ABSTRACT
The chapter reports on two primary outcomes of a professional development (PD) training program provided to in-service elementary school teachers, school administrators, and other education specialists (N = 35). The PD coursework focused on how the participants can effectively support the language development and overall success of English learners (ELs) with and without disabilities in general education classrooms. The two main areas of interest in this study include: (1) Educators’ general knowledge about language acquisition and working with ELs with and without disabilities, and (2) Educators’ familiarity and application of specific instructional practices recommended for working with such students. Each area was evaluated by the participants’ responses to multiple survey items on a four-point Likert scale. The comparison of the participants’ pre- and post-coursework responses was analyzed quantitatively, and the results revealed substantial gains across both areas of interest as well as gains along with the majority of the surveyed individual aspects within each area. The discussion of the findings is grounded in the tradition of advocating for educators’ PD that supports work-embedded collaboration, promotes the use of research-driven teaching decisions about working with ELs at different proficiency levels, and incorporates feedback and reflective practices.
