Why Does Integra Work?

Background

 

Cummins Theory makes the distinction between two differing kinds of language proficiency. BICS are Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills; these are the "surface" skills of listening and speaking which are typically acquired quickly by many students; particularly by those from language backgrounds similar to English who spend a lot of their school time interacting with native speakers.

 

As Cummins states: "Conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input in the other language comprehensible." If a child already understands the concepts of "justice" or "honesty" in her own language, all she has to do is acquire the label for these terms in English. She has a far more difficult task, however, if she has to acquire both the label and the concept in her second language.

 

Methodology

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Based on the Cummins and  Krashen’s theories, the important thing is to ensure that the student has acquired knowledge, regardless of whether it is in English or Spanish. We must ensure that the student can label that knowledge in both Spanish and English so that he can use it in the STAAR test.

 

The first task to develop was to simplify the subject content to expose the student exclusively to the key content they need since the content of a subject is extensive and exposing LEP students to too much content lowers the chances of success.   

 

Our editorial team analyzed all the STAAR® tests from 2013 to today, and, based on the outcomes of this analysis, they developed the content necessary for students to have the largest probability of success in this test. We analyzed all of the topics covered in such tests, as well as the type and level of the exercises in the test. With this analysis in hand, we stressed the content in these topics to deeply expose the student to the more relevant ones (SQI). This information is uploaded into a database every year to ensure that the methodology is always up-to-date.

 

This program is structured in chapters, lessons and topics. The unit of the intervention is the chapter and each chapter is designed as a chapter-lesson-topic repetitive learning cycle.

 

Testing the Integra Methodology

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A quantitative research was designed to confirm the efficacy of the Integra-learning-methodology. Each phase of the methodology was sampled individually, but to avoid confusion, only data from focus groups are presented in their final stage.

 

Summary results

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1.     A basic to intermediate understanding of the subject matter was observed in the students after applying the Integra methodology. The groups showed that, although they do not speak and understand English, they were able to answer the questions that were given to them on the STAAR-like tests in English.

2.     A positive correlation is observed between the use of the Integra methodology with the results in the tests. 3.     The more exposure of key-content to students, the higher their performance on STAAR tests.

4.     The use of audiovisual materials such as videos in the methodology showed efficiency above expectations.

5.     Of all the subjects in the sample: 59% were located in the “Approaches” group of which: 24% were “meets” and 2% were “masters”. 41% of the students were in the “Did not meet” group.

6.    Integra® had a 23% improvement in LEP students compared to State-wide data.