In the ever-evolving landscape of education, meeting the distinctive needs of students with learning disabilities and bilingual emergent learners has become more critical than ever. Interdisciplinary education is a powerful approach to addressing these diverse needs, as it cultivates a comprehensive understanding of subjects while fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. This article explores the Domenico Model of Logical Intelligence and the Accelerated Growth Model, specifically designed for students with Individualized Education Development Plans (IEDP’s) and English Emergent Learners (EEL’s). These models provide an inclusive and engaging framework, emphasizing interdisciplinary connections to promote a holistic learning environment for all students.
The unique features of the Domenico Model and the Accelerated Growth Model include short content passages, frequent spiral reviews, word-by-word teaching, and interdisciplinary connections. By incorporating these components, the models address the diverse learning needs of students from various backgrounds. These models enable all students to develop their critical thinking skills and conceptual understanding, providing them with a solid foundation for academic success.
Furthermore, this article discussed the benefits of interdisciplinary education, including enhanced collaboration, real-world learning experiences, improved critical thinking, and expanded problem-solving skills, all essential for preparing students to face the challenges of the 21st century. By examining the advantages of interdisciplinary education and the innovative models presented, educators can gain valuable insights into creating a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum that supports the academic growth of all students, including those with IEDP’s and EEL’s.
Challenges Faced by Bilingual and IEDP Students
The educational landscape today is characterized by a diverse population of students, each with unique learning needs and backgrounds. In order to effectively address these needs and support academic success, educators must develop innovative teaching strategies and models. This article presents the Domenico Model of Logical Intelligence and the Accelerated Growth Model for students with IEDP’s and EEL’s, which aim to foster an inclusive and engaging learning environment for all students, particularly those who struggle academically.
These models incorporate key components such as short content passages, frequent spiral reviews, word-by-word teaching, and interdisciplinary connections, emphasizing conceptual understanding, interdisciplinary connections, and critical thinking skills. In doing so, they provide a holistic approach to education that addresses the specific needs of students with diverse learning backgrounds, including those with learning disabilities and bilingual emergent students.
The Importance of Addressing the Challenges Faced by Bilingual and IEDP Students
Over the last two decades, as a bilingual teacher, I have experienced first-hand the struggles students entering 5th and 6th grade face without any type of educational asset. Educational assets refer to the components of the 21st-century learning taxonomy: Fluency, Vocabulary, Reading Skills, and Knowledge. Over 90% of the students were 1 to 4 years behind grade level, according to the NWEA scores, which is the tool the School District uses to measure growth. Practically, the students were performing at 1st and 2nd-grade levels. When it comes to content knowledge, students were able to retain little to none of the foundational knowledge, such as Photosynthesis, Water Cycle, and 1500’s Explorers.
Several questions arise from these observations: Why are the majority of these students not retaining knowledge? Why did almost the entire group of students come to class without any type of content knowledge? Why is the students’ vocabulary at a 1st-grade level, and their knowledge of reading skills almost non-existent? Why are such a large portion of the students not showing progress and not attaining knowledge as much as their peers? Do school districts know how to engage that particular segment of the student population? Are we serving these students well?
Students were found not to be knowledgeable of 90% of the terms in Social Studies and Science, therefore not able to work with the current curriculum. The current curriculum was not serving the needs of the bilingual students; bilingual students could not perform at the curriculum level. A recent survey has shown that 90 percent of the school districts do not have a specific curriculum designed for bilingual and students with IEPs years behind grade level.
To gain insights into the extent of academic performance gaps among students, we conducted an online survey on digital media, LinkedIn teachers’ community. The survey question asked was, “What is the percentage of students that are performing below grade level in your school/institution?” A total of 210 teachers responded to the survey.
The survey results presented in a bar graph, illustrating the percentage of students performing below grade level. The graph indicated the following breakdown: 0-10%, 10-20%, 20-30%, and above 30%. The largest proportion of respondents (59%) reported that more than 30% of their students are performing below grade level. This statistic is alarming and highlights the urgent need for more effective teaching strategies and curricular models to address the unique needs of these students.
In addition to the 59% of respondents who reported more than 30% of their students performing below grade level, the survey also revealed that a considerable number of schools had 20-30% of their students struggling academically. This information further emphasizes the need for innovative educational approaches that can engage and support diverse learners, including bilingual and IEDP students.
Furthermore, over the years, as teacher, I have closely monitored the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) testing scores of my students, particularly those from bilingual and IEDP backgrounds. By the end of the year, most students have improved their NWEA test scores, with consistent progress observed in the fall, winter, and spring testing sessions. This growth has been recorded across general education students, bilingual students, and students with IEPs.
To illustrate the improvement in NWEA testing scores, I have analyzed data from the 2020-2021 school year at Daniel Burnham Elementary School in Cicero, IL, where I serve as an educator. The results demonstrate considerable growth in math scores for a majority of the students.
Table 1: NWEA MATH SCORES – YEARLY GROWTH
| MATH | Fall 2016 | Spring 2017 | NUMBER INCREASE |
| Student 1 | 202 | 224 | 22 |
| Student 2 | 187 | 210 | 23 |
| Student 3 | 187 | 210 | 23 |
| Student 4 | √ | 203 | √ |
| Student 5 | 188 | 198 | 10 |
| Student 6 | 187 | 207 | 20 |
| Student 7 | 221 | 239 | 18 |
| Student 8 | 172 | 202 | 30 |
| Student 9 | 212 | 224 | 12 |
| Student 10 | 201 | 210 | 9 |
| Student 11 | 181 | 194 | 13 |
| Student 12 | 192 | 214 | 22 |
| Student 13 | 199 | 225 | 26 |
| Student 14 | 197 | 202 | 5 |
| Student 15 | 204 | 226 | 22 |
| Student 16 | 179 | 199 | 20 |
| Student 17 | 204 | 214 | 10 |
| Student 18 | √ | 192 | √ |
| Student 19 | 199 | 226 | 27 |
| Student 20 | 206 | 226 | 20 |
| Student 21 | √ | 208 | √ |
| Student 22 | 195 | 213 | 23 |
| Student 23 | 204 | 217 | 13 |
| Student 24 | 200 | 215 | 15 |
| Student 25 | 188 | 206 | 18 |
| Student 26 | 180 | 191 | 11 |
In this particular dataset, ten students showed a double-digit growth (from one year to two years of growth) of 10 to 14 points, while seven students demonstrated a growth between 15 to 25 points (two to three years of growth). On average, students grew by eighteen points in Math and twelve points in Reading.
The NWEA testing scores provide educators and school districts with valuable data to measure student growth and academic performance. In the context of this article, the NWEA scores reveal that a significant number of students, particularly bilingual and IEDP students, are performing below grade level. This information emphasizes the need for more effective and targeted interventions to support these students and help them catch up to their peers academically. By presenting the data in a clear and concise visual format, such as a bar graph, educators and stakeholders can better understand the extent of student growth and identify areas for improvement.
These results suggest that there is a significant need for effective interventions to support bilingual students and those with IEPs. Interdisciplinary knowledge-based curricula may offer a promising solution by providing a holistic approach to learning that can help these students connect concepts and gain a deeper understanding of the material. By incorporating a range of subjects and topics into the curriculum, this approach can help students develop the skills they need to succeed both academically and in their future careers.
Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum
Because of this lack of curriculum for my students’ population, over the last decade, I began crafting a specific curriculum designed for all students, especially those behind grade level. This curriculum was meant to be modified, differentiated, and expansive, where the foundational content knowledge plays an essential role in teaching and learning, along with Vocabulary, Fluency, and Reading Skills.
The curriculum was also designed to enhance all the components of reading literacy, that is, Reading Comprehension, Reading Skills, Common Core, Language Fluency, Test Taking Skills, and Vocabulary, along with key knowledge within short, heavy-in-content passages.
Exploring the Domenico Model of Logical Intelligence and the accelerated Growth Model
Domenico Model of Logical Intelligence
The DMLI enhances Bloom’s Taxonomy by replacing the Understanding stage with Connecting, which is an expansion of the understanding process. In the DMLI, the application phase is an embedded skill from the second stage all the way up to the Creation stage. Pattern Recognition and Analysis are essential information processing stages, and there is no differentiation between evaluating and analysing in this model. Creating is recognized by both models as the last stage in the process, where new information is created.
Both the DMLI and Bloom’s Taxonomy are excellent descriptions of learning and information
processing approaches, categorized by increasing levels of difficulty. The DMLI, however, is more sequential and highlights the stages of knowledge expansion in phases. The pyramid representation has been inverted to symbolize the increase in knowledge and awareness. By examining each stage of the 21st Century Taxonomy in more depth, we can better understand the progression of learning.
Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum (IKC)
Reading skills were best introduced in a differentiated version, using small paragraphs to review the skills covered. As all four components of the 21st-century taxonomy were practiced simultaneously, they are all interconnected, meaning that when one skill improves, the others grow as well. This led to the development of the Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum (IKC).
To deepen our understanding of the IKC, we must look at the definition of knowledge from the DMLI (Meschino 2023). Knowledge is the first ladder rung in the DMLI, representing a phase of data acquisition and assimilation that becomes part of the learner’s mental schema. It remains consistent with Bloom’s Taxonomy as the first phase of acquiring and incorporating different types of information. The process involves understanding an outside construct, making sense of it, and incorporating it into the learner’s personal set of data.
Within each phase of the taxonomy, there are sub-categories at different levels of depth, each with its own subdivision of embedded skills and subskills. Knowledge can be divided into three categories, depending on the amount of processing involved in the acquisition process: factual, procedural, and conceptual. The three components may also be interwoven within one piece of information.
Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum (IKC) Features
The IKC features modified, short texts to facilitate retention while providing high-quality non-fictional and fictional texts. Short multi-disciplinary foundational passages have been purposefully created to build foundational reading skills
As students began to make sense of the text, reading skills were introduced alongside the 21st Century Learning Taxonomy, where knowledge is the goal and reading skills are the means to reach that goal. In the Domenico Model of Logical Intelligence (DMLI), reading skills are found in the Knowledge layer.
Connecting: The Second Level of the DMLI
The Connecting phase in the Domenico Model of Logical Intelligence (DMLI) represents a higher frequency of thinking and processing than the conceptual understanding stage. In this level, knowledge is expanded to other areas and fields, connecting with similar constructs in different contexts. This expansion allows for a deeper understanding of the facts, processes, and concepts that have been acquired.
Expanding Knowledge and Enhancing Understanding
In the Connecting phase, knowledge moves beyond isolation and connects with other similar constructs in various fields. This enables the acquired construct to be compared and contrasted with other similar typologies of knowledge that exist in settings with different sets of variables. As a result, our understanding of the facts, processes, and concepts acquired is deepened. This stage also involves an embedded level of evaluation and analysis, which represent the necessary attitude to reach higher levels of the DMLI.
For example, let’s assume we have acquired knowledge of the migratory flows of Europeans to the United States from the late 18th to the early 19th century. Connecting this factual and procedural understanding with other historical migratory flows at larger and smaller scales deepens our understanding of the migratory flows. Comparing various flows in history involves evaluation and analysis, allowing us to extend our thinking and processing skills to a wider area of knowledge, as well as different typologies of the specific data.
Interdisciplinary and Intradisciplinary Connections
The Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum (IKC) encourages and stimulates students to make connections among subjects and topics within the same subject. This approach helps students build vocabulary knowledge progressively and meaningfully. By comparing and contrasting concepts, students can understand how they are alike and different, which enhances their overall understanding.
Practically, there are two different levels of connections. For example, within the Water Cycle Pillars, students can connect the hydrosphere with the geosphere and understand how matter can also be vapor. As students make interdisciplinary connections, their vocabulary increases as well. The IKC aims to build vocabulary knowledge progressively and meaningfully, using one’s native language to expand into meaningful and proper contextualization concerning language.
Intradisciplinary connections involve covering the importance of water in body functions, for example, when the term “settle” is being covered in Social Studies and Science. Once the term is interconnected with another subject, students retain a deeper understanding of the concept carried out by the word. Comparing and contrasting is an effective way of connecting information, and understanding how concepts are alike and different enhances students’ understanding.
Supporting All Learners
The IKC enables students with learning disabilities and bilingual emergent students to bridge the knowledge and reading skills gaps by following the progressive nature of the curriculum. By making more sense of the surrounding world and connecting knowledge, students can enhance their learning experience and understanding of various subjects and topics.
The Accelerated Growth Model for Students with IEDP’s and EEL’s
The Accelerated Growth Model is designed to support students with Individualized Education Development Plans (IEDP’s) and English Emergent Learners (EEL’s) in achieving academic success. This model focuses on providing short content passages and revolves around four key components: Frequent Spiral Review, Word By Word Teaching, All Language Components, and Interdisciplinary Connections. By incorporating these elements, teachers can create an inclusive and effective learning environment that caters to the needs of all students, including those with learning disabilities and bilingual students.
All Language Components
All language components are essential for language acquisition and should be included in the teaching and learning process. These components encompass writing, grammar topics, types of writing, and steps in writing. By incorporating all language components, students can develop a strong foundation in language skills, which is crucial for their academic success.
Frequent Spiral Review
For students who struggle with retaining information and knowledge, frequent spiral reviews are vital. These reviews help students strengthen and recall past concepts acquired, ensuring they have a clear understanding of major patterns in history, science, human body, and government. By revisiting recently acquired knowledge, last month’s knowledge, and knowledge from further back, students can stay on pace with learning and achievements.
Word By Word Teaching
Bilingual students and those with IEP’s often have limited vocabularies. To address this issue, the Accelerated Growth Model emphasizes breaking down texts into smaller parts, components, paragraphs, and sentences, with each sentence carrying essential knowledge, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary lessons. This approach helps students gradually and systematically build their vocabulary and ensures they understand the meanings and concepts of each word.
Interdisciplinary Connections
The Accelerated Growth Model encourages the use of thematic units and interdisciplinary connections, which are closely related to the 21st-century Content Pillars. In Science, for example, Water Cycle and Photosynthesis are two of the five pillars. Knowledge bricks, representing essential pieces of information, form these Content Pillars. By understanding the connections between these knowledge bricks, students can develop a deeper and more integrated understanding of various subjects and topics.
Benefits of the Accelerated Growth Model
The Accelerated Growth Model provides numerous benefits for students with learning disabilities and bilingual students. By using simple but challenging language, teachers can create a more effective and engaging learning experience. Cooperative structures, which can be adapted for various teaching scenarios, are also beneficial for these students.
The enhancing features of the Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum (IKC), such as All Language Components, Frequent Spiral Reviews, and Word By Word Teaching, support all students performing below grade level. By continuously repeating and spiralling, students can strengthen their knowledge and recall past concepts.
In conclusion, the Accelerated Growth Model offers an inclusive and supportive learning environment for students with IEDP’s and EEL’s. By incorporating the key components of this model, teachers can help their students achieve greater academic success and create a more effective learning experience.
Incorporating the Benefits of Interdisciplinary Education
The benefits of interdisciplinary education are significant and contribute to the overall success of students, especially those with Individualized Education Development Plans (IEDP’s) and English Emergent Learners (EEL’s). Interdisciplinary education, as showcased in the Accelerated Growth Model, promotes four key advantages:
Enhanced Collaboration
Interdisciplinary education encourages students to work together across different subjects and disciplines. This collaborative approach fosters communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills, preparing students for real-world situations where they may need to collaborate with individuals from various backgrounds and areas of expertise.
Real-Life Learning
By integrating multiple subjects and disciplines, interdisciplinary education provides students with opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-life situations. This approach helps students see the relevance of their learning and the connections between different subjects, making their education more meaningful and engaging.
Improved Critical Thinking
Interdisciplinary education promotes critical thinking by challenging students to analyse, evaluate, and synthesize information from multiple perspectives. This process encourages students to question assumptions, consider alternative viewpoints, and develop their reasoning skills, ultimately enhancing their overall cognitive abilities.
Expanded Problem-Solving Skills
Interdisciplinary education equips students with the skills necessary to tackle complex, multifaceted problems. By learning to approach problems from various angles and disciplines, students can develop innovative solutions that take into account multiple aspects of a given issue.
In conclusion, the benefits of interdisciplinary education, as demonstrated through the Accelerated Growth Model, significantly contribute to the success and growth of students with IEDP’s and EEL’s. By incorporating interdisciplinary education into their teaching strategies, educators can create an inclusive and supportive learning environment that prepares students for the challenges they will face in their academic and professional lives.
21st Century Content Standards for K through 8
We emphasized content knowledge and began to stress the knowledge foundational pillars, which were designed to build the foundation for more knowledge. Explorers of the 1500’s is one of the foundational pillars since it teaches students how Europeans conquered the American continent, created the 13 colonies, and later.
Thus, we began establishing foundational knowledge in the primary core subjects such as the water cycle, photosynthesis, and the 13 colonies. Additionally, we incorporated vocabulary derived from Science and Social Studies, as well as narrative vocabulary from reading materials.
To provide a clearer understanding, I have organized the information into a table titled “21st Century Content Standards for K through 8,” with four pillars:
- Science
- Social Studies
- Government
- Human Body
Under each pillar, essential topics are listed as subheadings. For instance, the Science includes Photosynthesis, Water Cycle, Adaptations, Day/Night, Month/Year, Sun/Moon/Earth, Ecosystems, and Food Chain, while the Social Studies column covers 1500’s Explorers, 13 Colonies, Slavery, Native Americans, and more.
Interdisciplinary knowledge-based curricula, such as the one I developed, offer a promising solution by providing a holistic approach to learning that helps students connect concepts and gain a deeper understanding of the material. By incorporating a range of subjects and topics into the curriculum, this approach equips students with the skills they need to succeed academically and in their future careers.
In the “21st Century Content Standards for K through 8” table, we included various topics from different subject areas. Here, we provide brief definitions for some of the topics mentioned:
Photosynthesis: Photosynthesis is a process where plants create their own food and give off oxygen as waste.
Water Cycle: Water evaporates as gas, then condenses into droplets, and later falls as rain, snow, sleet, or ice.
Civil Rights Movement: The Civil Rights Movement aimed to advance the rights of African Americans and protect them from discrimination and segregation.
Mexican-American War: Under President Polk, the U.S. Army conquered Mexico City and gained all the land north of the Rio Grande.
Natural Adaptations: Adaptations are changes in behaviours carried out by organisms in order to survive and thrive in a specific area.
Troublesome 1960s: The 1960s in the U.S. were controversial times, with major events including the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.
These concise, content-rich sentences serve as further differentiation and are abundant with vocabulary terms, simple grammar, and syntax. This approach addresses content knowledge while integrating necessary vocabulary and fluency patterns. Memorization techniques and knowledge retention strategies are also introduced, ensuring students develop a strong foundation in these crucial subject areas.
Knowledge Pillars and 21st Century Content Standards
By teaching Knowledge Pillars, also called the 21st Century Content Standards of social studies, geography, science, the human body, governments, and writing, while facilitating the acquisition of the necessary reading skills along the way, students have shown a significant increase in their test scores and local assessments. These Content Pillars are intended to build students’ knowledge and understanding in all core areas for students in general education, English language learners, and students with learning disabilities.
The Content Standards represent a blueprint of foundational knowledge for all students. Once these pillars have been acquired, it will be easier to build more additional knowledge. Once students have an understanding of how cities, states, and governments came to be and how they function, they will be better equipped to understand women’s rights, world wars, the civil rights movement, the independence war, and other related topics. The Science pillars will introduce one of the most fascinating phenomena in life: water.
Conclusion
The development and implementation of the Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum (IKC) and the Accelerated Growth Model have proven to be successful in addressing the diverse needs of students, particularly those who are performing below grade level, have Individualized Education Development Plans (IEDP’s), or are English Emergent Learners (EEL’s). The IKC focuses on building foundational knowledge in core subject areas, such as Science, Social Studies, Government, and Human Body, while simultaneously integrating essential vocabulary, fluency patterns, and reading skills. The Accelerated Growth Model supports these students through techniques such as Frequent Spiral Review, Word By Word Teaching, All Language Components, and Interdisciplinary Connections.
The benefits of interdisciplinary education are evident in the improved collaboration, real-life learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills of students who engage with the IKC and Accelerated Growth Model. By incorporating 21st Century Content Standards for K through 8 and emphasizing content knowledge through the teaching of Knowledge Pillars, students have shown significant improvements in their test scores and local assessments.
In conclusion, the examples and results presented in this article offer valuable guidance and inspiration for teachers, educators, and educationists seeking to address the diverse needs of their students. The Interdisciplinary Knowledge-Based Curriculum and the Accelerated Growth Model illustrate the potential benefits of innovative, interdisciplinary education for students with IEDP’s and EEL’s, as well as the broader student population. By considering these models as roadmaps and exploring their underlying principles, the educational community can continue to develop and refine teaching strategies that promote inclusive, supportive, and effective learning environments for all students, fostering a brighter future for our society as a whole.
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Author Name: Dr. Domenico Meschino
Title: Teacher, Author, Business Owner
Email: luminosaglobal@gmail.com
Address: Chicago IL, USA
