Building Collaboration Between ESL And Mainstream Classrooms: A Professional Development Curriculum Guide

In many parts of the United States of America, teachers are teaching in increasingly diverse and multicultural classrooms with a high volume of English Language Learners (ELLs). If ELLs are to succeed, it is imperative that mainstream classroom teachers have the knowledge to provide instruction that meets the language needs, so that these students grow in academic language and achieve the learning objectives of the grade level. Unfortunately, most teacher preparation programs and school districts are not providing a sufficient amount of training for general education teachers working with ELLs and ESL teachers. The purpose of this capstone was to develop and provide a research-based professional development guide that fosters culturally responsive teaching, so that mainstream classroom teachers can learn about and implement some of the effective ESL standards and instructional strategies, collaborate with ESL teachers to work together to bridge the gap between ESL and mainstream classrooms, and as a result, increase student success. This work explores the different types of ELLs and ESL program models, studies the most effective ESL standards and instructional teaching practices under the Minnesota Administrative Rules, considers the Minnesota Department of Education teacher quality criteria, and researches the most effective and high-quality professional development practices, to create a professional development curriculum