An Action Research Study: EAL and Content Teachers Collaborating to Support All Students at a Secondary School

Abstract

As the number of English as an Additional Language (EAL) students increases in Saskatchewan schools, there is a need for language and content teachers to work collaboratively. This study describes the implementation of an action research project involving the researcher as an EAL teacher collaborating with three content teachers and another EAL teacher serving as a “critical friend” (Costa and Kallick, 1993). Teachers used the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008) for structuring specialized instruction. Data included pre- and post-interviews, lesson plans and reflective journals. Grounded theory informed the theoretical framework and the data analysis. In order to reflect upon the progress of collaborative efforts, the Five Levels of Collaboration developed by Davison (2006) were used. Findings show that teachers developed professionally and were able to better support EAL students. One of the primary recommendations includes the necessity of administration to timetable common preparation times or teaching times. Establishing such supportive structures allows for collaborative partnerships to exist which provide teachers with greater opportunities to develop professionally for the purpose of better supporting EAL students. Keywords: collaboration, content, EAL, SIOP