Investigating Preservice Secondary Science And Mathematics Teachers’ Understanding Of Multilingual Learners

This research is part of a larger ongoing research project focused on assessing the impact of undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation programs on preservice science and mathematics teachers. The author investigated preservice secondary science and mathematics teachers’ (PSTs) understanding of MLs and how to teach them in reform-based ways. This study found that while PSTs largely expressed asset-based orientations to MLs, they continued to describe both MLs and effective instructional practices for MLs largely in terms of language development. Initial findings suggest that teacher education programs must carefully attend to the balance between supporting academic language and supporting rigorous content learning for MLs.