Date of Award

8-16-2024

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Todd Lilly

Abstract

This paper was written to reveal answers to the Problem of Practice identified at the site school as it has experienced a steady growth in newcomer multilingual learners. This minority-majority group of students at the school have underperformed academically despite the use of varied teaching strategies. In an effort to help newcomer students through intentional sheltered instruction, I held the believe that as a former multilingual learner now serving as their classroom teacher, I could be an indicator for the classroom allowing me to realize there may be hopes, needs, and attitudes that were hidden from current pedagogical practices.

In this action research, five participants from my sheltered classroom were part of conversations in which they and I shared our experiences as newcomer multilingual students. Findings suggest that above all else, acquisition of English language is a strong determinant for how they feel in and view school settings. Additionally, while science is valued when considering future careers, more importantly is the attainment of a high school diploma. This dissertation provides the methodology that guided this research, along with the findings and implications of this study in how a third space can be further developed in my sheltered science classroom.

Rights

© 2024, Gabriel Andres Chen Rodriguez

Download

Share

COinS