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

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

English

Two-Way Bilingual Immersion

This presentation explores common mainstream assessment practices from a two-way immersion perspective. We will engage in conversation about how these assessments can be most effectively understood, implemented, and transformed so that the literacy progress of bilingual learners can be accurately measured based on culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy.

This presentation is a collaborative informational session focused on a research and practice partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Verona Area School District in Verona, WI.  The session focus is on our ongoing longitudinal examination of literacy assessment practices that are implemented with emergent bilingual students in two-way immersion classrooms in kindergarten through third grade. We will present our exploration of common mainstream assessment practices from a two-way immersion perspective, and we will share our investigation of literacy approaches that are often used to screen, identify, group, and level children. We will discuss ways in which commonly used literacy assessment methods both benefit and challenge educators working within a bilingual education instructional framework. We will engage participants in the conversation about how these assessments can be most effectively understood, implemented, and perhaps transformed so that the literacy progress of emergent bilingual students can be accurately measured based on culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy. Specifically, we look at guided reading practices, running records, and the process of conducting miscue analyses. Our intent is to contribute to the conversation regarding equitable practices and we suggest the need to develop approaches that consider the whole bilingual child. Through this examination of the assessment practices of one school district, we will provide an opportunity for a shared discussion on the experiences of others as we work together to re-envision the ways in which learning experiences are optimized for young emergent bilingual learners.