Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Language Matters: What Are The Primary School Teachers' Perspectives And Lived Experiences Of Burundi's Language Policy?, Leah Passauer

Capstone Collection

Burundi is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Burundian language policy dictates that four languages, Kirundi, French, English, and Kiswahili, must be taught starting in the second trimester of grade one. The language policy decision is not an obvious one since the country is linguistically homogenous, meaning that almost the entire population speaks Kirundi as their first language. Primary school teachers in the public education system typically receive training in a vocational setting that may not fully prepare them for the complex multilingual classroom environment they are expected to cultivate. The aim of this small-scale mixed-methods …

Parents’ Perspectives Of Cultural Competence In Schools: The Initial Development Of The Culturally Competent School Community Scale, Aijah Kai Baruti Goodwin

LSU Master's Theses

Diversity in school settings is continuously changing with an increase of minority students in the United States school systems. The present study uses a phenomenological approach to gain parents’ experiences related to culturally responsive and competent practices in their child(ren)’s schools. Interviews were conducted with 10 culturally diverse parents with children in preschool and/or elementary school. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded for common themes and analyzed for the frequency and prevalence of the themes in preschool vs. elementary school settings. An analysis of the interviews revealed 6 themes related to culturally competent and responsive practices in school settings. The …

Getting To What Is: Poetry As A Genre Of Access For Multilingual Learners, Audrey A. Friedman, Joelle M. Pedersen, Chris K. Bacon

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper explores the poetry writing of 15, multilingual ninth graders to construct a practitioner framework for analyzing writing as discourse with multilingual learners (MLs). Grounded in an understanding of poetry as a genre of access for both teachers and students, we asked: How does poetry—read as a specific, situated discourse—reveal linguistic and cultural competence among MLs in an urban, high-school classroom?

Using four tools of Critical Discourse Analysis—situated meaning, significance building, connections building, and identity building—we analyzed student poetry produced via an online mentoring platform. Through applying these lenses, three major themes emerged, which structured our framework: language experimentation, …

No.7, March 2019: Bilingual Teacher Residency Programs In California: Considerations For Development And Expansion, Magaly Lavadenz Ph.D., Elvira G. Armas Ed.D., Natividad Robles

Education and Policy Briefs

Public interest, research and policies about dual language education and the multiple benefits of bilingualism and biliteracy have led to shortages of bilingual education teachers in the state and nation. School districts and educator preparation programs are actively looking for pathways of bilingual teacher preparation to meet local demands for more dual language programs. Modeled after medical residencies, teacher residencies are deeply rooted in clinical training, typically placing residents in classrooms with experienced teachers in high-needs schools where they are supported in their development. Teacher residencies allow for the recruitment of teachers, offer strong clinical preparation, connect new teachers to …

Creating A New Normal: Language Education For All, Aleidine J. Moeller, Martha G. Abbott

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Challenge: Language educators play a significant role as agents of change both within our classrooms and beyond. How can we position languages and help policy-makers and administrators at the local, state, and national levels to value multilingualism and multiculturalism as an integral and essential part of every learner’s education? What will that “new normal” look like?

Abstract: How close are we to the reality of all students having the opportunity to learn another language and gaining support for these efforts from the general public? The answer has a long history, which we point out by referencing articles that span the …

Brookings, South Dakota: Learning Lab, Doriane Paso

Empowering Research for Educators

The following paper explores the possibilities of education in one local setting using both an insider and outsider perspective. Education is a part of society, and as society changes, why should education not change with it?

Alexa?: Possibilities Of Voice Assistant Technology And Artificial Intelligence In The Classroom, Patrick D. Hales, Melissa Anderson, Tonya Christianson, Amber Gaspar, Billi Jo Meyer, Beth Nelson, Krista Shilvock, Mary Steinmetz, Makenzi Timmons, Michelle Vande Weerd

Empowering Research for Educators

The following paper represents the combined effort of 10 educators exploring the experience and use of voice assistant technology in classrooms. This reflection and study of our classrooms looks to better understand both our use of technology and students’ use of technology in very specific ways. Is there a place for voice assistant technology in our classrooms? What benefits are there? What obstacles exist? We tell our stories and experiences here with the intent to provide context and continue the discussion among more of our colleagues.

From Assertion To Conversion: Classroom Management For 21st Century Teachers, Benjamin Halbkat

Empowering Research for Educators

The following position paper provides a new teacher's perspective on modern classroom management. Where is there room for improvement? What might the future hold?

High School Biology Preparation: Do Students Feel They Have Been Adequately Prepared For Introductory College Biology?, Mara Neitzel

Empowering Research for Educators

The purpose of this study was to determine how well students are being prepared in high school for introductory college biology courses. Specifically, the objectives of the study are as follows: To gain a better understanding about how well students feel they have been prepared for college science classes based on their high school education, to gain insight on how college preparation in high school impacts students’ self-confidence, and to determine if the accessibility of advanced education courses is influenced by the size of a high school. A mixed methods survey was distributed to freshman in the fall semester of …

In Support Of The Tinker V. Des Moines Decision, Matthew Olson

Empowering Research for Educators

The following position outlines a case for the Tinker v. Des Moines decision, including a historical and modern perspective. With freedom of speech and protest being a regular part of the discussion about U.S. society and schools, now is a good time to look back.

Project On Designing Activities For Teaching Grammar, Sunny Hyon

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This document outlines a project for a course in second language acquisition taken by undergraduates who intend to be high school or university teachers/professors. The project asks the undergraduates to design a sequence of activities for teaching English language learners (ELLs) a particular English grammatical construction, and to connect those activities to reading or writing assignments in their future classrooms. The students also must explain how their activities will facilitate ELLs' grammatical learning, drawing on research on language acquisition presented in the course.

Increasing Engagement Of English Learners Through Universal Design For Learning, Melinda S. Eichhorn, Amanda E. Lowry, Kristen Burke

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing segment of K–12 students. When ELs do not respond to instruction as quickly as their English-speaking peers, teachers may focus on their deficits and wrongly label them as having a learning disability. In this article on the universal design for learning engagement guidelines, we summarize how we have anticipated learning barriers and increased engagement with academic content for ELs in our practice. By teaching strategies for self-regulation and individual coping skills, providing guided practice and support to sustain effort, and giving students various ways to achieve the same goal in a safe learning …

Multicultural Teacher Education Matters, Reginald Todd, Jacqueline Smith

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

This article focuses on the impact the demographic change in the student population in current K-12 classrooms has had on teacher education programs as it pertains to the preparation of culturally responsive preservice teachers. There exists an extensive body of literature that posits that the increase of cultural diversity in our current classrooms should be understood as a call for new teaching approaches that promote multicultural awareness among teacher educators to develop preservice teachers who exhibit culturally responsive teaching practices, behaviors, and attitudes. This comprehensive review of literature explored the current research on multicultural teacher education programs, and more specifically …

Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Bible Tells Me So, Nyaradzo Mvududu

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The US population is becoming more and more diverse. This is the reality. In light of this fact people in all walks of life – e.g. education, healthcare, religion – will inevitably interact in their day to day lives with others who are increasingly different from themselves. It follows that for these interactions to be effective, we need to become more culturally competent. We need to be aware of how culture shapes us and those around us. In order to cross boundaries that can arise from our difference we need to acknowledge and value those differences. For Christians, being culturally …

Preparing Prospective Teachers To Teach Culturally Diverse Populations, Carrie Kondor, Angela Owusu-Ansah, Lynn Keyne-Michaels

CUP Faculty Research

Out of every three students enrolled in either elementary or secondary school in the United States, one is of a racial or ethnic minority, whereas about 87% of the teachers are White and female. The rate of increase in minority K-12 students, who are often also living in poverty, is projected to increase to 41% by the year 2020 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). In contrast, those coming into teaching, and those who teach prospective teachers [remain for the most part] White females who have been raised in middle class homes in rural and suburban communities, strengthening the persistence …

Islamophobia In U.S. Education, Shabana Mir, Loukia K. Sarroub

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Anti-Muslim sentiment has grown in scale and visibility far beyond its association with the horrific attacks of 2001. The US government’s “War on Terror,” which began after the attacks, often pervades the domestic landscape as a war on Islamic religious “extremism.” The definitions and content of such religious extremism are so extensive that they encompass large numbers of Muslims, and they highlight Muslims as being inherently problematic. For example, the success of the 2016 presidential campaign can be said to have relied significantly on a right-wing Islamophobic fear-mongering that shariah was set to take over the US. As we grappled …

Parent Involvement In Contested Times: A Brief Analysis Of The Effects Of Anti-Immigrant Policies On Latinx Immigrant Parent Involvement, Maria Isabel Morales

CGU Theses & Dissertations

How do perceived community and school cultural values affect Latinx immigrant parents’ decisions to engage with their children’s schools? What lessons might their experiences have for our understanding of parent involvement beyond the parameters of traditional models of parent involvement? Engaging parents as advocates for school success in the home is particularly important for English Language Learners (ELs). Tapping into the experiences of EL parents is a resource educators can use to increase parental involvement and, consequently, student academic achievement.

This qualitative case study grounded in Critical Inquiry and Cultural Historic Activity Theory examined the perceptions and experiences of 5 …

A Narrative Inquiry Into Experiences Of Indigenous Teachers During And After Teacher Preparation, James Alan Oloo, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This narrative inquiry is informed by a concern to increase the number of Indigenous teachers in Canadian classrooms. While the Indigenous population is younger and growing faster than the non-Indigenous population, educational attainment gap remains between the two groups of Canadians. The gap is widening at the university level. This study explores the experiences of two Indigenous teachers during and after teacher education in an Indigenous teacher education program and attempts to reframe teacher education to enhance the meaningful engagement of pre-service Indigenous teachers. We conducted interviews as conversations with the study participants as guided by open-ended unstructured research questions …

Preparing Content Teachers To Work With Multilingual Students, Kara Viesca, Annela Teemant

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

It is well‐documented that content teachers (e.g., math, science, social studies, etc.) have not been adequately prepared to address the increasing number of multilingual students in their classes (Freeman & Freeman, 2014; Lucas, 2011). While many teacher education programs strive to prepare teachers during initial licensure programs (e.g., de Oliveira & Yough, 2015; Freeman & Freeman, 2014; Levine, Howard, & Moss, 2014) and recent work has focused on secondary teacher preparation at both pre‐service and in‐service levels (de Oliveira & Obenchain, 2018; de Oliveira, Obenchain, Kenney, & Oliveira, in press; de Oliveira & Shoffner, 2016; de Oliveira & Wilcox, 2017), …

“I Felt Valued”: Multilingual Microteachings And The Development Of Teacher Agency In A Teacher Education Classroom, Theresa Catalano, Hanihani C. Traore Moundiba, Hadi Pir

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Existing research has explored the value of multilingual pedagogies that focus on utilizing the linguistic / cultural resources of students (e.g., García & Kleyn 2016, Turner 2017); however, there is still a need to examine how the kinds of teacher agency that can lead to multilingual pedagogies actually being implemented can best be developed in teacher education classrooms. The present study incorporates collaborative auto-ethnography to examine microteaching activities / reflections of three researcher-participants in a teacher education course on schooling and multilingualism. The authors found that playing the role of students in the microteachings enabled them to reflect on their …

Improving School Culture To Enhance Academic Achievement At Samad Islamic School: A Change Leadership Plan, Hanan Matari, Ruqia Ali

Dissertations

The purpose of this leadership change plan was to understand the influence of Samad School’s culture on students’ academic achievement. The goal was to help Samad Islamic School to develop and follow an action plan to improve school culture. Wagner et al.’s (2006) 4C’s change leadership model was used to analyze four dimensions of the school: context, conditions, competencies, and culture. An adapted version of the School Culture Triage Survey was used to collect data. Survey results were presented to and discussed among teachers in both large and small group settings followed by written individual teacher reflections on the process. …

Ela And Esl Educators’ Lived Experiences In Urban, Middle Level, Mainstream Classrooms, Georgia Danos

Masters Theses

This ethnographic qualitative study explores best practices for English Language Learning (ELL) students by analyzing one particular co-taught 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classroom where students received instruction from both a trained ELA teacher and one certified in English as a Second Language (ESL). The results suggest that the ELA mainstream teacher, Mr. Scott, was disengaged in class; disinterested in his students; unaware of his students’ backgrounds and needs; unaware of professional development offered; resistant and resentful towards new pedagogical approaches; tentatively interested in but unaware of best practices; displayed unprofessionalism; and indifferent about students' academic success. The ESL …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Adoption Of New Pedagogies In Kazakhstan, Phillipa Schulleri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Kazakhstan has used the Soviet system of education since its independence in 1990. Researchers have noted shortfalls in education reform efforts and documented factors of teachers' resistance to new pedagogies. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore local teachers' perceptions of the new pedagogies in the context of understanding the local-international teacher program in Agrenov international schools (AIS). Three research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of factors for adoption of new pedagogies in an educationally transforming school using the motivational and systems approaches and emotional intelligence conceptual frameworks. A conceptual framework constructed from three theories of motivation, …

The Mañana Complex: A Revelatory Narrative Of Teachers’ White Innocence And Racial Disgust Toward Mexican–American Children, Amanda Morales, Elvira Abrica, Socorro Herrera

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This paper presents selected findings from an ethnographic case study of at a public junior high school. Analysis of White teachers’ discourse implicated a perspective of Mexican–American children that we describe as a mañana complex, a perceived association between Mexican–Americans and the term “mañana” (Spanish: “tomorrow”). We outline how this mañana complex among White teachers is indicative of historical racial tropes of Mexicans in the United States while also reflecting current anti-Mexican discourse emboldened and made more fervent by the current US presidential administration. Ultimately, the mañana complex is an example of both racial disgust toward Mexican–American children (Matias and …

Developing A Complex Portrait Of Content Teaching For Multilingual Learners Via Nonlinear Theoretical Understandings, Kara Viesca, Kathryn Strom, Svenja Hammer, Jessica E. Masterson, Cindy H. Linzell, Jessica Mitchell-Mccollough, Naomi Flynn

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Utilizing a complex theory of teacher learning and practice, this chapter analyzes ~120 empirical studies of content teacher development (both preservice and in-service) for working with multilingual learners as well as research on content teaching for multilingual students. Our analysis identified three dimensions of quality content teaching for multilingual learners that are complex and intricately connected: context, orientations, and pedagogy. This chapter explores the results of our literature analysis and argues for improving content teaching for multilingual students through improved theoretically grounded research that embraces, explores, and accounts for the expansive complexities inherent in teacher learning and practice.

“It’S Ok. She Doesn’T Even Speak English”: Narratives Of Language, Culture, And Identity Negotiation By Immigrant High School Students, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, James Alan Oloo

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This study employs narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of two female, first-generation immigrant- and refugee-background students from West Africa. Using interview as conversation for guiding open-ended research questions and Yosso’s community cultural wealth (CCW) framework, we present participant narratives that speak to both similar and divergent experiences, which demonstrate a deep understanding of complex social issues presenting both tensions and opportunities for African immigrant and refugee student educational success in the United States. The study draws implications for rephrasing normative thinking about emerging multilingual students of African descent and developing a culturally responsive pedagogy for all students.

Untapped Communicative Resources In Multilingual Classroom Settings: Possible Alternatives, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, James Alan Oloo

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a critical review of literature relating to language policy and literacy practices in education, with a particular focus on multilingual Kenya. Existing research on schooling in Kenya often draws attention to the use of languages that are distanced from students’ daily realities and localities. This article synthesizes research on literacy practices in Kenyan primary classrooms to explicate the current language-in-education policy and practices, and, to discuss their impacts on literacy access and knowledge production in the classroom. We argue that Kenya’s language-in-education policy, which informs curricula and teaching, and is itself grounded in monoglossic orientations, inhibits students’ …

Using Spanish In English-Language Spaces: Identifying Bilingual Composition Students' Translanguaging Practices, Maria Isela Maier

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation is a qualitative study that uses ethnographic research methods to examine the translanguaging practices of bilingual students in first-year composition at a university along the U.S.-Mexico border. Specifically, I observe how and why bilingual students employ translanguaging practices, as they are encouraged or invited by their instructors, in contexts where English Standard Language policies exist. The results of this qualitative project demonstrate bilingual students' use of translation as part of their translanguaging practices, as well as a tool that uncovers students' writing processes which also demonstrates their language negotiation. Furthermore, the students' translanguaging practices reveal the rhetorical use …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Implementing Differentiated Instruction For English Language Learners, Mary E. Pegram

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators and teachers are concerned that English Language Learners (ELLs) in an urban elementary school in a southern part of the United States are not meeting required state standards in reading. Teachers have indicated that they do not always know how to differentiate instruction for ELLs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate teachers' implementation of differentiated instruction for ELLs. This research study was guided by the conceptual framework of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and Tomlinson's theory of implementing differentiated instruction. The research questions investigated teachers' perceptions of differentiated instruction and their professional development for mediating …

Teachers Support For English Language Learners To Build Inquiry Skills In Online Biology Simulations, Hermione Joseph-Orelus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population of English language learners (ELLs) is on the rise in the United States, but they are lagging behind English speaking students in several subject areas--including biology. Scholarly literature lacks information on how biology teachers use scaffolding strategies to support ELL students with inquiry skills during online simulations. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore how biology teachers support ELLs in learning biology, using biology simulations to promote inquiry learning. The conceptual framework for this study included the constructivist perspective regarding the zone of proximal development, Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol, and technology use in science …