Navigating Teachers' Collaboration in Content Textbook Modification for ESL Students

This paper delineates the process of modifying authentic 4th and 5th grade math textbooks used in a Midwestern state of the USA. The goal is to help ESL students improve their Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency in addition to demonstrating the multiple layers of scaffolding needed for the effective instruction of CALP. Further, this paper aims to shed light on the issues related to the process of textbook modification and to discuss the pedagogical implications of this process for ESL teachers. The methods include Teacher Study Group meetings, interviews with a focus group, sample test, and personal learning logs. The most commonly used modification methods in the textbooks include insertion of additional pictures, glossary terms, and simplified directions in conjunction with the elimination of complicated questions. This modification project confirmed the effectiveness of the TSG dynamic. The final modification appears to increase ESL learners ' problemsolving skills as well as their perceived self-efficacy with regards to mathematics in general. The limitations of this study and the implications resulting from diverging suggestions of the ESL teacher and math educator are further addressed.