Using Cognitively Demanding Tasks to Build on English Learners’ Resources and Develop Academic Language

• In Event: Research Around Issues of Equity and in Equity-Sensitive Settings

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine how three middle school mathematics teachers approached supporting English learners (ELs) in their mathematics classrooms through providing cognitively demanding tasks that build on the resources that ELs brought to the classroom to develop academic language. These three aspects are of utmost importance for supporting the mathematics and language development of ELs. This paper provides examples of the ways that teachers executed this work through using and unpacking student solutions, developing the summary of the lesson, and acting out the context of a problem. Examining these features in three middle school mathematics teachers allows for an illustration of what these practices can enacted to better understand how mathematics teachers conceive of supporting ELs.

Author

• Sarah Ann Roberts, University of California - Santa Barbara