Literacy Colloquy: ESL Teacher Preparation

Please join us for a Literacy Colloquy Speaker Series talk given by Dr. Susan V. Piazza, Dr. Cody Williams, and the ELATE Team titled: “Valid and Reliable Data: Classroom Observation in ESL Teacher Preparation”

ABSTRACT

Researchers from Western Michigan University will share classroom observation methods and experiences from an ongoing five-year research project titled English Learners and Teacher Education (ELATE), funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Professional Development Grant. The project focuses on the professional preparation of teachers for the English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement. The project team has used an iterative process to increase interrater reliability, train new observers, and refresh existing researchers. Presenters will identify challenges, triumphs, and formative improvements that were employed to ensure that data collection in this interdisciplinary multi-year project is valid and reliable. The audience will hear about the research context, interact with an observation protocol and video, and conclude with a discussion session around implications of classroom observations in educational settings.

MEET THE SCHOLARS

• Dr. Susan V. Piazza is Professor and Program Coordinator of Literacy Studies at WMU. She is co-editor of an international peer-reviewed research journal Reading Horizons and teaches graduate literacy courses and mentors Ph.D. students. Piazza has been a Principal Investigator on several teacher preparation projects and is currently a co-PI for the English Learners and Teacher Education (ELATE) grant funded by USDE. Her current research focuses on culturally sustaining and equitable literacy pedagogies in teacher preparation, engaging families and communities with schools, and consulting with schools to increase overall literacy achievement and success of all learners.

• Dr. Cody Williams is an Assistant Professor of Science Education and Director of Science and Mathematics Program Improvement (SAMPI). Cody has worked with SAMPI since 2011 and has served on the evaluation teams for several projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). Current and past projects include a U.S. Department of Education NPD project GK-12 project, several Michigan Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) projects, the MDE Improving Teacher Quality Competitive Grants Program Title IIA project, and WMU’s Woodrow Wilson Fellows project. Cody’s research interests are in biology education and change in post-secondary education. He focuses on using historical stories to improve students’ understanding of the nature of science and science content.

• Bright O. Egwim is an international graduate student in the M.A. TESOL program at WMU. He is interested in L2 interaction in and outside of the classroom context. Bright serves as a research assistant in the ELATE project in the role of observer and rater. Currently, he is undergoing additional inter-rater reliability training to be well equipped for the next round of observations across Michigan.

• Deniz Toker is an international graduate student in the M.A. TESOL program at WMU. He is a graduate assistant on the ELATE grant. Deniz has been teaching English as a foreign language and second language for a number of years. He is particularly interested in culturally responsive teaching methodologies. He is serving as a research assistant on project ELATE as an observer and rater and conducting pre-assessments. He has also attended several observation protocol trainings during this project.