As multilingual student populations grow in elementary classrooms, STEAM educators face the dual challenge of supporting English development and content mastery. Traditional STEAM curricula often overlook the cultural and linguistic assets multilingual learners bring. Multilingual Learners in STEAM: Teaching Framework and Practical Tools for Elementary Grades offers a solution through the Equitable STEAM Education for Multilingual Learners (ESEM) framework-an equity-focused, interdisciplinary, and culturally and linguistically responsive approach. Grounded in research on translanguaging, visual literacy, and integrated STEAM instruction, the book presents actionable principles to create inclusive, asset-based STEAM learning environments. Each chapter highlights practical strategies for designing culturally relevant curriculum, promoting linguistic justice, integrating technology, building community partnerships, and fostering teacher collaboration. It empowers educators to engage multilingual learners and advocate for just, transformative STEAM education.
Dr. Eun Kyung Ko is an associate professor of science education at National Louis University, specializing in culturally responsive teaching and the integration of STEAM in diverse classroom settings. Her research emphasizes fostering equity and inclusion in K–12 education, focusing on strategies that support multilingual learners and underrepresented groups in STEM fields. As the co-principal investigator of the NSF-funded ENACTS (Engaging Noyce Scholars in Anti-Racist Community-Based Teaching in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics) project, Dr. Ko has developed professional learning sequences to empower teachers in designing inclusive STEAM learning environments that integrate computational thinking and reflect culturally sustaining pedagogies.
With a deep commitment to multicultural education, Dr. Ko's work bridges the gap between science instruction and social justice by equipping educators to address the needs of diverse student populations. Her innovative approaches, including AI-supported culturally responsive teaching tools, aim to promote justice, agency, and belonging for students from historically marginalized communities. Through her research and advocacy, Dr. Ko strives to create transformative educational experiences that prepare all students to thrive in a global, multicultural society.
Dr. Ko's research and contributions have been presented at national and international conferences, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE), and the International Conference on Urban Education (ICUE). Her efforts aim to prepare the next generation of educators and students to thrive in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.
Dr. Xiaoning Chen is an associate professor and chair of the ESL/Bilingual Education Program at National Louis University. She holds a doctorate in language and literacy education from Purdue University. Dr. Chen has two decades of experience in language education and teacher training in the United States and abroad. Her research interests include visual literacy, multicultural children's literature, and multimodal literacies. She has shared her work through numerous presentations at national and international conferences, as well as publications in various journals and edited volumes. She also co-authored two volumes of Teaching Social Studies to Multilingual Learners: Connecting Inquiry and Visual Literacy to Promote Progressive Learning for Rowman & Littlefield. Dr. Chen has served as an International Visual Literacy Association board member since 2019 and has served two terms as an assistant editor for the IVLA Book of the Selected Readings. She has directed the Library of Congress Teaching With Primary Sources Regional Grant and two rounds of the STARTALK teacher training grant from the US National Security Agency.
