Module 4: Collaborative Problem-Solving for ELL Students

Schools often use collaborative problem solving with ELLs who manifest learning and/or behavior problems. This occurs when the classroom teacher seeks assistance in planning interventions and in meeting the student’s needs. For ELLs, in addition to teachers, support staff, and administrators, members of collaborative problem-solving teams may include the bilingual school psychologist, the bilingual social worker, the speech/language pathologist, ESOL personnel and others who have special expertise in meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Collaborative Problem-Solving teams should document their proceedings and the outcomes of said proceedings and interventions with ELLs on forms developed for that purpose, and place them in the ELLSEP folder. Samples of student work should be obtained and evaluated in both the native language and in English. Particular attention should be given to interventions attempted and whether the student is responding positively to interventions and making progress. The National Association of Bilingual Education and ILIAD project (2002) have recommended the use of Teacher Assistance Teams as a strategy for determining appropriate referrals of ELLs to special education. They have developed a checklist, which can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of such teams, and is a valuable tool for administrators and guidance counselors to use in evaluating the teams in their buildings.