INTESOL 2019: Teachers as Leaders for Change This year’s conference will highlight teachers’ ability and potential to enact positive change in the lives of English learners. From early childhood through high school, in higher education and adult education, teachers play integral roles in daily placement and instructional decisions, in influencing awareness of their colleagues and communities, in advocating for more equitable policies and practices, and much more. In many ways, teachers are uniquely positioned to act as catalysts of change, to support and amplify nascent change where they see it, and to rally stakeholders to broad support of change at scale. Teacher educators and teachers of English learners can bridge values and ideals with practice, courageously and reflectively integrating more student voices and experiences into their learning communities. This conference aims to showcase this important work.
What does it mean to say that bilingual and EL teachers are Activists and Leaders? In this presentation I will make the case that we – all of us – who work with emerging bilingual students must be leaders, and in many ways we already are leaders, for the simple reason that we find ourselves advocating for our students at every level. I will share the outcomes of a research project that explored elementary bilingual teachers’ leadership development in Austin, Texas. All of the teachers in the study developed in three broad areas as they became stronger advocates for their students: they learned to engage in reflexive practice, they developed strong appreciation for their own and their students’ cultural/linguistic identities, and they built strong professional networks. Together we will explore what these three broad categories mean for Indiana’s EL teachers as you move forward to transform educational experiences for your emerging bilingual students.
Dr. Deb Palmer is a Professor of Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, with over 20 years experience in the field of bilingual education.
Saturday November 2, 2019 12:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Liberty Hall
