Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol

A program model for teaching grade-level content in a way that is understandable for ELL students while at the same time promoting their English language development. 

SIOP was developed by researchers at the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence in response to the variability, both in design and delivery, of sheltered instruction methods. It uses a variety of sheltering strategies in a unified, structured way. Research using a control group design has compared ELL students in classes whose teachers had been trained in implementing SIOP to a control group class (taught by teachers not trained in the SIOP model). ELL students in classes whose teachers had been trained in implementing SIOP outperformed control group students. (See Echevarria & Short, 2003, for more information on the research.)