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Chicago Bilingual Summer Mathematics Laboratory

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 Background

Current national, Illinois, and CPS recommendations to improve K–12 mathematics education are founded on the conviction that all students deserve a rich mathematics program. This includes students who are in the process of learning English as a second language. The mathematics reform recommendations include heavy emphasis on problem-solving, mathematical reasoning, communication of mathematical ideas, and connections within mathematical topics and between mathematics and other disciplines. The increased language and communication demands that are central to standards-based mathematics curricula¹ present challenges for all students, especially second language learners. The Chicago Bilingual Summer Mathematics Laboratory expands access to standards-based mathematics instruction for these students and links such instruction with the development of English language proficiency.

Addressing the needs of English language learners in relation to the demands of reform mathematics curricula has gathered increased importance in Chicago with system-wide implementation of guidelines for transition of students from bilingual programs into all-English classrooms². As a result of the policy changes, there is increasing pressure to speed up the transition of students into English-only classes. Research on second language acquisition (see Collier, 1989)³ indicates that many of these students will be challenged by the cognitively demanding language of standards-based mathematics curricula. For language minority students to maintain access to rich curricula, it is essential that teachers understand how to prepare them for the transition to an all-English learning environment. It is similarly essential for teachers in all-English classrooms to acknowledge and address the language-related needs of transitioned students. The Chicago Bilingual Summer Mathematics Laboratory provides strategies for addressing these needs.

There are striking similarities between approaches used in teaching a reform mathematics program and those used by good teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). These include extensive use of hands-on activities, an emphasis on reading, writing, and oral communication, and promotion of activities involving real-life situations. The similarities in best practices among the two disciplines create a natural opportunity to link ESL and mathematics instruction. The same contexts and strategies that are used to develop mathematical concepts in a reform mathematics curriculum can also be used to develop second language proficiency. Accomplishing this is the focus of the Chicago Bilingual Summer Mathematics Laboratory. The program takes advantage the communication requirements of a standards-based mathematics curriculum and interjects ESL strategies into mathematics instruction. Similarly mathematical contexts are used in ESL instruction. The goal is increased student achievement in mathematics and improved English language proficiency. 

The approaches used in Chicago Bilingual Summer Mathematics Laboratory were developed and tested in 1998 during a pilot program that was jointly sponsored by the TIMS Project⁴ and the Chicago Public Schools Office of Language and Cultural Education, which oversees the school system’s bilingual education and ESL programs. The pilot project involved 15 classrooms and approximately 200 students. In 1999, the program was expanded to include over 475 students from 28 classrooms in 14 schools. The program combined a four-week laboratory summer school with a professional development program for teachers. Standards-based mathematics materials developed by the TIMS Project were used for the summer school curriculum. The Summer 2000 program involved 620 students from 47 classrooms in 20 schools. 

Professional development includes discussion about effective practices and materials for teaching mathematics, as well as effective strategies for teaching ESL. This was provided via a study group format. UIC personnel designed and presented a model that helped teachers organize their lesson planning so that objectives for both mathematics and ESL were incorporated into the lessons. Teachers jointly prepared lessons and then tried the lessons in morning summer school classes. To help assess the viability of teaching standards-based mathematics in English to LEP students, classes were taught predominantly in English, with native language support provided as needed. Students used either English or their native language for oral and written communication, depending upon their English language proficiency and the context of the lesson. Two or three afternoons per week, the teachers met in study group sessions where they discussed how the morning classes went, carefully analyzed student work, discussed research articles, and jointly planned subsequent lessons. Using the summer "teaching laboratory" allowed teachers to experiment with and reflect on new practices. The interactive and collegial nature of the study groups encouraged group discussion of a wide range of issues related to mathematics content and the teaching and learning of mathematics and ESL.

The program proved to be powerful for both the students and the teachers. Students in the summer school have shown significant improvement in their knowledge of multiplication facts, their understanding of mathematics concepts, and their problem solving and reasoning skills. They also significantly improve their ability to communicate mathematical content effectively both orally and in writing in English and in their native languages. Student attendance in the four-week voluntary program has been over 90%all three years, an indication that students were motivated and engaged. The teachers, most of whom had little or no familiarity with strategies for teaching mathematics from a reform perspective, report that the experience transformed their beliefs about teaching mathematics and ESL. Teachers’ beliefs about the viability and importance of using English in teaching mathematics and other content areas to LEP students were similarly affected. All report that they would use the strategies learned in the summer project to teach mathematics and other subjects. The project has demonstrated that with careful planning and effective strategies, use of English in teaching subject matter to LEP students is viable and advisable This is particularly true with students nearing transition to all-English classrooms. The project also demonstrated that this can be accomplished in an environment that is respectful of the students’ home languages and cultures. 
 
 Contact Marty Gartzman for more information:
e-mail: gartzman@uic.edu
telephone: (312)413-2971

1.For the purposes of this document, "standards-based" refers to mathematics curricula and instruction that align with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, State of Illinois, and Chicago Public Schools standards documents. Alternatively, we refer to such curricula as "reform" mathematics curricula.
2.In February, 1998, CPS amended its guidelines to require transition out of bilingual classes within three years (four years, if kindergarten is included). 
3.Collier, Virginia (1989) How Long? A Synthesis of Research on Academic Achievement in a Second Language. TESOL Quarterly, 23 (3), 509–531.
4.The TIMS Project is housed within UIC’s Institute for Mathematics and Science Education. Since 1985, TIMS has received approximately $10.5 million in support from the National Science Foundation for materials development and teacher enhancement projects. Additional funding has been provided through Scientific Literacy grants from the Illinois State Board of Education and from Eisenhower grants awarded by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.