Who Benefits from CAL SIOP Instruction?
As the number of English learners increases in schools across the United States, educators are seeking effective ways to help them succeed in K-12 ESL, content area, and bilingual classrooms. Research shows that when teachers fully implement the CAL SIOP Model, English learners' academic performance improves. Learn about the CAL SIOP Model research base.
In addition, teachers report that CAL SIOP-based teaching benefits all students, not just those who are learning English as an additional language.
CAL SIOP instruction also benefits students learning content through another language. CAL has conducted research on adapting the CAL SIOP Model for use in two-way immersion (dual language) programs.
To learn more about working with CAL, email the CAL SIOP team.
8 Interrelated Components of CAL SIOP
- Lesson Preparation
- Building Background
- Comprehensible Input
- Strategies
- Interaction
- Practice/Application
- Lesson Delivery
- Review & Assessment
*The CAL SIOP team will work with you to create a professional development plan tailored to the exact needs of your school or district. For a complete overview of our PD options, visit the services section of our website.
Services
CAL collaborates with schools, states, and districts to design and conduct CAL SIOP professional development programs that meet their particular needs. Informed by CAL's ongoing research, our experienced CAL SIOP team can provide a range of services, including CAL SIOP workshops, coaching, site visits, and technical assistance. Our team works closely with teachers, professional developers, coaches, administrators, and paraprofessionals as they learn to plan, implement, and support instruction using the CAL SIOP Model. In addition to offering CAL SIOP training in K-12, CAL can also offer professional development in the CAL SIOP Model for adult learner contexts.
Email the CAL SIOP team to learn how we can tailor a professional development plan that meets your needs.
What Is the CAL SIOP Model?
The CAL Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model is a research-based and validated instructional model that has proven effective in addressing the academic needs of English learners throughout the United States.
The CAL SIOP Model consists of eight interrelated components:
- Lesson Preparation
- Building Background
- Comprehensible Input
- Strategies
- Interaction
- Practice/Application
- Lesson Delivery
- Review & Assessment
Using instructional strategies connected to each of these components, teachers are able to design and deliver lessons that address the academic and linguistic needs of English learners.
Using the CAL SIOP Model
Learning how to use the CAL SIOP Model takes time and consistent effort. Sustained professional development activities help educators enhance their understanding of the specific features of the model and develop effective methodologies for using the model in their classroom. Helping districts build their capacity to support teacher understanding is also an important success factor in CAL SIOP implementation.
Using instructional strategies connected to each of the CAL SIOP components listed below, teachers are able to use the CAL SIOP Model to design and deliver lessons that address the academic and linguistic needs of English learners.
Foundational Research on the CAL SIOP Model
The SIOP Model was developed in a national research project sponsored by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence(CREDE), a national research center funded by the U.S. Department of Education from 1996 through 2003 to assist the nation's population of diverse students, including those at risk of educational failure, to achieve academic excellence.
One of the goals of CREDE was to develop an explicit model of sheltered instruction. When the research began, sheltered instruction was widely advocated as an effective instructional strategy for language minority students, but there was little agreement among practitioners as to what constitutes an effective sheltered lesson.
Through literature review and with the collaboration of practicing teachers, researchers at California State University, Long Beach, and the Center for Applied Linguistics identified instructional features of high-quality sheltered lessons. The model was refined over several years of field testing.
Early research found the CAL SIOP Model to be effective with English Language Learners as measured by narrative and expository writing assessments. CAL is currently conducting further research in schools by facilitating professional development on the CAL SIOP Model and examining the effects of CAL SIOP-based instruction on student achievement in core content areas and in English language development.
Visit the CREDE project page for more information and to review selected research findings.
CAL SIOP Professional Development Options
- Overview of the CAL SIOP Model
This one-day workshop provides a summary of the CAL SIOP Model and its research base. It includes information and discussions about how the Model can be articulated with other professional development efforts and how to support CAL SIOP learning and implementation. - CAL SIOP Teacher Workshops
In a series of workshops throughout the school year, teachers learn about and practice the eight components of the CAL SIOP Model by engaging in a variety of instructional activities. They plan and implement lessons, reflect on their experiences with other workshop participants, and refine their instructional practices using the CAL SIOP Model.
- CAL SIOP Workshops for Coaches and Professional Development Staff
Instructional coaches and other professional development staff further develop their knowledge of the CAL SIOP Model and learn ways to guide and support others who are developing SIOP expertise. CAL staff can support these instructional leaders as they coach other teachers or develop and implement a professional development program for their schools.
- CAL SIOP Workshops for Administrators
During CAL SIOP workshops for administrators, participants are introduced to the fundamentals of the second language acquisition process and the CAL SIOP Model. The workshop (usually lasting between half a day and a full day) highlights different ways administrators can support teachers as they begin to implement the CAL SIOP Model in their classrooms.
- CAL SIOP Site Visits
Site visits are designed to support teams of teachers as they plan and implement the CAL SIOP Model. CAL works collaboratively with the school or district to design site visits based on teachers’ strengths and needs, with activities including CAL SIOP coaching sessions, deeper exploration of a particular CAL SIOP component, discussion of relevant readings, co-planning sessions, and CAL SIOP lesson study.
- Two-Way SIOP Professional Development
The goal of Two-Way SIOP Model professional development is to promote biliteracy and bilingualism and foster cross-cultural awareness. Two-Way SIOP professional development services combine elements from the CAL SIOP Model of sheltered instruction with best practices for dual language instruction based on our years of research and experience working with two-way immersion programs. Professional development in Two-Way SIOP has an increased focus on promoting cultural enrichment and language equity in the classroom, and effective use of bilingual models/pairs to promote quality peer interactions. For more information about CAL’s research project to adapt the CAL SIOP Model to dual language contexts, read the report.
All the professional development options described above are also available for Two-Way SIOP.
- Tailored CAL SIOP Professional Development Services
Based on requests by districts and schools, CAL has developed CAL SIOP workshops designed for math teachers, CAL SIOP refresher workshops, CAL SIOP peer coaching workshops, and CAL SIOP Training of Trainer workshops.
Contact Us
CAL is a private, nonprofit organization with 50 years of experience providing a range of research-based information and resources related to language and culture. CAL’s work in the area of sheltered instruction is highly regarded due to our participation in developing the SIOP Model and our on-going research on the model.
Our SIOP team consists of experienced educators who are able to combine research and practical know-how to provide high quality, relevant, and dynamic professional development services.
We invite you to contact CAL's SIOP Team to discuss your needs and interests.
Phone: 202-362-0700
Email: siop@cal.org
Mail: Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th Street NW
Washington, DC 20016