Preparing Educators to Teach Students With Interrupted Formal Education

Abstract

his capstone acknowledges that educators are not always prepared to teach ELL SIFE students. Educators are vocal in saying that they do not feel prepared to teach students who are learning English as a second language. Therefore, the overarching research question is: How can schools prepare educators to work with Students with Interrupted Formal Education or SIFE? Some educators without the experience teaching students with specific language barriers have a negative perception on their learning style. The literature shows that school districts have the ability to prepare teachers through various learning programs and to change this perception. The literature identifies programs such as the newcomer programs and MALP. The capstone includes a PD that informs on what programs are available to implement with existing curriculum on a day-to-day basis. A study with teachers who use MALP shows a positive change in their classroom. The expectation of the participant is that they will introduce changes into their lesson and receive positive results throughout the course of the year. As a result, these changes will connect the participant with their students as they understand where they come from and their learning needs on a deeper level. Future research on how current and former SIFE students reacted to the country wide shutdown of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic is needed.