Teaching and Learning

We investigated the experiences of 12 bilingual teacher candidates as they participated in a non-traditional teacher education program implemented in the context of a partnership between a university, a non-profit organization, and an urban school district. Using the lens of Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Latinx Critical Race Theory, we analyzed participating teachers' interviews, reflection logs, and partnership artifacts. Findings showed that teacher candidates identified positive and negative affordances from participating in the teacher education partnership. Bilingual teacher candidates reported that urban schools were challenging settings to develop their practice and that they had less access to instructional resources and mentors than general education (English-only) teachers. Additional negative affordances included inconsistent expectations between the partnership members with respect to high-quality bilingual education and a mismatch between candidates' educational backgrounds and the subjects they were assigned to teach. Positive affordances of the partnership were being part of a cohort of teachers, having access to specialized bilingual mentors, and getting training relevant to their practices. Bilingual teacher candidates reported that these positive affordances allowed them to discuss issues of equity in their schools and identify ways to advocate for their students. Factors regarding equity in the allocation of educational resources and ways to bridge the gap between research and practice in designing programs that prepare bilingual teachers in urban settings via non-traditional programs are discussed.

Informal formative assessments (IFAs) are classroom interactions teachers use to gather information about their students' learning, interpret it, and act on this information to achieve academic goals. One of the responses science teachers can enact as the result of IFA is constructing explanations to clarify science concepts to their students. Yet, there is scant research on the characteristics of IFA and the explanation practices that could support English Learners in their language and science knowledge development. In this study, we explored the IFA practices of one elementary and one secondary science teacher as they engaged with their students in constructing science explanations. Key findings indicate that teachers frequently co-constructed explanations with their English Learners as a response to IFA interactions. Yet, both teachers used explanations as a response to IFA unsystematically and not as a science development goal. In fact, both teachers used IFA mostly to assess students' language knowledge rather than their science understanding. Even when explanations were constructed to support English Learners' language, these explanations were only constructed orally and teachers' corrections mostly focused on language form (e.g., vocabulary, correct syntax) rather than on language function (i.e., how language is used to construct clear explanations). Finally, our study shows that for explanations to be effectively used with English Learners, teachers need to conduct adequate sampling of their students' science knowledge and language skills by creating structures that allow them to participate in classroom interactions. Implications for IFA and science explanations research and practice are discussed here.

This study contributes to a growing research base investigating how teachers interact and learn from each other in online communities of practice. It specifically investigates the online mentoring conversations between five cohorts of in-service mentor teachers that participated in graduate-level courses about language pedagogy and their mentee pre-service teachers, while they discussed effective practices for English learner (EL) students. The authors used qualitative methods to ask what types of knowledge and skills related to ELs' instruction the participating mentor teachers displayed when they were situated in the role of online mentors of mentee pre-service teachers. Findings showed that mentor teachers demonstrated knowledge and skills in adjusting general learning strategies to support ELs, in applying language development strategies to teach academic language in English, and in using emotional strategies to offer ELs a welcoming environment. Findings also showed that me...

This study contributes to a growing research base investigating how teachers interact and learn from each other in online communities of practice. It specifically investigates the online mentoring conversations between five cohorts of in-service mentor teachers that participated in graduate-level courses about language pedagogy and their mentee pre-service teachers, while they discussed effective practices for English learner (EL) students. The authors used qualitative methods to ask what types of knowledge and skills related to ELs' instruction the participating mentor teachers displayed when they were situated in the role of online mentors of mentee pre-service teachers. Findings showed that mentor teachers demonstrated knowledge and skills in adjusting general learning strategies to support ELs, in applying language development strategies to teach academic language in English, and in using emotional strategies to offer ELs a welcoming environment. Findings also showed that mentor teachers found a favorable space in the online mentoring environment to position themselves as teacher leaders and ELs' advocates.

Due to demographic changes, there is a growing number of adolescent students who learn in classrooms in which their teacher and peers come from cultural and linguistic backgrounds that are different from theirs. In these diverse classrooms, teachers need to be able to facilitate language learning spaces that are welcoming for all children, regardless of their backgrounds. Considering this need, the purpose of this study is to examine how 11 teachers, acting as language mentors of 11 high school English learners, demonstrated intercultural communication and cultural responsiveness during their participation in a 10-week telecollaboration project. To this end, online interactions and the teacher mentors' weekly reflection journals were analyzed. From these analyses, three highly productive relationships were selected and their interactions were analyzed to better understand teachers' approaches to intercultural communication and cultural responsiveness and the role that the identities of teachers and students displayed in both processes. The study findings show that teachers who displayed an online identity as friends or as joint learners offered student mentees the opportunity to lead the conversation, to be recognized as they wanted to be recognized online, and to participate in learning tasks that reflected and engaged them. This study highlights the different needs of adolescent English learners, the complexity of their identities, and the importance of English teachers' dispositions to be humble and open to learn about both.

Schools are increasingly using technology to connect with families. Yet, we still know little about how technology shapes parent engagement—particularly for low-income Latinx families. Garnering insights from the Ecologies of Parental Engagement framework and wide-ranging qualitative data, we explore Latinx engagement at an urban, high-tech elementary school. Findings suggest that technology and language independently and concurrently shaped engagement. Within school-based spaces (e.g., cafeteria, classroom), engagement also manifested differently depending on parents’ resources and the particular space’s rules and norms. In each space, parents overcame barriers to interact and invest—virtually or physically—in their children’s schooling. Implications are discussed.

A considerable body of research has suggested that without appropriate supports and learning opportunities on the job, beginning teachers are unlikely to develop effective instructional practices and find success. Informal supports, such as teachers' advice networks, have received less attention in research and policy yet can serve as substantial supports for teachers' development. In this study, we follow Baker-Doyle and define a teacher's intentional professional network (IPN) to be the set of people to whom the teacher chooses to go for advice or information about teaching. In this study, we investigated how first-year teachers participating in an alternative certification partnership were supported by different individuals over the course of their first year of teaching. In particular, we analyzed their IPNs, col

Schools are increasingly using technology to connect with families. Yet, we still know little about how technology shapes parent engagement-particularly for low-income Latinx families. Garnering insights from the Ecologies of Parental Engagement framework and wide-ranging qualitative data, we explore Latinx engagement at an urban, high-tech elementary school. Findings suggest that technology and language independently and concurrently shaped engagement. Within school-based spaces (e.g., cafeteria, classroom), engagement also manifested differently depending on parents' resources and the particular space's rules and norms. In each space, parents overcame barriers to interact and invest-virtually or physically-in their children's schooling. Implications are discussed.