Clinical Field Experience A: ELL Instructor Interview

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Interview one content area classroom teacher that services ELLs in a  Title 1 setting about how assessment is used for placement. You should  also inquire also about how placement is determined for both special  education and gifted ELLs. Your questions might include, but not  limited to, the following:

  1. What are the indicators of exceptionality a classroom teacher    should look for when a student also has a language barrier?
  2. How do informal and formal assessment results factor into  placement?
  3. What role do parents and teachers have in  placement?
  4. What are some primary factors that are exhibited    in underachievement that may not necessarily signal special    education needs?
  5. How are changes among individual ELL    proficiency levels over the course of the school year accounted  for?
  6. How are diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments    integrated for ELLs in mainstream classrooms?
  7. What are the    benefits of the SIOP protocol for native English speakers as well as    those for whom English is an additional language?

Consolidate your findings in a 15-20 slide PowerPoint presentation  to inform your colleagues about the assessment and placement process.

Describe the content and use of the Arizona English Language Learner  Assessment (AZELLA) in guiding ELL instruction. How do AZELLA score  reports facilitate achievement among ELLs? Compare the use of the  AZELLA to the assessment and placement process in your state. If your  state is Arizona, you may elaborate on this process. How does the  assessment and placement process in your state facilitate achievement  among ELLs?

Support your presentation with at least three scholarly resources.

Include presenter’s notes, a title slide, and a reference slide.

The Argumentative Essay

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Prepare: In your first post in this discussion, you will become familiar with the case of Abercrombie & Fitch by means of the relevant material in the Required Resources this week. There is also a specific media feature located at the end of Section 5.3 of the textbook titled Workplace Discrimination: Abercrombie & Fitch. In order to be prepared for this task, you will need to complete the required readings and media listed.

Reflect: There are two sides to consider in the Abercrombie & Fitch case. On the one hand, we have the job candidate’s side. She went to the job interview wearing a hijab. The interviewer did not remark on the hijab, and the candidate also did not volunteer that her religious beliefs required her to wear a hijab. She was subsequently not hired based on the perception that her appearance was incongruous with the company’s look policy. For example, caps are not permitted and the male sales associates (referred to as “models” in the company’s corporate language) are often shirtless and in sweatpants in order to create the mood at the stores for the aesthetic for which Abercrombie & Fitch has become known: young, preppy, and hormonally charged. When she was notified that she was not hired for the position, she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that, in turn, filed a lawsuit on her behalf alleging a violation of Title VII.

On the other hand, we have Abercrombie & Fitch’s side. As a company doing business in the United States, Abercrombie & Fitch is legally permitted to hire those employees who fit its look policy. This is no different from the look requirements for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the Chicago Bulls, the New York City Ballet company, or for jockeys hired by thoroughbred owners to race them at the Kentucky Derby. In all of these cases, there are height, size, and other look requirements for employment that are justified by the particular demands and aesthetics of the position. She was found to be qualified for the job but her dress was clearly in conflict with Abercrombie & Fitch’s look policy. Yet, the job applicant knowingly sought employment at this retailer.

According to the law, should a special accommodation be required due to a religious practice, then Title VII dictates that the look requirements give way to the religious requirement in order not to be considered an act of religious discrimination.

The EEOC prevailed in the District Court, but this judgment was reversed by the Tenth Circuit on the ground that failure-to-accommodate liability only attaches when a job candidate provides the potential employer with knowledge of the need for an accommodation due to religious practice. Once it reached the Supreme Court, the decision was made in favor of the job candidate. According to Justice Scalia,

Title VII does not demand mere neutrality with regard to religious practices—that they be treated no worse than other practices. Rather, it gives them favored treatment, affirmatively obligating employers not “to fail or refuse to hire or discharge any individual . . . because of such individual’s” “religious observance and practice.” An employer is surely entitled to have, for example, a no headwear policy as an ordinary matter. But when an applicant requires an accommodation as an “aspec[t] of religious . . . practice,” it is no response that the subsequent “fail[ure] . . . to hire” was due to an otherwise-neutral policy. Title VII requires otherwise-neutral policies to give way to the need for an accommodation.

The only dissenting opinion was that of Justice Thomas who wrote:

Mere application of a neutral policy cannot constitute “intentional discrimination.”…I would hold that Abercrombie’s conduct did not constitute “intentional discrimination.” Abercrombie refused to create an exception to its neutral Look Policy for Samantha Elauf ’s religious practice of wearing a headscarf… In doing so, it did not treat religious practices less favorably than similar secular practices, but instead remained neutral with regard to religious practices…Resisting this straightforward application of §1981a, the majority expands the meaning of “intentional discrimination” to include a refusal to give a religious applicant “favored treatment.”…But contrary to the majority’s assumption, this novel theory of discrimination is not commanded by the relevant statutory text.

Write: In the first part of your initial post, you will need to introduce the Abercrombie & Fitch lawsuit. In this introduction, you will also need to (1) articulate the freedoms that companies in the United States enjoy given our relatively-free market system and (2) present the Title VII regulations concerning employment discrimination. These will provide the setting for you to be able to examine how the nation’s laws affect the hiring practices of Abercrombie & Fitch and other companies whose hiring policy includes a particular aesthetic for employees.

In the second part of your initial post, present your analysis of this case in a way that identifies which entities (Abercrombie & Fitch as a corporation, the economic system in the USA, the regulatory control of the state, or all of these) have a role in the problem that led to the lawsuit under examination. In your analysis, you must assess the positive or negative effects of the interplay between business activity and one of the following: the free-market system, advertising, hiring regulations, or corporate social responsibility. Your focus must be an ethical analysis of this interplay. Be sure to clearly identify the ethical theory that you are applying in your analysis, and to support your analysis by reliable and/or scholarly sources.

Revise: Read the feedback provided by your professor to your initial post, either directly to you or to your fellow students. Use this as an opportunity to learn from your professor, especially with regard to the best ways to apply the course material and your research to your analysis. On the basis of what you have learned in this process, post an improved revision of your initial post that applies the additional knowledge that you have gained.

Remember that your grade depends on the quality of your initial and revised responses, not just on the submission of an attempt at improvement. It is thus to your advantage to post the best initial post you can and then to also improve that best effort as much as you can through revision.

Requirements for Your Initial Post:

Your initial post should be at least 350 words in length and have citations and references in APA notation. It should address the prompt in its entirety. This means that you should not split your response to the prompt in multiple posts. Your examination should be both thorough and succinct. This is a combination that demands time and thought, so give yourself sufficient time to draft and revise.

Please be advised that until you post, you will not see what your fellow students are posting. Once you submit your post, you will be able to view the posts from your other classmates. You can then proceed to reply to at least two different threads based on the required material for this discussion.

Your list of references for your initial post should include not only the video and the other required material for this discussion, as well as the Instructor Guidance and any other announcements presented to you by your professor. Use all of the material presented to you in the course and by your professor, in addition to any other sources that you consulted to inform yourself about this case (but not Wikipedia or similar sources).

 

Hardy, J, Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). Section 9.1: The Argumentative EssayPreview the document. In With good reason: A guide to critical thinking. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

  • Section 9.1: The Argumentative Essay is a section of Chapter 9 of the introductory course in logic textbook that is employed in the PHI103 Informal Logic course offered at Ashford University. The link for this source will take you to a PDF format of this chapter. Section 9.1 introduces the thesis and premises in an argumentative essay, which are elements that students in this course must employ in both assignments in this course.

Hardy, J, Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). Section 9.2: Strengthening the Argumentative EssayPreview the document. In With good reason: A guide to critical thinking. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

  • Section 9.2: Strengthening the Argumentative Essay is a section of Chapter 9 of the introductory course in logic textbook that is employed in the PHI103 Informal Logic course offered at Ashford University. The link for this source will take you to a PDF format of this chapter. For the purposes of the work for this week, it will be necessary to read only thesubsection called Clarification and Support. This subsection explains the kind of support needed in an argumentative essay for the claims offered in its premises, which students in this course must know in order to apply in discussions and both assignments.

Hardy, J, Foster, C., & Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). Section 9.4: Confronting DisagreementPreview the document. In With good reason: A guide to critical thinking. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

  • Section 9.4: Confronting Disagreement is a section of Chapter 9 of the introductory course in logic textbook that is employed in the PHI103 Informal Logic course offered at Ashford University. The link for this source will take you to a PDF format of this chapter. Section 9.4 covers the philosophical principle of charity, which is a principle that students in this course must employ in their analyses for discussions and assignments.

Zúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). The moral good in three traditional ethical theoriesPreview the document [PowerPoint Slides].

  • This PowerPoint document covers the main characteristics of utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, and what is the moral good in each of these.

Articles

Collins, C., & Sokolowski, J. (2015, June 12). Supreme Court sides with EEOC in Abercrombie & Fitch hijab case (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.laboremploymentlawblog.com/2015/06/articles/discrimination/supreme-court-sides-with-eeoc-in-abercrombie-fitch-hijab-case/

  • This chronicles the Supreme Court’s reversal of judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
    Accessibility Statement does not exist.
    Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. 575 U. S. 1 (2015). Retrieved from http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-86_p86b.pdf

  • This is the Supreme Court’s decision on this case, delivered by Justice Scalia, and it includes the only dissenting opinion by Justice Thomas.

Geller, P. (2015, June 2). Why would a devout Muslim want to work at Abercrombie and Fitch? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Retrieved from http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/06/02/why-would-a-devout-muslim-want-to-work-at-abercrombie-and-fitch/

  • This article questions the reasons that a Muslim would have to seek employment at a company that has a look policy that would appear to be unsuitable to Muslim values.
    Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
    Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Olson, W. (2015, June 1). EEOC v. Abercrombie: Headscarfs and judicial modesty (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/blog/eeoc-v-abercrombie-headscarfs-judicial-modesty

  • This article examines the shortcomings and risks of this Supreme Court decision.
    Accessibility Statement does not exist.
    Privacy Policy does not exist.

Religion in the workplace: Bias unveiled (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. (2015, June 3). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/06/religion-workplace

  • This article examines the complicated nature of the ruling, which is in sharp contrast with Justice Scalia’s musings that this case was “really easy.”
    Accessibility Statement does not exist.
    Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Zakrzewski, K. (2005). The prevalence of “look”ism in hiring decisions: How federal law shoud be amended to prevent appearance discrimination in the workplace (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. U. Pa. Journal of Labor and Employment Law, 7(2), 431-461. Retrieved from https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jbl/articles/volume7/issue2/Zakrzewski7U.Pa.J.Lab.&Emp.L.431%282005%29.pdf

  • This article examines the role of appearance in hiring decisions.

Multimedia

Wall Street Journal. (2015, June 3). Supreme Court rules against Abercrombie & Fitch in head scarf case (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/lhePN3HMHxI

  • This video covers the 8-1 ruling by The Supreme Court. TranscriptPreview the document
    Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
    Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Clinical Field Experience B: Assessment Analysis

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Allocate at least 4 hours in the field to support this assignment.

Observe and collaborate with your mentor teacher on the topic of administering formative assessments. In your collaboration discuss the formative assessment process:

What types of formative assessment has your mentor teacher used or is currently using?

What type of data does the formative assessment process generate and how does your mentor teacher find this to be useful?

How does your mentor teacher use formative assessment to plan instruction?

Review data from at least one formative assessment your mentor teacher administered and discuss the plan of action related to filling in the gaps between what the students know and what they need to know.

Using any remaining field experience hours, assist the teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.

Write a 250-500 word reflection analyzing a formative assessment given in your mentor teacher’s classroom. Describe the action plan your mentor teacher plans to follow, based upon the results of the assessment, to fill in the gaps between what the students know and what they need to know.

Indicate the content area, grade level, type of assessment, and any other pertinent details. Include anonymous samples of the assessments and how you and your mentor teacher analyzed them.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

Problem Of The Match

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Problem of the Match

Note: This assignment has multiple parts.

  1. Choose an area of curriculum content in your building–maybe in your own classroom. Briefly describe the objectives, the content, the grade level, what is being taught in that content and whether you see the problem of the match as described by your authors on page 127 (see attached). If you determine there is a problem of the match, how would you change the curriculum to be ensured that there is a match between the learners’ developmental stages and the explicit curriculum?
  2. As you continue to evaluate the curriculum content you have chosen:
    • Can you identify the two important criteria reflected in the curriculum: (1) individual differences and (2) continuity in learning?
    • Does the curriculum reflect social and cultural changes that have occurred in recent years at each stage of human development? If so, how? (pp. 130-131) – (see attached).

Understanding Students’ Hierarchy of Needs:

  1. Using the chart below (see attched), how do you or other teachers in your building work to meet all students’ needs in each level through the curriculum?

For each of the following levels in the hierarchy (see the chart attached below), list ways in which teachers, school staff, or other students can help to meet all students’ needs in each level.

The chart which is attached below is adapted from Education, Child Development and Family Service (www.cteonline.org)