Browsing by Author "Cushing-Leubner, Jenna"

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    Clashing Roles and Identities of EL Teachers during Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning
    (Wiley, 2024-06) Morita-Mullaney, Trish; Cushing-Leubner, Jenna; Benegas, Michelle; Greene, Michelle C. S.; Stolpestad, Amy; School of Education
    During Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) and the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers of multilingual students were positioned to adopt varied outreach methods to sustain access to education among multilingual families. Prior to ERTL, instruction in schools was socially situated as having greater institutional value relative to service-oriented tasks, yet service-related needs, including health and human services and/or access to technology increased during the physical closure of schools. EL teachers took on more service-related tasks for their MLL families and did so by assuming, negotiating and resisting particular roles; a reflexive and interactional process. Using theories of teacher positioning and language teacher identity, we examined the experiences of EL teachers in the Great Lakes Region of the US. Findings demonstrate that few EL teachers resisted roles within instruction and service during ERTL, a critical dimension of teacher identity transformation and advocacy for MLLs. As we move into recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and into a Remote Teaching and Learning (RTL) period, implications suggest that when EL teachers’ roles and identities are incongruous, resilience can be fostered informing a unique form of agency and teacher leadership; a necessary characteristic for an equity-informed education.
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    COVID-19 and Pandemic Teaching: Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning and English Learner Teachers
    (INTESOL, 2021-07) Morita-Mullaney, Trish; Greene, Michelle; Cushing-Leubner, Jenna; Benegas, Michelle; Stolpestad, Amy; School of Education
    The purpose of this study is to illuminate how English Learner (EL) teachers in the Great Lakes region responded to the sudden shift to emergency remote teaching and learning (ERTL) at the onset of COVID-19 school closures in March 2020. Using an online survey, we examined how EL teachers from Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin continued legal provisions of instruction and service through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. We look closely at the state of Indiana, a state with a more recent immigrant population and where requirements for EL licensure and preparation are not yet required. Although findings show that schools and districts violated legal requirements for ELs, this is polarized by the lack of required training and licensure in Indiana among those serving in the role of EL teacher.
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    The (Im)Possibilities of Equitable Education of Multilingual Emergent Bilinguals in Remote Teaching: A Survey of English Language Teachers in the Great Lakes Region
    (2021) Cushing-Leubner, Jenna; Morita-Mullaney, Trish; Greene, Michelle C. S.; Stolpestad, Amy; Benegas, Michelle; School of Education
    The purpose of this study is to identify how teachers of Emergent Bilin guals labeled “English Language Learners” (EL teachers) responded to the sudden shift to emergency remote teaching and learning (ERTL) due to COVID-19 in March 2020. Emergent Bilingual teachers from Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were surveyed during ERTL and this paper details how these specialized teachers responded to ensure continued instruction for Emergent Bilingual students. We highlight what tasks EL teachers were asked to do by their schools, colleagues, and administra tion, as well as what was needed from students and families. Specifically, we organize their responses in terms of instructional and service-oriented activities. Data offer insights into existing disparities and demands placed on EL teachers (instructional and non-instructional services) which were exacerbated and made more visible by the ERTL condition. Findings suggest that districts are overwhelmingly out of compliance with requirements to provide equitable access to education as mandated by Title VI and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.