The Project MELTS micro-credentialing system will be exemplified by the teachers’ ability to earn Digital Badges in recognition of demonstrated teaching excellence working with English Learners. There will be a total of 13 badges, with 10 badges recognizing targeted content teaching skill for various WIDA Levels and 3 badges of excellence which recognize high achievement and mastery of all badges. The badge content, assessment, and development were developed through a grant provided by the Federal Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition.

Badges 1-10

The 10 skills that will be demonstrated for English learners at different levels of proficiency are:

  1. Leading a questioning sequence in social studies
  2. Teaching a classroom procedure
  3. Pre-teaching key vocabulary of a science lesson
  4. Direct teaching of a mathematics lesson segment
  5. Direct teaching of a language arts lesson segment, including small group questioning
  6. Leading a follow-up discussion of the language arts lesson
  7. Using templates, sentence frames, and sentence starters to scaffold a writing assignment
  8. Conducting an informal reading inventory
  9. Conducting a writing assessment and providing level-appropriate feedback
  10. Discussing students’ progress at a parent conference

Badges 11-13

11) Mastery level 1 – successfully completed all modules and demonstrated mastery of 5 of 10 skills
12) Mastery level 2 – successfully completed all modules and skills & demonstrated mastery in of all 10 skills
13) Mastery level 3 – successfully completed all modules and skills & demonstrated mastery in of all 10 skills plus mastery above expectation.

Graphic example of digital badges described

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Leveled Questioning for Social Studies
Short Description: This is a badge for Question Wizard! (Badge 1 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively lead a questioning sequence in Social Studies for ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to question individual class members regarding a previously taught social studies subject and adapt their language to individual English learners at various WIDA levels in a whole class setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Classroom Procedures
Short Description: This is a badge for Procedure Wizard! (Badge 2 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively teach a classroom procedure for ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to present and demonstrate classroom procedures such as morning routines (hanging up backpack, sharpening pencil, etc.), adapting language and providing extra visuals for English learners at various WIDA levels in a whole class setting.

​Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Teaching Key Vocabulary of a Science Lesson
Short Description: This is a badge for Science Vocabulary Wizard! (Badge 3 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively pre-teach key vocabulary of a science lesson to ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to utilize pre-teaching and linguistic modification techniques to teach vocabulary in the math and science content areas to English learners at various WIDA levels in a whole class setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Direct Teach a Segment of a Math Lesson
Short Description: This is a badge for Math Teaching Wizard! (Badge 4 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively teach a mathematics lesson segment to ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to use comprehensible input, scaffolded concepts, and multimedia to present new math and science content to English learners at various WIDA levels in a whole class setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Direct Teach a Segment of a Language Arts lesson and Small Group Follow-up
Short Description: This is a badge for Read Aloud Teaching Wizard! (Badge 5 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively teach a language arts lesson and design small-group activities for ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to read a short story, followed by asking comprehension questions, such as what is the main point, how does the plot progress, etc. with a small group of English learners at various WIDA levels in a whole class setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Leading a Discussion of the Language Arts Lesson
Short Description: This is a badge for Discussion Leading Wizard! (Badge 6 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively lead a follow-up discussion of a piece of text in a language arts lesson to ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to lead English learners at various WIDA levels in a discussion of the language arts lesson (follow-up to Badge 5) in a small group setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Using Sentence Frames to Scaffold a Writing Assignment
Short Description: This is a badge for Scaffolding Writing Wizard! (Badge 7 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively use templates, sentence frames, and sentence starters to scaffold a writing assignment for ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to activate the students’ prior knowledge to a writing topic, model a writing sample, and guide the students to create their own written pieces using sentence frames and templates appropriate to the English learners at various WIDA levels in a conferencing setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Conducting an Informal Reading Inventory
Short Description: This is a badge for Reading Inventory Wizard! (Badge 8 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively conduct informal reading inventories for ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability and knowledge to conduct informal reading inventories to help determine the literacy strengths and needs of English learners at various WIDA levels in a whole class setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Providing Feedback for Writing
Short Description: This is a badge for Writing Assessment Wizard! (Badge 9 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively conduct writing assessments and provide level-appropriate feedback to ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to effectively use a writing rubric to assess and give feedback to English at various WIDA levels in terms of their writing ability, based on the written opinion pieces they produced on a given topic in a whole class setting.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Parent Conference
Short Description: This is a badge for Parent Conference Wizard! (Badge 10 of 10 Skill Badges)
Description: This badge recognizes the teacher candidate’s ability to effectively communicate with the parents of ELs at various WIDA levels of English language proficiency through a parent conference. The teacher candidate who received this badge has demonstrated the ability to communicate with a student’s parent who is not proficient in English and discuss the student’s academic progress by either adjusting communication for the proficiency level or working with an interpreter.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Bronze Mastery
Short Description: This is a cumulative badge for Bronze Mastery in teaching English learner essentials! (Badge 1 of 3 Mastery Badges)
Description: The teacher candidate who received this badge has successfully completed ALL 10 Instructional Skill modules and demonstrated mastery of five of those skills.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Silver Mastery
Short Description: This is a cumulative badge for Silver Mastery in teaching English learner essentials! (Badge 2 of 3 Mastery Badges)
Description: The teacher candidate who received this badge has successfully completed ALL 10 Instructional Skill modules and demonstrated mastery of ALL skills.

Title: Teaching English Learner Essentials: Gold Mastery
Short Description: This is a cumulative badge for Gold Mastery in teaching English learner essentials! (Badge 3 of 3 Mastery Badges)
Description: The teacher candidate who received this badge has successfully completed ALL Instructional Skill modules and demonstrated mastery of ALL skills at an exceptional level.