Supporting Teachers' Productive Beliefs and Practices for Working With English Learners in Math

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: STEM in the Professional Development School

Abstract

This study details a Summer Institute targeted at supporting productive beliefs and instructional practices of math teachers. Teachers were recruited from schools serving high percentages of English learners (ELs). Teachers learned about fixed and growth mindsets, mathematics content knowledge, characteristics of ELs, and instructional practices to support ELs in mathematics. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered to ascertain instructional practices the teachers planned to implement in their classrooms and their beliefs about the nature of math and math learning. Findings indicated that teachers planned to implement many practices, but the most commonly cited were: using visuals and manipulatives, pre-teaching vocabulary, and incorporating videos and realia in lessons. Teachers’ beliefs changed throughout the workshop in line with a reform-oriented mathematics philosophy.

Authors

• Maria Isolina Ruiz, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Melissa A. Gallagher, University of Louisiana at Lafayette