Kara Mitchell Viesca

University of Nebraska at Lincoln | NU · Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

This study examined perceptions of preparedness among novice general education teachers using 2015/16 National Teacher and Principal Survey data. Results show that teachers with training in teaching multilingual learners reported higher perceived preparedness than those without across all five general aspects of teaching (i.e., instructional method...

Observations of Pedagogical Excellence of Teaching Across Nations (OPETAN) is a mixed methods observation study of 31 content teachers, most nominated for their excellence in teaching multilingual students in Germany, Finland, the US, and England. The study relied on an observation rubric that operationalizes seven Enduring Principles of Learning g...

The demographic composition of the United States (US) has transformed since the early 1990s with immigrant arrivals from Mexico and Central America. Education leaders frequently exit preparation programs without content focused on opportunities around working successfully with multilingual students. This qualitative case study explores the implemen...

Context Proposed more than two decades ago, culturally relevant/responsive teaching or pedagogy (CRP) is one promising approach to transforming the education experience of historically marginalized groups. The development of CRP has since inspired changes in teacher education programs and resulted in considerable research on preparing teachers for...

Creating equitable multilingual classrooms grounded in explicitly anti-racist teaching practices requires transformation of practice preceded by transformation of thinking. Classroom learning centers can provide the context for truly transformational, anti-racist teaching, but equitable implementation requires a deliberately humanizing approach tow...

In 2019, Bettina Love published a call for abolitionist teaching, an effort for educational freedom and racial justice. In her work, she centered the role of theory in teaching calling it a "North Star." She suggested that theory provides teachers a "steadfast tool" that explains the experiences of people minoritized due to racism, sexism, ableism,...

As we have researched in schools and reflected on our own teaching, we have come to recognize the lie and our untruthfulness that permeates many of our cultural scripts (Gutierrez et al., 1995) and practices as teachers. It is within these cultural scripts and practices that inequity is perpetuated and humanizing learning evaded. Thus, what we term...

This study examined factors linked to novice general education teachers’ perception of their preparedness to work with multilingual learners in the classroom. Using a multilevel modeling approach, we examined factors at the teacher and school levels using two AY 2015 to 2016 datasets: The National Teacher and Principal Survey from the National Cent...

Although many researchers agree that teaching is complex and contextually situated, dominant conceptions of teacher learning, and the enactment of such learning in practice, tend to be linear and reductionist. Because simplistic conceptualisations of teaching activity have far-reaching impact on teachers, students, and school systems, generating a...

Recent research has documented the ways that schools adapt to increasingly multilingual and multicultural student bodies. This qualitative study explores the schooling experiences of nine K-12 multilinguals not identified as English language learners in US schools. Using “deep interviewing” strategies, the authors expose the racializing function of...

This mixed-method study utilizes survey and interview data reflecting teacher candidates’ beliefs about intercultural competence to identify areas of targeted support in teacher preparation. Intercultural competence is operationalized by performance on the Cultural Intelligence Survey (CQS) identifying relative areas of strength and weakness in fou...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate higher education faculty’s motivation to teach and to validate the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) survey with this population. Design/methodology/approach Confirmatory factor analysis and t -tests on data from 101 higher education faculty and data from K-12 teachers show that th...

This chapter explores the preparation of content teachers to work with multilingual students via an examination of recent research literature, current issues, and approaches. It then explores promising practical approaches to preparing effective content teachers to work with multilingual students and suggests useful future directions. Based on the...

Utilizing a complex theory of teacher learning and practice, this chapter analyzes ~120 empirical studies of content teacher development (both preservice and in-service) for working with multilingual learners as well as research on content teaching for multilingual students. Our analysis identified three dimensions of quality content teaching for m...

To teach mathematics well to bi/multilingual learners, we propose that mathematics teachers should consider the following five elements: know the content, know the language, know the learner, engage the community and assess meaningfully. This chapter defines each of these elements, explores how they are put into practice, and shares the responses o...

To teach mathematics well to bi/multilingual learners, we propose that mathematics teachers should consider the following five elements: know the content, know the language, know the learner, engage the community and assess meaningfully. This chapter defines each of these elements, explores how they are put into practice, and shares the responses o...

We analysed the beliefs about multilingualism in school of in-service teachers from the US (n = 60) and Germany (n = 65), utilising a survey originally developed in German that was translated and adapted into English. Results show that teachers from both samples, on average, strongly agree that a person’s identity is connected to their language and...

The Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act requires grade-level attainment in literacy in English for students in grades K-3. Its practical outcome, however, has been to pressure schools with bilingual programs to shift their instructional language allocations towards more English in the early grades. Proposed rule revisions debated by...

In this chapter, an approach to professional learning for content teachers of multilingual students is presented that is grounded in teachers collaboratively engaging in an online instructional cycle. It includes exploring new concepts, apply new teaching strategies to their classrooms and sharing their results. The approach is presented with speci...

This qualitative study examined data from 36 teacher candidates and novice teachers to explore their perceptions and understandings of linguistic responsiveness. The findings illustrate the challenge of demonstrating linguistically responsive teaching practices in the early and initial stages of entering the teaching profession, and more research i...

In its 2009 position statement Science for English Language Learners, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommended “that teacher preparation and professional development programs for teachers, regardless of area of certification, focus on science content and pedagogy for English language learners” (p. 2). Since that time, widespread...

This article takes up the questions: (a) How do Black female adolescents define racism?, (b) What kind of experiences with racism to they report having in schools?, and (c) How can these perspectives and experiences inform educational reform efforts? The in-depth analysis of 18 student surveys and interviews revealed that most of the definitions of...

Career decisions of four teachers are explored through the concept of figured worlds in this qualitative, longitudinal case study. Participants were purposefully chosen for similarity at entry, with a range of career trajectories over time. Teacher career paths included remaining in one school, repeated changes in schools, attrition after relocatio...

This study examines mathematics teachers’ perspectives regarding newly developed online professional learning for elementary mathematics teachers of multilingual learners. We examined the responses of 12 teachers on surveys that included both Likert scale and open response items to explore the learning, strengths and weaknesses of the modules. Over...

This reflection on effective writing practice is the result of a university–school partnership focused on collaboratively investigating the work of a successful 5 th grade writing teacher. The co-authors collectively present the work of Mrs. Hutchison, a veteran teacher who worked in a predominately low-income school with a high percentage of stude...

CriticalRaceTheory(CRT)revolutionizedhowweinvestigateraceineducation.Centralizingcounter- stories from people of color becomes essential for decentralizing white normative discourse—a pro- cesswerefertoasrealitieswithintheBlackimagination.Yet,fewstudiesexaminehowwhitesrespond to centering the Black imagination, especially since their white imaginat...

Despite efforts to redesign an urban teacher education program for social justice and equity, faculty became aware of racialized issues Teacher Candidates of Color faced in the program. Therefore, this study examined the perspectives of teacher candidates to learn about how race is impacting teaching and learning for pre-service teachers. Overall,...

Our intention in this article is to present one institution’s efforts to take on program assessment and respond to calls for accountability. To do so, the teacher education program simultaneously sought to address the narrowly defined measures called for by policy makers and politicians, while at the same time broadening and expanding outcomes (suc...

The paper presents a frame analysis of Massachusetts state policy regarding the education of multilingual learners and their teachers through the lens of critical race t heory (CRT). My analysis suggests that even though current policy in Massachusetts is framed in terms of the overarching goals of educational quality and equality, in reality it su...

To understand how dominant messages about race and effective pedagogy impact teacherbeliefs and practice, this study employs critical race theory (CRT) in a case study analysis ofRebecca Rosenberg, a mid-career entrant into the teaching profession who was terminated fromher first job before the end of her district's probationary period. Despite bel...

This chapter describes a precollegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color to explore teaching and presents the findings from case studies on two Black male students enrolled in the course who are now preparing to pursue a career in teaching. The research questions guiding the two case studies include: (a) What factors influe...

Background/Context: Questions about teacher quality, including how teachers ought to be educated and licensed, rank near the top of the educational agenda in the United States. These controversies persist because of lack of consensus about what "teacher quality" means, conflicting claims about the empirical evidence, and public skepticism about the...

Although the turnover rate among beginning teachers has been a major concern for some time, most studies do not link teacher retention with teaching practice. In contrast, this study looks specifically at career decisions coupled with practice. Guided by a view of teaching as social and cultural practice, the study used multiple qualitative data so...

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Utilizing the critical race theory (CRT) construct of majoritarian stories and the already identified story of English-is-all-that-matters in the education of multilingual learners and their teachers, this study illustrates the influence of this powerful narrative in classroom practice. By promoting English-only instruction, maintaining a limited p...

Working in a research collaborative between Denver Public Schools and the University of Colorado Denver, the authors selected Bruce Randolph High School (BRHS) as a case study because of its growth on state academic achievement tests and because of its multilingual learners. After a difficult beginning, BRHS has established an inclusive culture of...

In this study, empirical and conceptual scholarship (approximately 100 studies) regarding the education of secondary multilingual learners and their teachers are analyzed through the lens of critical race theory (CRT). Specifically, four common majoritarian stories are identified that are both challenged and endorsed in the research literature: the...

The need for African American male teachers is clear; however their pathway to teaching is in disrepair. This article shares research findings and a description of a pre-collegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color, including African American males, to explore teaching More specifically, drawing from survey and interview da...

Researchers from Denver Public Schools and the University of Colorado Denver identified six public schools (two elementary, two middle, two high schools) associated with the highest academic growth for multilingual learners over a three year period. Case studies were developed of each school, and a cross-case analysis was completed. Common themes i...

This technical report provides findings from a qualitative case study conducted on Bruce Randolph High School, which was identified by the Denver Public School District as successful school for multilingual learners. This case study was part of a larger project entitled DPS-ELA Exemplary Schools Case Study in partnership with the University of Colo...

p>There are many controversies related to the increasingly widespread theme of "social justice" in teacher education, including debates about whether and/or how promoting pupils' learning is part of this theme. This article briefly discusses the concept of teacher education for social justice in terms of pupils' learning and then considers this not...

In contrast to current education policies that conceptualize pupil learning largely in terms of standardized exam scores, we offer an alternative view, one that conceives of pupil learning as a source of insight for pupils and teachers alike. Drawing on survey data and a qualitative study of the teacher candidate experience, we explore the allowing...