Providing Equal Opportunity to Learn Science for English Language Learners: The Role of Simulated Language Learner Experiences in Teacher Preparation

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing student population in our nation’s public school systems; yet, preservice and inservice teachers are commonly underprepared to teach science effectively to this group of students. Though obviously inequitable, providing ELLs with poor or subpar science instruction denies them their civil right to equal opportunity to learn science. In this paper, we discuss simulation as a promising way to prepare preservice elementary teachers to plan and deliver quality science instruction and robust opportunities to learn to ELLs

Revisiting culturally responsive teaching practices for early childhood preservice teachers

The US Census states that Americans under the age of five are a majority- minority with 50.2% of this population from minority backgrounds. As our country continues to grow as a rich, diverse multicultural nation, it is imperative that early childhood teacher educators prepare future teachers to embrace this diversity and provide experiences that affirm all students, families and communities. In our past work, we (teacher educators) synthesized the current research into five frameworks that we believe embody the foundation of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in an early childhood setting. In this article, we review the previous frames and continue this work with additional frameworks that are imperative for developing a culturally responsive early childhood educators and their future classrooms. We situate each framework within the larger context of research, and then we move beyond discussing CRT practices by offering ideas on how culturally responsive classrooms look and how to implement this pedagogy in an early childhood setting with authentic classroom practices