75.044 - Teaching Academic Content to English Language Learners in the Context of New Common Standards

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Does teaching academic content to English language learners (ELLs) involve specialized knowledge for teaching? The current teacher accountability climate makes this a critical question as the number of ELLs is increasing in U.S. elementary and secondary schools, and mainstream teachers are not adequately prepared to teach content to ELLs. To inform the preparation of content teachers of ELLs for this dynamic sociopolitical and educational context, scholars have discussed various frameworks. This symposium aims to bring together existing scholarly perspectives around a discussion of the following questions: 1) How do different theoretical frameworks address what teachers need to know? Is anything missing? 2) How could content teachers be better prepared to teach content to ELLs?

Sub Unit

• SIG-Bilingual Education Research

Chair

• Sultan Turkan, ETS

Papers

• Teacher Expertise and English Learners: Theoretical and Practical Considerations - Aida Walqui, WestEd

• Developing Teachers' Pedagogical Language Knowledge for English Language Learners and the Common Core Standards - George C. Bunch, University of California - Santa Cruz

• Disciplinary Linguistic Knowledge for Teaching Content to English Language Learners - Sultan Turkan, ETS

• What Do Teachers Need to Know to Support Academic Literacy in Mathematics for English Learners? - Judit N. Moschkovich, University of California - Santa Cruz

Discussants

• Guadalupe Valdes, Stanford University

• Mary J. Schleppegrell, University of Michigan