLA-V Graduate Research Panel
Dr. Cindy Guerrero, Laura Cajiao-Wigenbach, Shifang Tang, Scott Ireland, Nariman Eljaouhari, Roya Pashmforoosh
CRDLLA & ELRC Research Seminar, Texas A&M University, October 2017
ELLA-Virsity
Part of the ELLA-V grant, ELLA-Virsity is a first release set of professional learning training sessions that begin at the grant-designated campuses, then roll out to all schools in the partnership districts, and finally to all Texas districts and beyond. ELLA-Virsity then becomes what Beverly Irby (Co-PI for ELLA-V) termed a MOOPL — a Massive Open Online Professional Learning course. Any teacher (or preservice teacher) or administrator who works with English learners and wishes to obtain cutting-edge information that is research based should find ELLA-Virsity to be a great source for professional development.
These are sponsored by the i3 U.S. Department of Education grant funds and the Center for Research and Development in Dual Language and Literacy Acquisition (CRDLLA) at Texas A&M University. Partners for ELLA-Virsity are the Educational Leadership Research Center and Center for Urban School Partnerships at Texas A&M and Citrix Go-to-Meeting.
Webinars
LDN offers free, open-access online professional development webinars, or Massive Open Online Informal Individual Learnings (MOOPILs) for teachers and school administrators.
If you have any problems accessing these presentations, please contact us at bilingualed@tamu.edu.
Assessments
Dual Language
Educational Technology
ELLs
Presenter: Serena Mari Garcia, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
Presenter: Jiacheng Lu, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
July 28, 2017
Presenter: Vicki Mokuria, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
July 26, 2017
Presenter: Kara Sutton-Jones, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
August 26, 2015
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Bowman-Perrott, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
March 3, 2014
Presenters: Dr. Norvella Carter, Professor, Texas A&M University
Clint Camp, Texas A&M University
Philip Jennings, Texas A&M University
Lacey Sarver, Texas A&M University
Alyson Vanek, Texas A&M University
January 6, 2014
Presenter: Dr. Johnitha Watkins Johnson, Texas A&M University
December 5, 2013
October 19, 2013
ELLA-V
Presenter: Dr. Cindy Guerrero, Senior Research Associate, Texas A&M University
September 22, 2015
Presenters: Dr. Rafael Lara-Alecio, Professor, Texas A&M University
Dr. Beverly Irby, Professor, Texas A&M University
Dr. Fuhui Tong, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
Cindy Guerrero, Lead Coordinator, Texas A&M University
September 18, 2013
English Language Arts
Presenter: Yue Min, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
July 28, 2017
Presenter: Jui-teng Li, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
August 31, 2015
August 3, 2015
August 3, 2015
Family Involvement
Parental Involvement and Technology
Presenter: José Carrillo, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
August 31, 2015
Establish Collaborative Relationships Between Non-English-Speaking Parents and Teachers in Dual Language Programs
Presenter: Yue Min, Doctoral Student, Texas A&M University
August 27, 2015
Presenter: Elizabeth Deurmeyer, Texas A&M University
October 25, 2013
Instructional Strategies
Academic Scaffolding Language and Learning to Support ELLs
Presenter: Dr. Detra Johnson, Research Associate, Texas A&M University
November 4, 2015
Visual Scaffolding
Presenter: Dr. Detra Johnson, Research Associate, Texas A&M University
September 15, 2015
Effective Teaching Strategies for English Language Learners
Presenter: Dr. Pei-lin Yang, Texas A&M University
September 9, 2015
Back to the Basics: Providing Effective Checks for Understanding and Meaningful Student Feedback
Presenter: Lolita A. Tabron, Doctoral Candidate, Texas A&M University
August 27, 2015
Strategy: Questioning
Presenter: Dr. Norma Ramos, Research Associate, Texas A&M University
March 24, 2015
Interactive Word Walls for ELL Classrooms
Presenter: Rosa Henao, Research Associate, Texas A&M University
March 24, 2015
Direct Instruction
Presenter: Detra Johnson, Research Associate, Texas A&M University
March 24, 2015
Building Academic Vocabulary in the Content Areas
Presenter: Dr. Tracy Spies, Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
November 6, 2014
Review/Preview
Presenter: Dr. Norma A. Ramos, Research Associate, Texas A&M University
August 15, 2014
Presenter: Claire Carson Benckenstein, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
December 3, 2013
Teaching As Reflection and Action: Six Principles of Adaptive Teaching
Presenter: Warren Phaahla Chalken, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
October 29, 2013
Math
Improving Instruction and Achievement of English Language Learners in Math Classrooms
Presenter: Elba Barahona, Ph.D. Candidate, Texas A&M University
August 31, 2015
Mathematics & The English Language Learner
Presenter: Kimberly M. Gibson-McClain, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
December 2, 2013
School Leadership
Culturally Responsive Teaching, Culturally Responsive Schools
Presenter: Nahed Abdelrahman
November 2, 2016
The Principal’s Role in Serving English Language Learners
Presenter: Kara Sutton-Jones, Doctoral Student, Texas A&M University
September 20, 2016
School Leadership and Student Achievement Based on Teacher Beliefs
Presenter: Nahed AbdelRahman, Doctoral Student, Texas A&M University
August 26, 2015
Providing Administrative Support for New Bilingual/ESL Teachers
Presenter: Aaron Griffen, Ph.D. Candidate, Texas A&M University
October 9, 2013
Science
Science Proficiency and the ELPS
Presenter: Jennifer K. LeBlanc, Ph.D. Student, Texas A&M University
December 27, 2013
Academic Language: Science in the Elementary School
Presenter: Dr. Janice Koch, Professor Emerita, Hofstra University
December 2, 2013