Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching, Critical Professional Development, and Storying School: The Summer Language Academy

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Opportunities and Tensions in Schooling Experiences for Newcomer and Refugee Students

Abstract

In the Summer Language Academy, high-school aged newcomers/new Americans, English learners, and emergent bilinguals explore questions of identity, language and culture through high interest texts and arts-based curriculum. Over the 16 day intensive program, students show growth in an array of academic and affective outcomes, including oral and written literacy in English, sense of connectedness, and academic confidence. In this paper, we focus not on the impact on students, but on the pre- and in-service teachers, instructional assistants, and district administrators who teach within the program. Our analysis centers the opportunities and tensions that arise when new and veteran educators are challenged to increase their consciousness and capacity regarding multicultural, multilingual, and radically inclusive teaching.

Authors

• Alison G Dover, California State University - Fullerton

• Fernando Rodriguez-Valls, California State University - Fullerton