Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

not language specific

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion
Two-Way Bilingual Immersion
One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education

Pre-K
Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School
Post-Secondary

Come learn the characteristics of a highly qualified biliterate/bicultural teacher, and join the discussion on how teacher education programs can increase the recruitment and development of highly qualified biliterate/bicultural teachers, both pre-service and in-service, to address the current shortage of teachers for dual immersion programs. 

Research attests to the academic benefit for all students enrolled in dual immersion programs over time (Collier and Thomas, 2004; Ramirez, 1991; Thomas and Collier, 2002), and how this contributes to the closing of the achievement gap for students who most typically underperform in English-only educational programs. Research also identifies the cognitive benefits from developing high levels of literacy in English and a second language (Adesope, Lavin, Thompson, & Ungerleider, 2010; Bialystok, Craik, Klein, & Viswanathan, 2004; Kempert, Saalbach, & Hardy, 2011).

Across the US, the number of dual immersion programs is rising exponentially, as districts and sites seek to develop programs that will lead to their students achieving to higher levels academically and acquiring high levels of biliteracy to best prepare them for college and career in the 21^st century. With the rise in the number of programs comes an increased demand for teachers to staff the programs. With research showing that student achievement is linked to teacher quality (Borman & Kimball, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2000), highly qualified biliterate/bicultural teachers play a critical role in reaching thegoal of replicating the research results both academically and linguistically.   

With the rising number of dual immersion programs and the demand for highly qualified bilterate/bicultural teachers, a teacher shortage has emerged, triggering three critical questions:

1. What are the characteristics of a highly qualified biliterate/bicultural teacher?
2. How can teacher education programs structure their programs to support the development of these characteristics in their candidates?
3. How can teacher education programs increase the recruitment and development of highly qualified biliterate/bicultural teachers, both pre-service and in-service, to address the current shortage?