Overview
The Center for the Success of English Learners (CSEL) is an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Research and Development Center formed by researchers from MCPER and six other institutions to focus on addressing the critical need of improving opportunities and achievement for English learners in secondary school settings. CSEL is organized around two major research strands: (1) identifying and removing barriers related to school tracking through analysis of administrative and newly collected data using a mixed-methods approach (policy strand) and (2) developing and testing instructional interventions that improve social studies and science instruction for English learners in the secondary grades (intervention strand). MCPER’s Sharon Vaughn serves as the overall associate director of CSEL and lead investigator of the social studies research. Since 2020, MCPER staff members have been involved in intervention and assessment development and a series of randomized controlled trials to examine the efficacy and feasibility of instructional approaches for secondary English learners.
Goals of the Study
- Examine extant and newly collected data to identify barriers (e.g., school tracking) related to access for English learners (policy strand)
- Develop and test the efficacy of instructional approaches designed to improve outcomes in science and social studies for English learners in secondary grades (intervention strand)
Project Design
Purpose and Background
The purpose of this project is derived directly from two recent consensus reports from the National Academies on promoting the educational success of children and youth learning English (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017) and English learners in STEM content learning (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). These reports highlight the importance of both policies and instructional practices that provide English learners access to grade-level course content.
Research Plans
The project is organized around two major research strands, one focused on policies and practices related to school tracking and one focused on improving secondary student outcomes in science and social studies through development and testing of interventions that leverage the use of three proven instructional elements that operate across disciplines: purposeful active engagement of students, team-based learning, and formative assessment.
In the first 2 years, the MCPER team engaged in the social studies instruction development work, enhancing lessons through iterative improvement cycles that culminated in a fully developed set of integrated practices that social studies teachers can implement with their students in secondary grades. The team also has been collecting data on the usability, feasibility, social validity, and promise of the instructional approaches developed. Years 3–5 are dedicated to examining the efficacy of these instructional approaches through a series of large-scale randomized control trials.
Participants
Middle school and high school English learners and their teachers
Dissemination Activities
As a National Research and Development Center funded by IES, CSEL will engage in national leadership and dissemination activities. These activities will be primarily promoted on the project’s primary website. Look out for opportunities to learn more about ongoing policy and intervention research.
Instructional Resources
The CSEL social studies research team at MCPER, in collaboration with classroom teachers, adapted four units from SERP’s Social Studies Generation (SoGen) materials into World Generation (WorldGen).