The School’s faculty and researchers have deep expertise in issues surrounding the assessment, teaching and learning of English learners.

Research

Jamal Abedi, professor of education, is an expert in the “how-to” of K-12 educational testing. Among the leading scholars in his field, he studies nuisance variables — things that interfere with students’ ability to properly show what they know and can do. Specializing in testing for English-language learners, Abedi looks at testing, and learning disabilities; linguistic and cultural biases of the assessments; the effect of the testing method (e.g. computer, paper-and-pencil, hands-on); the pattern of responses; the effect of format, from font to organization; and the design and wording of questions. Abedi is the author of many publications in the assessment of and accommodations for English-language learners. He is on the advisory committees for several major test-publishing companies and advises a number of states on testing for English learners and children with disabilities.

Kerry Enright, assistant professor of education, researches the difference between everyday uses of English and the unique language and literacy demands of the classroom. According to Enright, many bilingual high school students struggle with academic uses of English even after they are deemed “fluent” in English; these same students often have rich culturally-based language and literacy skills that could be a resource for learning if incorporated into the classroom. Enright argues that in order to advance the academic language and literacy skills of adolescents, both monolingual and bilingual,we must first understand the social and academic uses of language required for school success and build on students’ prior language and literacy experiences.

Christian Faltis, Dolly and David Fiddyment Professor of Teacher Education, has written more than a dozen books and many articles for teachers who work in classrooms where English learners are mixed with English speakers. With a background in Bilingual Education, his research focuses on preparing teachers to infuse their teaching with knowledge and practices that promote language development while learning academic content in ways that also advocate for underrepresented students and their communities. Coming from a critical socio-cultural perspective on language acquisition, Faltis examines multiple contexts for learning in school, looking for ways to foster intergroup learning and reject deficit views toward immigrant students, bilingual youth, and English learners.

Julie Maxwell-Jolly is the managing Director of CAP-Ed. She began her career in education teaching English learner and immigrant students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has designed, coordinated, participated in, and written on research in several areas related to high quality and equitable education for culturally and linguistically diverse students including: secondary schooling for these students, preparing teachers for diversity, the effects of education language policy in California, and Latino persistence in community college. She has also served as the coordinator of the Linguistic Minority Research Institute Education Policy Center at UC Davis for several years.

Barbara J. Merino is Professor in the School of Education and Linguistics Graduate Group at the University of California, Davis where she was the Director of Teacher Education from 1990-2008. A second language teacher with years of experience teaching Spanish, English and Italian as a second language, she received her Ph.D., from Stanford University in Linguistics and Education with a focus on language acquisition in bilingual children. She has conducted studies on language development and assessment in bilinguals and second language learners in the United States and Mexico She has developed a variety of language tests and performance assessments for teachers and clinicians. Her research interests include the development of academic language/literacy through science education and the teaching of Spanish to native speakers of Spanish. Recently she has been involved in the study of professional development in teachers as they participate in teacher research in linguistically/culturally diverse settings. She led the design of the classroom observation systems for a national study on the effectiveness of bilingual program models. She has published numerous studies in a variety of journals including Language Learning, Urban Education, Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, Teaching and Teacher Education, Teacher Education Quarterly,  and the Journal of Applied Psychological Development. She currently co-edits the Electronic Journal of Literacy through Science.

Yuuko Uchikoshi, assistant professor, leads a research program that focuses on the language and literacy development of English language learners. Uchikoshi’s research is unique in that she examines the literacy development of children in both their native and second languages. Her current research includes studies of Spanish-speakers’, Cantonese-speakers’, and Japanese-speakers’ biliteracy development. Her research on oral language and reading development has implications for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Uchikoshi is also interested in the use of media, including educational television, on literacy development.

All of these researchers are currently involved in important and exciting projects designed to further the knowledge about and implementation of effective schooling for English learners. Please contact them directly for more information.

Teacher Preparation

UC Davis students in our Credential + Master’s programs are prepared to teach English learners throughout their coursework, in their student teaching field placements, during student teaching, and within the Master’s inquiry project. Teacher Education faculty help teacher candidates develop a range of approaches and strategies for meeting needs of English learners, from learning how to promote social and academic language development needed for success in school to ways for increasing access and participation of children and families from non-dominant cultural groups. Students take coursework designed to learn about teaching English learners at all levels of oral and written English proficiency. They expand on this knowledge base throughout their coursework and their practical experiences, learning about and trying out research-based strategies for recognizing and promoting academic language proficiency. Students also learn about teaching English learners in their methods courses, as well as through consultations and discussions with their supervisors, all of whom stress the importance of using oral, written, and visual support and stretch strategies when interacting with English learners in classroom settings. Teacher candidates also gain experience working with English learners through their field placements in linguistically diverse classrooms. Student teaching experiences occur in partnership schools where the majority of students are English learners of various degrees of oral and written proficiency.

A hallmark of the UC Davis Master’s of Arts in Education is to develop in students an inquiry stance, where social justice and continuous reflection about teaching become central to professional development. Master’s students at UC Davis conduct an inquiry study about teaching and learning in their classroom setting, where many of the students are English learners. The inquiry questions they pose include a focus on what promotes learning for English learners. Throughout the inquiry process, students examine ways to promote better learning experiences for English learners.

Professional Development

The School’s CRESS Center houses four subject matter projects (Area 3 Writing Project, UC Davis Mathematics Project, Sacramento Area Science Project, and the Sierra North Arts Project) that structure their professional development to meet the needs of teachers of bilingual students and English learners. In particular, the Area 3 Writing Project offers professional development with an emphasis on knowledge and practices that support English language learners in the teaching of reading and writing. Professional development can include preparing all students for the writing of college and the workplace, teaching writing across the curriculum, teaching response, revision and editing, teaching the writing of California’s academic content standards and connecting reading and writing.

Academic Literacy Project

Sponsored by the UC Davis School of Education and the Yolo County Office of Education, the Academic Literacy Project hopes to serve as a resource for K-12 teachers and administrators, community college and university instructors, and educational researchers on the topic of academic literacy. This project also seeks to understand teachers’ and educational leaders’ current and emerging understandings of academic literacy in practice, especially as they attempt to address the literacy needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Finally, this bridge hopes to serve as a link between these often separate communities.