Preservice Teachers' Learning to Design Curriculum for Inclusive Bilingual Education: Capturing Relevant Aspects of Curriculum

• In Event: AERA Virtual Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Curriculum and Pedagogy to Improve Teacher Knowledge and Instruction

Abstract

Teachers are essential in implementing inclusive education, including creating and enacting curriculum addressing multiple forms of difference simultaneously. Employing disability studies in education and cultural historical activity theory, this study centers on understanding how teacher candidates’ conceptions of curriculum evolve, during a semester-long graduate course, toward hybrid understandings that build on the abilities and resources of emergent bilingual children with disabilities. Following a mixed-methods design, we analyzed pre-and-post collages and written reflections of 23 participating candidates. Findings show that the candidates reformulated five of the eight curriculum design aspects analyzed. Qualitative examples illustrate how the candidates expressed these changes, including metaphorical descriptions, highlighting aspects for teachers to understand hybrid curriculum design to accommodate a wide array of learner differences.

Authors

• Patricia Martínez-Álvarez, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Isabel Cuevas

• Natalia Saez, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Minhye Son, California State University - Dominguez Hills