Translanguaging Working Group
With the support of ARTLC, scholar-practitioner Kristin Bengtson Mendoza has convened an after-school Translanguaging Working Group at the International Academy at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven. The group included newer and veteran math, CTE, English, and ESL teachers with diverse language backgrounds and levels of familiarity with multilingual learners (ML) pedagogy. The participants acted as co-researchers in this second phase of Kristin's dissertation study, which used critical participatory action research methods to explore teacher learning in communities of practice.
The group engaged in a series of teacher-led professional learning experiences throughout the fall and winter to better understand translanguaging pedagogy and refine their instructional approach in their work with adolescent newcomer multilingual learners. During the first session, the group set norms, and the co-researchers analyzed and reflected upon their individual results on the CACTI survey (Mendoza et al., 2021), which they had previously taken as part of Kristin's broader study. Based upon this conversation, they came to a consensus that they would like to focus their learning on building their critical language awareness in the classroom and broader school community. The group also expressed interest in the topic of metalinguistic awareness in "almost-bilingual classrooms" (Allard, et al., 2019; Allard, et al., 2023).
This past December 10th the Translanguaging Working Group at Wilbur Cross High School held their final meeting, though it's clear that their work to promote equity for multilingual students will continue! Kristin is moving into the data analysis stage, and she expects to defend her dissertation, The Development of Educators’ Critical Language Awareness and Translanguaging Stance in an Adolescent Newcomer Program, later this spring at Southern Connecticut State University. She will be excited to share her findings with the ARTLC community, and she remains grateful for ARTLC's ongoing support of critical educator-driven learning and research.