Annela Teemant

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1805/31289

Reframing Teacher Learning as a Mirrored Process of Becoming

Professor Annela Teemant's expertise is in preparing teachers for students learning English as a new language in K-12 settings. English language learners are the fastest growing student population in the United States, making up about 10% of the population currently. But projections say that by 2025, it may be as high as 25% of students are English language learners.

Currently, 64% of United States teachers already have at least one English learner in their classroom, and soon they will have more. What this means is that every teacher is a teacher of English language learners. These teachers deserve more professional development opportunities that expand their knowledge of language, culture, pedagogy and equity mindedness. Professor Teemant's research focuses on improving teacher preparation for multilingual learners. Over her career, she has garnered six U.S. Department of Education federal grants (about $14 million in federal funding) to study teacher quality for multilingual learners.

Educational equity for multilingual learners and the American public school system is a complex problem. Current solutions are never final. It's an evolving and ongoing process. Professor Teemant works collaboratively with public school teachers as capacity builders to implement and then evaluate research findings in the proposals, the designs, and in the professional development. Professor Teemant and her research partners hope this leads to better outcomes for their students. Her scholarship has always been nestled between the university and public schools, and she has used that collaborative space to translate theory and research into practice in collaborations with teachers, coaches and school leaders. She has created curriculum materials or approaches to professional learning that she and her collaborators are able to design, implement and then evaluate using quasi-experimental, qualitative and mixed method research to determine the impact those innovations have on teacher learning and then ultimately on student learning outcomes. Educational equity is an unfinished reality. And as collaborators in that process, in the research that Professor Teemant conducts with teachers, they both get to be unfinished and incomplete. Yet, they are still on a process of becoming more equitable and more aware of how they can better serve multilingual learners in the public school systems.

Professor Teemant's translation of research into opportunities for teachers to improve their pedagogy practices for all learners is another excellent example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 10 of 29

Effects of ESL Instructional Coaching on Secondary Teacher Use of Sociocultural Instructional Practices
(Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2015-10-29) Teemant, Annela; Cen, Yuhao; Wilson, Amy
This longitudinal and descriptive quantitative study investigates the efficacy of an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructional coaching intervention with urban secondary teachers (N = 22). Coached teachers participated in a 30-hour workshop and then six cycles of coaching targeting use of five research-based sociocultural principles of (language) learning called the Standards for Effective Pedagogy. Findings demonstrate instructional coaching led to unique and statistically significant (a) pedagogical transformation and (b) patterns of development for STEM and non-STEM secondary teachers. Implications for improving the professional development model for STEM teachers are discussed.
Differentiating Mathematics Instruction for Multilingual Students using Critical Sociocultural Practices
(TODOS: Mathematics for ALL, 2018) Teemant, Annela; Sherman, Brandon J.; Wilson, Amy
This paper defines and elaborates on a three-tiered transformative approach to differentiating mathematics instruction for multilingual learners, which includes increasing use of small group instruction, improving the quality of assistance during learning, and creating a culture of recognition that affirms all learners. Using supporting evidence from instructional coaching studies, this paper identifies challenges faced by general education mathematics teachers at each tier of differentiation. While coached elementary and secondary teachers made significant gains in implementing this approach to differentiation, secondary mathematics teachers, in particular, had significantly less growth. Implications for increasing mathematics teachers’ knowledge and skills in differentiating instruction for multilingual learners are addressed.
Peer collaboration as a way of developing effective pedagogy for including cultural, linguistic, and learning diversity
(2000) Teemant, Annela; Harris, Melanie; Cutri, Ramona; Squires, David; Gibb, Gordon
Teacher educators have begun to recognize that fundamental changes are needed to support teachers in meeting the challenges of increasing diversity in public schools. Using concept analysis to study our collaboration, we developed and implemented a framework that would move a consideration of diversity from the edges to the mainstream in teacher education would do this. We use a narrative strategy to identify five situations that led to the development and implementation of the Inclusive Pedagogy Framework. In our session, we will involve participants in analysis of five critical incidents as a strategy for exploring validity and interpretation in self-study data analysis.
Mainstream ESL Instructional Coaching: A Repeated Measures Replication Study
(Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2012) Teemant, Annela; Reveles, Christine
This paper describes an ESL instructional coaching model for mainstream teachers and uses a replication approach to compare the instructional coaching outcomes of urban teachers in Indiana and California to determine if the observed pattern of development can be generalized to urban elementary educators. Teachers (N = 35) participated in a 30-hour workshop and seven individual coaching sessions across a school year. Findings demonstrate ESL instructional coaching led to statistically significant change in teacher pedagogy, a shared pattern of teacher development, and subtle group differences in reaching fidelity to the model. Suggestions for improving the ESL coaching model for urban mainstream teachers are presented.
Approaches to effective pedagogy coaching in diverse settings: Challenges and opportunities
(2009) Teemant, Annela; Tyra, Serena; Vogt, Lynn
Professional development models that promote teacher use of research-based practices for diverse learners is a growing concern, especially among school populations that are increasingly diverse in terms of language, cultural, and economic status. This paper describes how the Standards for Effective Pedagogy, promoted by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE), are being used as the focus of coaching with public school teachers in various national and international settings. Two case studies are detailed, highlighting different contexts, aims, and models for coaching. Implications are presented based on the successes and challenges associated with these coaching models for improving teacher use of the Standards for Effective Pedagogy.
The Relationship of Teacher Use of Critical Sociocultural Practices with Student Achievement
(Institute for Critical Education Studies, 2013-04-15) Teemant, Annela; Hausman, Charles S.
This exploratory study examined whether teacher use of critical sociocultural practices improved student performance on a criterion-referenced English/Language Arts exam or the LAS Links assessments of English language proficiency for English Language Learners. Fifteen urban elementary teachers participated in a year of professional development, which used an instructional coaching model to increase teacher use of critical sociocultural practices. Using a new scale called Critical Stance, observers measured the degree of fidelity teachers exhibited in using critical practices. Teachers’ Critical Stance post-intervention and growth scores were significantly and positively correlated with increased student performance on the English/Language Arts exam as well as on five LAS Links assessments. Both native and non-native English speakers benefited from increased teacher use of Critical Stance. Teacher use of Critical Stance was also a stronger predictor of ELLs’ gains in English proficiency than teacher use of higher order thinking.
Video-Anchored Distance Learning: The Professors Plus Model
(Brigham Young University, 2000) Teemant, Annela; Egan, M. Winston; Pinnegar, Stefinee; Fox-Harris, Melanie
K-12 cross-disciplinary collaboration: An ESL in-service model
(Brigham Young University, 2000) Teemant, Annela; Giraldo, Nancy
ESL students are taught by content and language teachers who share a school building, but may not share their frustrations, concerns, or expertise for working with ESL students across academic disciplines. Often, teaching schedules, the physical layout of a school, or the socio-political milieu make cooperation among faculty difficult. Although many school districts provide content-area teachers with formal ESL in-service development, ESL practitioners often remain the lone expert on ESL issues within individual schools. ESL students, however, need academic support from all their teachers. Given the circumstances, ESL practitioners are in a position to initiate cross-disciplinary collaboration, and to create both formal and informal in-service opportunities within their schools. At the National Center for Science Teaching and Learning, language educators had the opportunity to cross academic boundaries to listen to science teachers in Florida (N=9) and Ohio (N=4) discuss teaching second language learners. Analyses of the focus group (i.e., discussion and written feed) and surveys completed by pre-service science teachers (N=48) provide insight into successfully pursuing cross-disciplinary collaboration. This article describes a model for creating effective ESL in-service opportunities in K-12 settings.
The effects of higher order thinking on student achievement and English proficiency
(Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2016-11-11) Teemant, Annela; Hausman, Charles S.; Kigamwa, James Chamwada
This quantitative study investigates the effect of urban teacher (N = 18) use of higher order thinking on language arts achievement and English development. Using Bloom’s six level hierarchy of higher order thinking, teachers were designated as high (levels 3 to 6) or low (levels 1 or 2) users of higher order thinking. Findings demonstrate statistically significant gains in coached teachers use of higher order thinking, and simultaneous gains in their students language arts achievement. Regardless of the coaching status of their teachers, when teachers used higher order thinking, their students made significant gains in both language arts achievement and English proficiency. Implications point to the value of increasing, not decreasing, the level of cognitive challenge when teaching culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students.
Tailoring STEM Instruction for Diverse Learners: What Matters Most?
(2012-10) Teemant, Annela
This presentation focused on defining a three-tiered transformative approach to differentiating instruction for diverse learners, which includes changing the organization of classrooms, improving the quality of learning activities, and creating a culture of recognition that respects all learners. Using supporting evidence from instructional coaching studies, this paper identifies challenges facing STEM teachers at each tier of differentiation. While coached elementary and secondary teachers make significant gains in implementing this approach to differentiation, STEM teachers, in particular, make significantly less growth and less consistent growth. Implications for increasing STEM teachers’ knowledge and skills for differentiating instruction for diverse learners are addressed.

Browse

Recent Submissions