Preservice Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers' Understanding of How to Teach English Learners: A Comparison Across Programs

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Culture, Identity, and Inquiry in STEM Teacher Education

Abstract

Given demographic shifts and equity concerns, teacher education programs must prepare their preservice teachers (PSTs) to effectively teach English Learners (ELs). This study analyzed interview data from 100 science and mathematics PSTs enrolled in four California universities to learn how they understood effective EL instruction, how prepared they thought themselves to teach ELs, and the sources they identified as useful in their preparation. Results suggest that PSTs from the four campuses held similar understandings of how to teach ELs, with most PSTs focusing on scaffolding language and few explicitly attending to cognitive demand. Across programs, PSTs identified having culturally and linguistically diverse students in their placements and program coursework as the two most important factors contributing to their preparation.

Authors

• Alexis D. Spina, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Valerie Meier, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Julie Bianchini, University of California - Santa Barbara