Lisa M. Dorner, Ph.D.

teacher, researcher, life-long learner

The Immigrant Learning Center

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On July 11, The Immigrant Learning Center offered a two-day webinar focused on best practices for immigrant student success. I gave a 20 minute talk about developing critical consciousness: we discussed five things that educators can do to support multilingual, im/migrant, and refugee families and communities. This talk was based on a forthcoming article in Theory into Practice by colleagues and I:

Palmer, D., Cervantes-Soon, C., Dorner, L. & Heiman, D. (forthcoming, 2018). Bilingualism, biliteracy, biculturalism and critical consciousness for all: Proposing a fourth fundamental principle for two-way dual language education. Theory into Practice.

The Immigrant Learning Center is a non-profit organization that offers English language education as well as programs for the public to learn more about im/migrants’ contributions and experiences in US society. In addition to their outreach and education efforts, they partner with George Mason University on research projects (see more here). Such programming is essential in our country right now, with its particular political climate that often sets up boundaries between individuals and groups, rather than recognizing the humanity that connects us all.

SEE-TEL at Cambio de Colores

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On June 8, 2018, Dr. Kim Song and I presented one of the plenary talks at the Cambio de Colores – Change of Colores annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri. In the Cambio Center’s own words: “Cambio de Colores is a multistate conference about integration of immigrants in new destinations. People from various fields who work with Latinos and immigrant communities come together to share research and best practices that facilitate the integration of newcomers.” It’s one of my favorite conferences because it brings together researchers and practitioners from a huge variety of fields: truly the only way we can solve the grand challenges of our society is to collaborate across fields and social agencies, and Cambio de Colores is a space that helps us do this!

Kim and I were asked to provide the education-focused plenary, and so we decided to share the background and framework for our current project, SEE-TEL: Strengthening Equity and Effectiveness for Teachers of English Learners. We felt it was important to highlight key terms (why we might prefer the phrase “emerging bilinguals” over “English Learners”), describe our own histories and how we came to work together, explain the goals of our current grant, and then conclude with two key pillars we believe are essential in helping educators, immigrant families, and their children succeed: Collaboration and Translanguaging.

Take a look at our presentation here and then please join us in our journey to enhance equity and excellence for all of our students! 2018 Cambio Plenary Dorner Song

Cambio de Colores 2016

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Cambio 2016

As I’ve said before, the Cambio de Colores (Change of Colores) conference is one of my all time favorite gatherings of community service providers, researchers, activists, students, (im)migrants, extension specialists, and everything in between! This year, our plenary speaker for education was Dr. Ted Hamann, who spoke about the new(ish) Latino/a diaspora and the need for action in these spaces of new(ish) migration. Meanwhile, I caught up on my language brokering research and presented narratives from research with Mexican American brokers and the turning points and tensions that they experience as they move through their 20s (https://prezi.com/qjyqy9gguiwm/turning-points-and-tensions-emerging-adulthood-for-language/). It was also an honor to hear critical studies from my colleagues, including David Aguayo on parent engagement and Sujin Kim on the ways that different school districts across Missouri frame and welcome diversity and new student populations. I hope to see you at Cambio next year! For more updates about the conference, please visit Twitter at #CdeC16.

MODLAN – Spring Newsletter

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Indeed, let’s ask — as my friend Marjorie Faulstich Orellana has asked — What if we start thinking more carefully about multilingual contexts? They exist all over Missouri, and yet many continue to think of Missouri as a monolingual, English-speaking space, where we have “bilingual kids” or “English Language Learners” that need to learn English. But we’re more than that. We are communities — large and small — that use a whole range of languages and language varieties to communicate and work with each other. More and more school districts are thinking: how can we work in these multilingual contexts and support the development of our multilingual kids? Check out the latest newsletter from the Missouri Dual Language Network (MODLAN) to see what’s up regarding language education and opportunities in our state: http://eepurl.com/bZ0Zc1  You might also “like us” (lots!) on our FaceBook page or visit our website. Hasta luego!

AERA Presentation on Multilingual School Climates

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Join colleagues and I on April 12 at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meetings, as we interrogate the  climates of multi-language schools from the perspectives of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Meeting AERA’s mission to promote research that improves education and serves the public good, we’ve put together a symposium that is designed for those interested in the culture and climate of multilingual schools: spaces where either students have multiple language backgrounds, or educational programs aim to develop bilingualism. Our symposium’s research presentations include views from diverse stakeholders who shape school climate and analysis of its key dimensions. The first two papers will explore the institutional environment and relationships at new language immersion schools, from children and parent perspectives; the next paper will examine how teachers can establish multilingual contexts for literacy learning in English-as-a-Second-Language and general-education classes, and the final one analyzes how school leaders ensure the welcome/safety of undocumented student populations. See you there!