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Full-Text Articles in Education

Integrating Graduate Coursework To Prepare Alternatively Certified Teachers, Amy Heineke, Deborah Preach Jan 2016

Integrating Graduate Coursework To Prepare Alternatively Certified Teachers, Amy Heineke, Deborah Preach

Amy J. Heineke

In this article, we describe our innovative work as teacher educators to integrate coursework for alternatively certified teachers. Rather than maintain boundaries among individual courses for new elementary teachers, explicit connections support first-year teachers' professional learning and aid in the immediate application to classroom practice. Ccurse integration included backward planning with shared goals, the combination of key topics and content, and the inccrporation of common assignments and related classroom tasks. The innovation reflects the function of collaboration in higher education, where teacher educators work together to improve the professional learning and performance cf classroom teachers.


Dialoging About English Learners: Preparing Teachers Through Culturally Relevant Literature Circles., Amy Heineke Jan 2016

Dialoging About English Learners: Preparing Teachers Through Culturally Relevant Literature Circles., Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

In this paper, I describe how culturally relevant children’s literature allowed teachers and teacher candidates to explore the lived realities of diverse students. Through my qualitative investigation of 23 literature discussions of undergraduate and graduate students across five academic semesters, I found that texts written by culturally and linguistically diverse authors gave participants new ways to articulate ideas and beliefs about English learners. I discovered specific factors that opened or closed opportunities for dialog and learning in literature circles, including implementation of reader response strategies and various participant groupings. Results hold implications for preparing and supporting teachers to recognize and …


Negotiating Language Policy And Practice: Teachers Of English Learners In An Arizona Study Group, Amy Heineke Jan 2016

Negotiating Language Policy And Practice: Teachers Of English Learners In An Arizona Study Group, Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

Arizona language policy now requires English learners to enroll in English language development classrooms for four hours of skill-based, English-only instruction. In this article, I describe Arizona teachers’ interpretation and negotiation of language policy and practice during this time of change to more restrictive mandates. I conducted this qualitative case study with a teacher study group comprised of six English language development teachers and one instructional coach from an urban elementary school during the first semester of language policy implementation. Using discourse analysis of individual interviews, study group dialog, and institutional documentation, I investigated teachers’ talk as they grappled with …


Teacher Preparation And Language Policy Appropriation: A Qualitative Investigation Of Teach For America Teacher In Arizona, Amy Heineke, Quanna Cameron Jan 2016

Teacher Preparation And Language Policy Appropriation: A Qualitative Investigation Of Teach For America Teacher In Arizona, Amy Heineke, Quanna Cameron

Amy J. Heineke

In this qualitative study, we examined teachers’ language policy appropriation in the English-only state of Arizona. Specifically, we investigated teachers who received their professional placement and preparation through the Teach For America organization. We conducted the research in 2010 and 2011, a period when Arizona state language policy required that English learners be placed in English language development classrooms, separated from mainstream classrooms, to receive four hours of daily skill-based language instruction in language-specific content only, including grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and conversation. Through analysis of interview data from seven current corps members and eight alumni teachers, we investigated whether …


Are Teach For America Corps Members Highly Qualified To Teach English Learners?: An Analysis Of Teacher Preparation For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Populations, Amy Heineke, Megan Hopkins Jan 2016

Are Teach For America Corps Members Highly Qualified To Teach English Learners?: An Analysis Of Teacher Preparation For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Populations, Amy Heineke, Megan Hopkins

Amy J. Heineke

Teach For America (TFA) places novice teachers, referred to as corps members, in several regions across the United States that have among the highest English learner populations in the nation. In light of this fact, we offer an examination of federal policy and recommend programmatic strategies to better prepare TFA corps members to serve English learners. First, we describe the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act amendment that allows TFA corps members to be considered highly qualified without adequate training to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Next, we analyze the organizational curriculum and teacher preparation approach specific to …


Teach For America And English Language Learners: Shortcomings Of The Organization’S Training Model, Megan Hopkins, Amy Heineke Jan 2016

Teach For America And English Language Learners: Shortcomings Of The Organization’S Training Model, Megan Hopkins, Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

Teach For America (TFA) places novice teachers, referred to as corps members, in several regions across the United States that have among the highest English language learner (ELL) populations in the nation. In this paper, we present a policy and program analysis of TFA’s training related to ELLs, arguing that the organization inadequately prepares teachers to work with this student population even though it places corps members in regions with high ELL populations. First, we describe the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act amendment that allows TFA corps members to be considered highly qualified without ELL-related training. Next, we analyze …


Preparing Early Childhood Professionals For The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classrooms And Communities Of Illinois, Amy Heineke, Adam Kennedy, Anna Lees Jan 2016

Preparing Early Childhood Professionals For The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classrooms And Communities Of Illinois, Amy Heineke, Adam Kennedy, Anna Lees

Amy J. Heineke

Recent Illinois state policies call for mandatory preparation of early childhood educators to address the needs of the large and growing population of young English language learners. University-based early childhood teacher preparation programs across Illinois have responded by integrating content related to cultural and linguistic diversity into existing programs. The authors discuss research and professional literature in support of teacher preparation programs that emphasize field-based experience, particularly clinical experience in culturally and linguistically diverse schools and community organizations. They describe the comprehensive field-based teacher education program at Loyola University of Chicago that was redesigned to address current Illinois policies related …


Teacher Candidates And Latina/O English Learners At Fenton Elementary School: The Role Of Early Clinical Experiences In Urban Teacher Education, Ambareen Nasir, Amy Heineke Jan 2016

Teacher Candidates And Latina/O English Learners At Fenton Elementary School: The Role Of Early Clinical Experiences In Urban Teacher Education, Ambareen Nasir, Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

This study investigates how early clinical experiences impact teacher candidates’ learning and experiences with Latina/o English learners in a field-based program housed in a multilingual, urban elementary school. We draw on multiple-case study design and use discourse analysis to explore cases of three candidates. Findings reveal exploration of additive language policies, use of cultural tools in academic contexts, and linguistic validity in assessments.


Re-Envisioning The Role Of Universities In Early Childhood Teacher Education: Community Partnerships For 21st-Century Learning, Amy Heineke, Adam Kennedy Jan 2016

Re-Envisioning The Role Of Universities In Early Childhood Teacher Education: Community Partnerships For 21st-Century Learning, Amy Heineke, Adam Kennedy

Amy J. Heineke

Despite contrasting views on the overlap of early childhood education and teacher education, opportunities abound for expanding the role of early childhood educators in broader teacher education discourse. University-based early childhood and Kindergarten-through-grade-12 teacher education share purposes, philosophies, and resources that should be explored to more effectively address the needs of diverse young children and their families. Community partnerships and a shift toward community-based teacher preparation present a context and opportunity for exploring the overlap of these two historically separate fields. In this paper, we present a framework for collaborative, field-based early childhood teacher preparation, situating birth-though-grade-12 teacher education in …