The Figured Worlds of a Translanguaging FLC and Influences on STEM Education Faculty Members’ Instruction (Poster 7)

• In Event: Research on STEM Professional Learning Communities: Attending to Teacher Learning, Agency, and Equity

Abstract

Objectives. Translanguaging as a justice-oriented pedagogy continues to be studied within K-12 STEM classroom contexts (e.g., Author, 2022; Jakobsson, 2021; Gónzalez-Howard et al., 2023). However, there is little research about supporting STEM education faculty to adopt translanguaging in higher education contexts (Mazak & Carroll, 2016). This poster reports how participation in a faculty learning community (FLC) focused on translanguaging theory and designs influenced shifts in STEM education faculty members’ instruction at a public Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).
Perspectives. To explore how STEM education faculty members’ participation in an FLC influenced shifts to integrate translanguaging instruction, this study is theoretically framed within the concept of figured worlds, derived from the socio-cultural theory and defined as, ‘socially and culturally constructed realm[s] of interpretation’ (Holland et al., 1998, p. 52). From this view, learners are members of interconnected figured worlds whose learning is influenced by educators' prior experiences and the cultural and socio-political contexts within which they work (Ball & Ladson-Billings, 2020).
Context. This work took place at Alpine City University (ACU), a public urban HSI in the U.S. where over 30% of students identified as Latinx at the time of this study. For two semesters, fifteen professors from across university departments met monthly as a FLC to explore translanguaging stances, designs, and shifts (García et al., 2017) through readings, discussions, and visits from guest scholars. Members also modified their courses and reflected on opportunities and challenges related to social justice. Our focal participants are two STEM education professors: Anna and Bailey.
Data and Method. Data from the two focal participants included thirteen 90-minute transcripts of FLC meetings, meeting minutes and agendas, course-related artifacts, and pre/post questionnaires. Co-authors engaged in multiple rounds of inductive and deductive qualitative coding (Miles et al., 2020) using a constant comparative method (Glaser, 1965). We assembled categories of shifts in STEM faculty courses and self-reported classroom practices resulting from this collaboration.
Results. Findings suggest that tools and routines woven into the microworld of the FLC supported participants to integrate translanguaging pedagogies. For example, FLC discussions and a co-created archive with concrete examples of translanguaging course materials supported Anna and Bailey to create translanguaging stance statements for their syllabi, modify assignments to explicitly welcoming translanguaging, and incorporate readings about translanguaging as a social justice imperative. Findings suggest that the macroworld of ACU both supported and challenged participants’ intended translanguaging instructional changes. To illustrate, participants appreciated that ACU supported FLCs, but shared their frustration with the lack of time and translation services for this important work.
Significance. Findings highlight implications for equity-oriented FLC facilitators and higher-ed administrators. Faculty members wear many hats with competing priorities for their time. They need space to engage collectively and individually with translanguaging pedagogy resources they can immediately modify for their contexts. Systems-level changes, such as recognition within the retention-tenure-promotion process, release time, or monetary compensation, are needed to support faculty’s engagement in thoughtful equity work and integrate new justice-oriented learning into classroom practice.

Authors

• Caitlin G. Fine, Metropolitan State University of Denver

• Lina M. Martin Corredor, Metropolitan State University of Denver