Design and Implications of a Program: Preparing Prospective Teachers to Teach Emergent Bilinguals

• In Event: 61.069 - MTCC Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 61.069-4 - Preservice Teacher Perspectives and Practices Working With Multilingual Learners

Abstract

The increasing number of emergent bilinguals (EBs) in U.S. public schools calls for teacher preparation (TP) programs to adequately prepare prospective teachers to meet the learning needs to EBs in general education classrooms. Research suggests that EBs benefit from differentiated instruction (Cummings, 2014) which includes scaffolding comprehension/production, promoting engagement with literacy, connecting EBs’ lives with the curriculum, etc. This longitudinal study explores the design of a program, and how it supports interns design tasks and lesson plans to be used in their field placement. I explore how the particular features of the program prepared interns to differentiate instruction based on EBs’ individual characteristics and learning needs.

Author

• Denisse Maribel Hinojosa, Michigan State University