Project Activities
Focused program of research
CREATE's focused program of research included the following projects.
Project QuEST, Quality English and Science Teaching
Principal Investigator: Diane August, Center for Applied Linguistics
Project QuEST (Quality English and Science Teaching) investigated a systematic intervention model to concurrently develop science content and language and literacy skills in middle school English language learners. The overarching goal of this project was to improve the language and literacy instruction of English-language learners and their English-proficient peers and concurrently build their knowledge of key science concepts at the sixth grade level.
Adaptations of Peer-Assisted Learning for English Language Learners: Application to Middle-School Social Studies Classes
Principal Investigator: Sharon Vaughn, University of Texas at Austin
This project addressed the critical need to provide effective instruction for ELL students in social studies classes in seventh grade. Specifically, the study was designed to examine the efficacy of social studies instruction that is enhanced with specific instructional and learning strategies, supplemental materials (for example, video), and purposeful pairing of students. The goal was to enhance knowledge acquisition and vocabulary/concept learning through systematic practices associated with improved outcomes for ELL students in middle school content classes.
Adapting Texts to English Language Learners' Needs
Principal Investigator Catherine Snow, Harvard University
This project developed alternative, simpler forms of texts to make them more accessible to ELL students. The ELL-accessible paragraphs provided a basis for a modified, ELL-focused version of Word Generation, an interdisciplinary middle school academic language support program.
Word Generation is a vocabulary support program designed to be used in middle schools across all content areas: it uses engaging paragraphs to present all-purpose academic words as well as activities to help students learn them. It was developed with support from the Strategic Education Research Partnership and formatively evaluated in Boston Public Middle Schools.
The Impact of the SIOP Model on Middle School Science and Language Learning
Principal Investigators Deborah Short and Jennifer Himmel, Center for Applied Linguistics
Jana Echevarria, and Catherine Richards, California State University, Long Beach
One promising approach to improve the academic performance of ELL students is the SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) Model, an empirically-tested, research-based model of sheltered instruction developed by researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics and California State University, Long Beach. It incorporates best practices for teaching academic English and provides teachers with a coherent approach for improving the achievement of their students.
This study investigated the impact of the SIOP Model on student academic achievement in science, a subject area with high language demands. The researchers planned to scale-up the research to multiple sites across the U.S. in a series of controlled, randomized studies.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Book
Graves, M.F., August, D., and Mancilla-Martinez, J. (2012). Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners.New York: Teachers College Press.
Book chapter
De La Varre, C., Keane, J., Irvin, M.J., and Hannum, W.H. (2009). Social Support for Online Learning in Rural High Schools. In B. Whitworth, and A. De Moor (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Socio-Technical Design and Social Networking Systems (pp. 575-588). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
Echevarria, J., and Short, D. (2010). Programs and Practices for Effective Sheltered Content Instruction. California Department of Education (Ed.), Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches (pp. 250-321). Sacramento, CA: CDE Press.
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
August, D., Branum-Martin, L., Cardenas-Hagan, E., and Francis, D.J. (2009). The Impact of an Instructional Intervention on the Science and Language Learning of Middle Grade English Language Learners. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4): 345-376.
Echevarria, J., Richards-Tutor, C., Chinn, V., and Ratleff, P. (2011). Did They get it? The Role of Fidelity in Improving Teaching for English Learners. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 54(6): 425-434.
Francis, D.J., and Vaughn, S. (2009). Effective Practices for English Language Learners in the Middle Grades. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4): 289-296.
Lawrence, J., Capotosto, L., Branum-Martin, L., White, C., and Snow, C. (2012). Language Proficiency, Home-Language Status, and English Vocabulary Development: A Longitudinal Follow-Up of the Word Generation Program. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(3): 437-451.
Short, D. (2013). Training and Sustaining Effective Teachers of Sheltered Instruction. Theory Into Practice, 52(2): 118-127.
Short, D., Echevarria, J., and Richards-Tutor, C. (2011). Research on Academic Literacy Development in Sheltered Instruction Classrooms. Language Teaching Research, 15(3): 363-380.
Short, D., Fidelman, C., and Louguit, M. (2012). Developing Academic Language in English Language Learners Through Sheltered Instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 46(2): 333-360.
Snow, C.E., Lawrence, J.F., and White, C. (2009). Generating Knowledge of Academic Language Among Urban Middle School Students. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, (Special Issue: Effective Practices for English Language Learners in the Middle Grades), 2(4): 325-344.
Vaughn, S., Martinez, L.R., Linan-Thompson, S., Reutebuch, C.K., Carlson, C.D., and Francis, D.J. (2009). Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension for Seventh-Grade English Language Learners: Findings From Two Experimental Studies. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4): 297-324.
Nongovernment report, issue brief, or practice guide
August, D., Artzi, L., and Mazrum, J. (2010). Improving Science and Vocabulary Learning of English Language Learners: CREATE Briefs.Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Echevarria, J. (2012). Effective Practices for Increasing the Achievement of English Learners.Washington, DC: Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners.
Echevarria, J., and Hasbrouck, J. (2009). Response to Intervention and English Learners.Washington, DC: Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners.
Echevarria, J., and Short, D. (2011). The SIOP Model: A Professional Development Framework for Comprehensive School-Wide Intervention.Washington, DC: Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners.
Himmel, J., Short, D.J., Richards, C., and Echevarria, J. (2009). Using the SIOP Model to Improve Middle School Science Instruction.Washington, DC: Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners.
Project website:
Supplemental information
Key Personnel: Diane August, Coleen Carlson, Jana Echevarria, David Francis, Elfrieda Hiebert, Sylvia Linan-Thompson, Catherine Richards, Deborah Short, Catherine Snow, Sharon Vaughn.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
