The Mission and Purpose
The mission of the iTeachELLs grant project is to prepare educators to teach culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
iTeachELLs purpose is to change the culture of how teacher preparation programs prepare teachers to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Theory of Improvement
The theory of improvement is that all learning occurs through language, therefore all teachers are language teachers. Instructional standards have changed, teaching and learning has changed and language plays a different role in instruction.
The Change
From language instruction then content to language instruction through content
Method of Improvement
Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning (PBELL)
iTeachELLs unique approach to problem-based learning takes the established PBL pedagogy and enhances the student experience through supporting and developing specific language skills. This approach is called Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning. Within a PBELL environment, students utilize language collaboratively in order to access prior knowledge, research new topics, brainstorm and discuss potential solutions, and present their findings to an audience.
Over 1500 educators have participated in professional development sessions on PBELL led by an experienced iTeachELLs instructional coach. Those 1500 educators across 52 Arizona school districts have exposed over 30,000 students to deeper learning and engagement through PBELL experiences. In addition, the iTeachELLs project team has presented on PBELL at 22 conferences across North America reaching more than 3000 educators.
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