Multilingual Learners in Math and Science Classes: Drawing on reciprocal knowledge for inclusive teaching

Group Submission Type: Pre-conference Workshop

Description of Session

The global population of international migrants has reached significant proportions, as highlighted by the UN Migration (2022) report, with approximately 3.6% of the world population classified as migrants in 2020. As classrooms become more linguistically and culturally diverse, it is imperative for educational curricula and resources to adequately reflect this growing population in order to effectively include multilingual students. Moreover, considering that 40% of the increase of forcibly displaced individuals consists of children under the age of 18 (UNHCR, 2023), this workshop emphasizes the need for educators to identify and address potential interruptions in education while simultaneously ensuring that these differences are not stigmatizing for students, their families, and their communities. The emphasis is on fostering an inclusive learning environment where diversity becomes an asset that enriches the classroom experience.
Through our five-year SSHRC-funded project called ESCAPE, we collaborate with Grades 6 - 9 STEM teachers and students in three Canadian provinces to introduce language- friendly pedagogical tools and resources and invite families to participate in their children’s learning journey. Our workshop connects to the conference sub-theme of pedagogies and protest by advocating for inclusive education that recognizes the power in generating reciprocal knowledge for changes in the classroom.
Purpose: The purpose of this workshop is to challenge deficit perspectives around multilingual learners and their families by introducing practical strategies and creative resources to support educators’ bringing learners’ funds of knowledge into math and science classes.
Learning Objectives: The participants will:
1. Have access to our multimodal digital resources and learn how to utilize them.
2. Learn how to make use of curricula from other countries to ease the bridging of their students’ previous knowledge to the current classroom.
3. Gain strategies to create partnerships with families and communities.
Plan:
1. Introduce the ESCAPE Projects and discuss the nature of language-friendly pedagogical tools (Le Pichon & Kambel, 2022).
2. Through a reciprocal knowledge lens, explore and compare the science and math curricula of various countries - such as Syria, South Korea, China, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, or Turkey - to help participants better appreciate students' prior education and build on their funds of knowledge.
3. Share innovative language-friendly resources - including Binogi, a multilingual digital tool, and STEM concept lists in multiple languages.
4. Explore how these tools support the inclusion of families and communities in schools, enabling them to become partners in their children’s education (Le Pichon et al., in press; Antony-Newman, 2022).
Throughout our workshop, we prompt interactive questions and group activities. At the end of the session, participants will leave with ready-to-use tools to create an inclusive and positive learning environment for students in STEM-related subjects.

Sub Unit

• Pre-Conference Workshops, Book launches, and Visual Art Exhibits / Pre-Conference Workshop

Chair

• Leanne Adegbonmire, OISE, University of Toronto

Workshop Organizer

• Leanne Adegbonmire, OISE, University of Toronto

Presenting author

• Rosalia Cha, OISE/University of Toronto

• Mai Naji, OISE - University of Toronto

• Sudhashree Girmohanta, O.I.S.E. University of Toronto

• Emmanuelle Le Pichon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto