Beyond Good Teaching: Advancing Mathematics Education for ELLs

Many languages, many cultures, one goal high-quality mathematics education...

English language learners share a basic need to engage, and be engaged, in meaningful mathematics. Through guiding principles and instructional tools, together with classroom vignettes and video clips, this book shows how to go beyond good teaching to support ELLs in learning challenging mathematics while developing language skill.

Position your students to share the valuable knowledge that they bring to the classroom as they actively build and communicate their understanding.

The design of this book is interactive and requires the reader to move back and forth between the chapters and online resources at nctm.org. Occasionally, the reader is asked to stop and reflect before reading further in a chapter. At other times, the reader is asked to view video clips of teaching practices for ELLs or to refer to graphic organizers, observation and analysis protocols, links to resources, and other supplementary materials. The authors encourage the reader to use this resource in professional development.

Sylvia Celedón-Pattichis is an associate professor of bilingual and mathematics education at the University of New Mexico, where she prepares elementary preservice bilingual/ESL teachers to teach mathematics and also teaches graduate courses in bilingual education. Her research focuses on linguistic and cultural influences on the teaching and learning of mathematics, particularly with ELLs. She was a co principal investigator of the NSF-funded Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as (CEMELA), and she approaches the book from the personal perspective of a former English language learner.

Nora G. Ramirez is a consultant working with educators in rural, urban, and suburban school districts. She taught middle school and high school mathematics before working at Arizona State University and Maricopa Community Colleges as a professional developer, mathematics specialist, and principal investigator for several NSF-funded projects. A founding member and past president of TODOS: Mathematics for ALL and a past member of the NCTM Board of Directors, she focuses on promoting equity, conceptual understanding, teaching ELLs, and making instructional decisions based on research findings and student thinking.