Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2016

Selected Works

Teacher Education and Professional Development

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education

Developing Agency For Advocacy: Collaborative Inquiry-Focused School Change Projects As Transformative Learning For Practicing Teachers. The New Educator, Kathryn Brooks, Susan R. Adams Oct 2016

Developing Agency For Advocacy: Collaborative Inquiry-Focused School Change Projects As Transformative Learning For Practicing Teachers. The New Educator, Kathryn Brooks, Susan R. Adams

Kathryn Brooks

Many mainstream educators of English language learners (ELLs) have experienced neither adequate pre-service preparation nor appropriate in-service professional development. Yet, ELLs are one of the fastest growing student populations in the United States. While practicing teachers typically espouse the view that all students can learn, they often lack the knowledge and skills necessary to support ELLs in their academic and language development.This gap in preservice teacher education programs often leads general education teachers to rely heavily on bilingual paraprofessionals and language teachers for educating ELL students. This paper describes a 5-year professional development initiative, Project Alianza, during which the researchers …

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Creating Conditions For Transforming Practicing K-12 Mainstream Teachers Of English Language Learners, Susan R. Adams, Kathryn Brooks Oct 2016

Creating Conditions For Transforming Practicing K-12 Mainstream Teachers Of English Language Learners, Susan R. Adams, Kathryn Brooks

Kathryn Brooks

Critical incident reflection journal writing provides a rich source for identifying high impact components of Project Alianza, a graduate course for mainstream secondary teachers funded by a US Department of Education Title III Professional Development grant. In this narrative pilot study featuring one strand of existing data, the co-authors, who are also co-instructors and co-researchers, begin the first rounds of analysis to identify emerging key conditions and contributing factors featured within specialized graduate courses for encouraging dispositional change and professional efficacy toward English language learners (ELLs) in practicing K-12 mainstream educators. Using Mezirow’s adult transformational learning theory (1991), Kegan’s stage …

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Creating Inclusive Learning Communities For Ell Students: Transforming School Principals' Perspectives, Kathryn Brooks, Susan R. Adams, Trish Morita-Mullaney Oct 2016

Creating Inclusive Learning Communities For Ell Students: Transforming School Principals' Perspectives, Kathryn Brooks, Susan R. Adams, Trish Morita-Mullaney

Kathryn Brooks

School-level administrators are often concerned about tertiary supports for English language learners (ELLs), such as translating signs and school documents or offering Spanish classes for their teachers. Although modeling and learning the heritage language(s) of the ESL population can be helpful, its focus on language differences can limit our considerations of broader systemic challenges that impact the success of ELLs in our schools. This article shares the dialogues that school administrators are having about ELL students and discusses the use of social justice and equity focused professional learning communities as a way to transform this discourse to address the broader …

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Building On The Cultural And Linguistic Capital Of English Learner (El) Students, Kathryn Brooks, Katya Karathanos Oct 2016

Building On The Cultural And Linguistic Capital Of English Learner (El) Students, Kathryn Brooks, Katya Karathanos

Kathryn Brooks

...While our nation has a long history of competing ideologies and political controversies related to English immersion (in which the primary language of instruction is English) programs versus bilingual education, scholars contend that these two educational approaches need not be conceptualized as dichotomous. Rather, when educators consider what approaches and strategies will provide the best opportunities for particular students to learn in particular contexts, they must bear in mind that for EL students, their native languages and cultures are key resources to draw upon for teaching both content and language (Lucas & Katz, 1994). They must also think about how …

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Teaching In Northwestern China Under A Market Economy: Opportunities And Challenges, Gulbahar H. Beckett May 2016

Teaching In Northwestern China Under A Market Economy: Opportunities And Challenges, Gulbahar H. Beckett

Gulbahar Beckett

This article discusses a case study that explored the impacts of a market economy on some Northwestern Chinese teachers’ working and living conditions as well as opportunities and challenges the new economy presented from teachers’ perspectives. Analysis of surveys, interviews, and documents revealed that the participants believed they had benefited from the market economy, citing pay raises as well as improved working and living conditions. Participants thought opportunities under the market economy included additional earnings as well as improved national and international professional development. However, the participants found the shift from the traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to a more student-centered approach …

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Investigating Vocabulary And Reading Strategies With Middle Grades English Language Learners: A Research Synthesis, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón Apr 2016

Investigating Vocabulary And Reading Strategies With Middle Grades English Language Learners: A Research Synthesis, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón

Brooke Kandel-Cisco

Recent data indicate that many adolescent English language learners (ELLs) comprehend English texts at only a limited literal level. The purpose of this research synthesis was to systematically identify and describe the research related to the English reading comprehension of middle grades ELLs while also making practical connections to instruction. Parameters were established to determine whether the collected research studies met the purpose of the synthesis and the standards for quality research, using the guiding principles for scientific research set forth in the National Research Council’s Scientific Research in Education. Three themes emerged across the 11 identified studies: (a) the …

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Using A Resiliency Perspective To Inform Bilingual Teachers’ Classroom Inquiry, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón Apr 2016

Using A Resiliency Perspective To Inform Bilingual Teachers’ Classroom Inquiry, Brooke Kandel-Cisco, Yolanda Padrón

Brooke Kandel-Cisco

Recent research has established the importance of teacher quality in the academic success or failure of students (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Sanders, Wright, & Horn, 2004) and policy initiatives, such as NCLB, have propelled the issue of teacher quality to the forefront of educational reform in the U.S. While No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been successful in establishing minimum teacher quality standards for general educators, the act has failed to highlight the importance of quality for teachers of second language learners (Nieto. 2003). Teacher quality is especially impo1tant for second language learners. both because of the pedagogic and Iinguistic complexities inherent …

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The Relationship Between A College Preparation Program And At-Risk Students' College Readiness, Jennifer Cates, Scott Schaefle Jan 2016

The Relationship Between A College Preparation Program And At-Risk Students' College Readiness, Jennifer Cates, Scott Schaefle

Scott Schaefle

This study evaluates the relationship between elements of a college preparation program and the college readiness of low-income and/or Latina/o students at the completion of 6 years of participation in the program. Hours of participation in tutoring, mentoring, advising, college campus visits, summer programs, and educational field trips are examined in relationship to students' college-track course completion and Preliminary SAT (PSAT) participation. In addition, the relationship between students' expectations for college and their ranking of program activities is examined. Results indicate that key program elements related to college readiness include advising, college campus visits, and college information through booklets and …

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Reaching For Success: A Close-Up Of Mexican Immigrant Parents In The Usa Who Foster Literacy Success For Their Kindergarten Children, Cristina Gillanders, Robert Jimenez Jan 2016

Reaching For Success: A Close-Up Of Mexican Immigrant Parents In The Usa Who Foster Literacy Success For Their Kindergarten Children, Cristina Gillanders, Robert Jimenez

Cristina Gillanders

The purpose of this study was to examine the home environment of immigrant Mexican kindergarteners of low socio-economic status in the USA who display high levels of emergent literacy when compared to their peers. To examine the home environments, the study focused on the literacy beliefs and practices of four families. Findings highlight the role of parental active support and corresponding literacy practices at home, as promoters of positive effects of bilingualism and consequently literacy learning. In addition, the school’s use of Spanish facilitated the dynamic of the families’ belief in active support of their children’s literacy learning and subsequent …

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An English-Speaking Prekindergarten Teacher For Young Latino Children: Implications Of The Teacher…Child Relationship On Second Language Learning, Cristina Gillanders Jan 2016

An English-Speaking Prekindergarten Teacher For Young Latino Children: Implications Of The Teacher…Child Relationship On Second Language Learning, Cristina Gillanders

Cristina Gillanders

This case study was designed to describe how an effective English-speaking prekindergarten teacher develops strategies for communicating with and teaching young English language learners. The teacher’s classroom practices to enhance her own relationship with the children promoted opportunities for the Latino children to become full participants in the classroom community. At the end of the year, the Latino children showed progress in formal and informal measures of receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. Findings from the study suggest the importance of the affective and social nature of second language learning in young children. Implications for practice and research are …

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What Kind Of School Would You Like For Your Children? Exploring Minority Mothers' Beliefs To Promote Home-School Partnerships, Cristina Gillanders, Marvin Mckinney, Sharon Ritchie Jan 2016

What Kind Of School Would You Like For Your Children? Exploring Minority Mothers' Beliefs To Promote Home-School Partnerships, Cristina Gillanders, Marvin Mckinney, Sharon Ritchie

Cristina Gillanders

The purpose of this article is to describe an approach that can be used by schools to understand low income minority parents' goals for the education of their children and to design responsive strategies to support these goals. Focus groups of minority mothers with low income levels are conducted and the information collected is used by schools for promoting dialogue and self-reflection to potentially improve the quality of the school's home-school partnerships. The article includes examples of information collected through focus groups with two groups of mothers: Latina and African-American. Findings from the focus groups are used to design home-school …

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With Affection And Love: Latino Families Prepare Their Families For Success In School, M. Sanchez, Cristina Gillanders, Y. Criolani Jan 2016

With Affection And Love: Latino Families Prepare Their Families For Success In School, M. Sanchez, Cristina Gillanders, Y. Criolani

Cristina Gillanders

No abstract provided.

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