Teaching Content to Latino Bilingual-Dual Language Learners: Maximizing Their Learning

Edition: 1

Copyright: 2010

Pages: 210

Choose Your Format

Choose Your Platform | Help Me Choose

Ebook

$76.57

ISBN 9781465227782

Details Electronic Delivery EBOOK 180 days

Excellent teaching can make
a positive difference for students.


The growing population and diversity of students in our schools is of great interest and concern to educators. The increase in the number of students who speak a language other than English has been dramatic and is expected to continue growing.

Teaching Content to Latino Bilingual-Dual Language Learners: Maximizing Their Learning presents some of the most critical educational issues and challenges that educators must address. In this book, the conditions within which bilingual-dual language learners can effectively thrive and excel in our schools is explored. The goal is to provide pre- and in-service bilingual teachers with the resources to assist them in delivering effective instruction to these students.

Teaching Content to Latino Bilingual-Dual Language Learners

  • Helps teachers make connections between the theoretical and practical information about bilingual instructional contexts that enhance teachers’ classroom performance.
  • Increases student academic success, particularly as it relates to content literacy.
  • Provides a wealth of ideas for engaging students in literacy activities across the content areas in a very accessible manner.
  • Integrates the use of graphic organizers to facilitate the understanding of complex concepts. 
  • Enhances the confidence of pre- and in-service teachers. 
  • Includes application sections that describe state-of-the-art practice and related issues associated with effective teaching and learning with a bilingual context.


This text achieves the goal of improved teacher preparation programs and quality professional development for practicing educators of bilingual-dual language learners. Pre-service teachers can use this book as a tool to help make connections between language theory, learning theories, and pedagogy as they prepare to become bilingual teachers. In-service teachers can utilize this book as an instructional guide as they better prepare lesson plans and teach content literacy to D/DLLs more effectively.

 

Introduction

Chapter 1: Who Are Bilingual/Dual Language Learners?
—Jose A. Ruiz-Escalante and Zulmaris Diaz

Chapter 2: How Bilingual/Dual Language Learners Acquire New Knowledge
—J. Joy Esquierdo

Chapter 3: Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—Isela Almaguer

Chapter 4: A Framework for Instruction in Science for Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—María G. Arreguín Anderson and Zulmaris Diaz

Chapter 5: Maximizando la Instrucción Diaria en Ciencias para los Estudiantes Bilingües
—Zulmaris Diaz, María G. Arreguín-Anderson, Matilde A. Sarmiento-Arribalzaga

Chapter 6: A Framework for Instruction in Mathematics for Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—Jaime Curts

Chapter 7: Maximizando la Instrucción Diaria en Matemáticas para los Estudiantes Bilingües
—Zulmaris Diaz

Chapter 8: A Framework for Instruction in Social Studies for Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—Leticia De León

Chapter 9: Maximizando la Instrucción Diaria en Estudios Sociales para los Estudiantes Bilingües
—Leticia De León 

Isela Almaguer
Dr. Isela Almaguer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction of the College of Education at The University of Texas-Pan American. She has been a faculty member of the College of Education since 1995, and has taught both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Almaguer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bilingual Education and a Master of Arts degree in Reading as a Reading Specialist. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in reading and early literacy from the University of Houston. Her public school experience includes teaching at the elementary level, where she has had extensive experience as a bilingual early childhood classroom teacher. Additionally, she has provided professional development seminars to teachers in the areas of reading, early literacy, and effective instructional strategies for English-language learners in dual-language classroom settings.

Dr. Almaguer is Coordinator of the Elementary Education Program. She has assisted with aligning course content with field experiences and providing orientations to partner schools. She is active in professional organizations, serving as a member of both the Collaborative and of the Leadership Council of the Higher Education Collaborative (HEC) with the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas. She also contributes to her department and community through her continued service on various university and department committees and organizations. Dr. Almaguer’s current research interests include the literacy development of English-language learners through the use of socially mediated instructional approaches, the effect of dual-language education on literacy development and second language acquisition, and technology integration in teacher education. 
Zulmaris Diaz
Dr. Zulmaris Diaz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education at The University of Texas Pan-American (UTPA). Dr. Diaz’s research is focused on teacher training, specifically in the area of bilingual / English as a second language (ESL), and the development of math literacy in bilingual children. One of her primary interests, both from a teaching and a research perspective, is the preparation of all teachers to work with English-language learners. Her qualifications stem from her training in bilingual education, bilingual special education, professional teaching experience, research, supervision of student-teachers, and mentoring. Dr. Diaz has demonstrated a profound commitment to promoting diversity through education.

Dr. Diaz’s teaching experience has not only concentrated at the college level but also at the K–12 level. She was a bilingual (Spanish/English) elementary school teacher for a number of years in Austin and Bryan, TX, as well as a bilingual/ESL student-teacher supervisor. As a specialist in second language acquisition, she is committed to helping language minority students meet high standards. In order for second language learners to achieve high standards, it is imperative that future educators learn how to serve them better. Her ultimate goal as an educator is to utilize her experience, research, and knowledge to develop effective programs that will prepare the nation’s future educators to serve culturally and linguistically diverse students, and to promote bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism. 
Leticia De Leon
Dr. Leticia De León is currently a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and is the Elementary Evening Program Coordinator in the College of Education at The University of Texas-Pan American. Her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees were earned in the areas of English and Reading respectively, from The University of Texas-Pan American; her Doctor of Education degree is in Curriculum and Instruction, through the University of Houston. She taught English and reading in the public schools for 10 years prior to working in higher education.

She is currently the principal investigator in a state grant that is charged with training middle school social studies teachers to incorporate strategies to meet the needs of English-language learners in their content areas. Her main areas of interest include literacy and motivation, primarily in the content areas, and technology innovations in teacher preparation programs. 
Jennifer Joy Esquierdo
Dr. J. Joy Esquierdo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas-Pan American. She is currently the Bilingual Education Program Coordinator. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University at College Station in 2006; her Bachelor of Arts and her Master of Education degrees in Elementary Education—Bilingual/Bicultural from The University of Texas-Pan American. She taught and worked in Texas public schools for nine years before working in academia. The majority of her teaching experience is from working in elementary schools in the Rio Grande Valley and in the Houston area. She has provided teacher training in the areas of gifted bilingual education, dual-language education, and various sessions on how to increase the academic rigor in bilingual classrooms.

Dr. Esquierdo’s academic interests center on bilingual education, gifted and talented education, and the cognitive development of children, especially bilingual children. She has a strong commitment to dual language education programs. The positive long-term outcomes of dual-language programs offer evidence of closing the current academic achievement gap between bilingual Hispanic students and American mainstream students. Her research agenda include topics that focus on the academic performance of bilingual students in various areas, such as gifted education, content literacy development (in both English and Spanish), and overall best teaching practices for bilingual learners. 
Jaime B. Curts
Dr. Jaime Curts is currently the Associate Dean of the College of Education and the Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas-Pan American. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction (Mathematics Education/Quantitative Educational Psychology) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Master of Education (Education/Statistics) degree from Colorado State University, and a Bachelor of Science (Biomathematics) degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He taught college applied-mathematics courses and middle school algebra before joining UTPA in 2000.

He is currently one of the coprincipal investigators of the Mathematics-Science Teacher Preparation Academy (MSTPA) project, a state grant issued for preparing highly qualified pre- and in-service teachers in mathematics. His main research interest is the effect of using concept mapping for bilingual Hispanic students learning school mathematics. He is also involved in researching best mathematics-teaching practices through action research. 

Excellent teaching can make
a positive difference for students.


The growing population and diversity of students in our schools is of great interest and concern to educators. The increase in the number of students who speak a language other than English has been dramatic and is expected to continue growing.

Teaching Content to Latino Bilingual-Dual Language Learners: Maximizing Their Learning presents some of the most critical educational issues and challenges that educators must address. In this book, the conditions within which bilingual-dual language learners can effectively thrive and excel in our schools is explored. The goal is to provide pre- and in-service bilingual teachers with the resources to assist them in delivering effective instruction to these students.

Teaching Content to Latino Bilingual-Dual Language Learners

  • Helps teachers make connections between the theoretical and practical information about bilingual instructional contexts that enhance teachers’ classroom performance.
  • Increases student academic success, particularly as it relates to content literacy.
  • Provides a wealth of ideas for engaging students in literacy activities across the content areas in a very accessible manner.
  • Integrates the use of graphic organizers to facilitate the understanding of complex concepts. 
  • Enhances the confidence of pre- and in-service teachers. 
  • Includes application sections that describe state-of-the-art practice and related issues associated with effective teaching and learning with a bilingual context.


This text achieves the goal of improved teacher preparation programs and quality professional development for practicing educators of bilingual-dual language learners. Pre-service teachers can use this book as a tool to help make connections between language theory, learning theories, and pedagogy as they prepare to become bilingual teachers. In-service teachers can utilize this book as an instructional guide as they better prepare lesson plans and teach content literacy to D/DLLs more effectively.

 

Introduction

Chapter 1: Who Are Bilingual/Dual Language Learners?
—Jose A. Ruiz-Escalante and Zulmaris Diaz

Chapter 2: How Bilingual/Dual Language Learners Acquire New Knowledge
—J. Joy Esquierdo

Chapter 3: Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—Isela Almaguer

Chapter 4: A Framework for Instruction in Science for Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—María G. Arreguín Anderson and Zulmaris Diaz

Chapter 5: Maximizando la Instrucción Diaria en Ciencias para los Estudiantes Bilingües
—Zulmaris Diaz, María G. Arreguín-Anderson, Matilde A. Sarmiento-Arribalzaga

Chapter 6: A Framework for Instruction in Mathematics for Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—Jaime Curts

Chapter 7: Maximizando la Instrucción Diaria en Matemáticas para los Estudiantes Bilingües
—Zulmaris Diaz

Chapter 8: A Framework for Instruction in Social Studies for Bilingual/Dual Language Learners
—Leticia De León

Chapter 9: Maximizando la Instrucción Diaria en Estudios Sociales para los Estudiantes Bilingües
—Leticia De León 

Isela Almaguer
Dr. Isela Almaguer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction of the College of Education at The University of Texas-Pan American. She has been a faculty member of the College of Education since 1995, and has taught both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Almaguer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bilingual Education and a Master of Arts degree in Reading as a Reading Specialist. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in reading and early literacy from the University of Houston. Her public school experience includes teaching at the elementary level, where she has had extensive experience as a bilingual early childhood classroom teacher. Additionally, she has provided professional development seminars to teachers in the areas of reading, early literacy, and effective instructional strategies for English-language learners in dual-language classroom settings.

Dr. Almaguer is Coordinator of the Elementary Education Program. She has assisted with aligning course content with field experiences and providing orientations to partner schools. She is active in professional organizations, serving as a member of both the Collaborative and of the Leadership Council of the Higher Education Collaborative (HEC) with the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas. She also contributes to her department and community through her continued service on various university and department committees and organizations. Dr. Almaguer’s current research interests include the literacy development of English-language learners through the use of socially mediated instructional approaches, the effect of dual-language education on literacy development and second language acquisition, and technology integration in teacher education. 
Zulmaris Diaz
Dr. Zulmaris Diaz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education at The University of Texas Pan-American (UTPA). Dr. Diaz’s research is focused on teacher training, specifically in the area of bilingual / English as a second language (ESL), and the development of math literacy in bilingual children. One of her primary interests, both from a teaching and a research perspective, is the preparation of all teachers to work with English-language learners. Her qualifications stem from her training in bilingual education, bilingual special education, professional teaching experience, research, supervision of student-teachers, and mentoring. Dr. Diaz has demonstrated a profound commitment to promoting diversity through education.

Dr. Diaz’s teaching experience has not only concentrated at the college level but also at the K–12 level. She was a bilingual (Spanish/English) elementary school teacher for a number of years in Austin and Bryan, TX, as well as a bilingual/ESL student-teacher supervisor. As a specialist in second language acquisition, she is committed to helping language minority students meet high standards. In order for second language learners to achieve high standards, it is imperative that future educators learn how to serve them better. Her ultimate goal as an educator is to utilize her experience, research, and knowledge to develop effective programs that will prepare the nation’s future educators to serve culturally and linguistically diverse students, and to promote bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism. 
Leticia De Leon
Dr. Leticia De León is currently a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and is the Elementary Evening Program Coordinator in the College of Education at The University of Texas-Pan American. Her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees were earned in the areas of English and Reading respectively, from The University of Texas-Pan American; her Doctor of Education degree is in Curriculum and Instruction, through the University of Houston. She taught English and reading in the public schools for 10 years prior to working in higher education.

She is currently the principal investigator in a state grant that is charged with training middle school social studies teachers to incorporate strategies to meet the needs of English-language learners in their content areas. Her main areas of interest include literacy and motivation, primarily in the content areas, and technology innovations in teacher preparation programs. 
Jennifer Joy Esquierdo
Dr. J. Joy Esquierdo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas-Pan American. She is currently the Bilingual Education Program Coordinator. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University at College Station in 2006; her Bachelor of Arts and her Master of Education degrees in Elementary Education—Bilingual/Bicultural from The University of Texas-Pan American. She taught and worked in Texas public schools for nine years before working in academia. The majority of her teaching experience is from working in elementary schools in the Rio Grande Valley and in the Houston area. She has provided teacher training in the areas of gifted bilingual education, dual-language education, and various sessions on how to increase the academic rigor in bilingual classrooms.

Dr. Esquierdo’s academic interests center on bilingual education, gifted and talented education, and the cognitive development of children, especially bilingual children. She has a strong commitment to dual language education programs. The positive long-term outcomes of dual-language programs offer evidence of closing the current academic achievement gap between bilingual Hispanic students and American mainstream students. Her research agenda include topics that focus on the academic performance of bilingual students in various areas, such as gifted education, content literacy development (in both English and Spanish), and overall best teaching practices for bilingual learners. 
Jaime B. Curts
Dr. Jaime Curts is currently the Associate Dean of the College of Education and the Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas-Pan American. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction (Mathematics Education/Quantitative Educational Psychology) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Master of Education (Education/Statistics) degree from Colorado State University, and a Bachelor of Science (Biomathematics) degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He taught college applied-mathematics courses and middle school algebra before joining UTPA in 2000.

He is currently one of the coprincipal investigators of the Mathematics-Science Teacher Preparation Academy (MSTPA) project, a state grant issued for preparing highly qualified pre- and in-service teachers in mathematics. His main research interest is the effect of using concept mapping for bilingual Hispanic students learning school mathematics. He is also involved in researching best mathematics-teaching practices through action research.