In this four-part webinar series, hosted by WestEd’s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) team, learn effective, evidence-based practices that engage and support “long-term” English Learners in ambitious mathematical learning. This series is designed for secondary mathematics teachers, instructional coaches, principals, directors of curriculum and instruction, and others interested in improving academic outcomes for English Learners. “Long-term” English Learners have immense potential that is realized when they engage in learning that weaves together conceptual understandings, powerful opportunities to engage in math practices with their peers, and purposeful language development.
The series will help you
- create opportunities for quality interactions for deep conceptual understanding,
- design lessons to offer opportunities to explore concepts and math practices,
- vary the intensity of scaffolding to optimize participation while sustaining rigor, and
- integrate writing as a process to develop students’ sophisticated arguments.
Each session is accompanied by theory-driven, research-based, and practically-tested tools appropriate for classroom use.
Session 1: Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About: Challenging and Supporting “Long Term” English Learners in Math
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Time: 12–12:30 p.m. PT / 3–3:30 p.m. ET
In this session, learn about theory-driven, empirically-tested approaches to designing mathematics instruction to fully realize the potential of English Learners. Understand how talk provides an entry into sophisticated mathematical thinking through a lesson about independent events.
Session 1 Discussion Topics
- Role of talk and quality interactions in learning
- The promise of Long-Term English Learners in learning secondary mathematics
- Activity designs that foster connections from more everyday to more technical ideas
Session 2: Lesson Design in Three Moments
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Time: 12–12:30 p.m. PT / 3–3:30 p.m. ET
In this session, learn how to identify key connections between representations, procedures, and scenarios to drive student learning. Participants will learn how to activate students’ prior knowledge to make connections with main ideas, and experience different ways of extending understanding into new scenarios or with other mathematical concepts.
Session 2 Discussion Topics
- Lesson design using a Three Moment Architecture
- How the participation of Long-Term English Learners changes across a lesson
- The role of activity structure in sorting tasks
Session 3: Varying the Intensity of Scaffolding
Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Time: 12–12:30 p.m. PT / 3–3:30 p.m. ET
This session offers a framework and specific examples to challenge and support “long term” English Learners in ambitious mathematical learning. In this session, participants will learn key conditions for prompts or tasks that lead to quality interactions and rigorous mathematical thinking.
Session 3 Discussion Topics
- Dimensions of grouping, structure, and language in scaffolding
- The choices educators have to optimally engage Long-Term English Learners
- Examples across a variety of rigorous prompts and tasks
Session 4: Speaking, Listening, and Reading to Write
Date: Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Time: 12–12:30 p.m. PT / 3–3:30 p.m. ET
In this session, learn how writing can serve as a powerful process to expand the mathematical learning of English Learners.
Participants will learn the conditions through which all modes of communication, including speaking, listening, reading, and writing are cohesively integrated to drive ambitious mathematical learning, and specific approaches to writing different kinds of arguments including impossibility, induction, and exhaustion.
Drawing upon examples from students’ explorations of graph theory, this session illustrates how meaningful real-world connections can lead quickly to mathematical abstraction.
Session 4 Discussion Topics
- The role of literacy and oracy in learning
- How Long-Term English Learners develop arguments in secondary math
- Writing as a formative, ongoing process rather than summative event
Featured Speaker
Dr. Haiwen Chu, Research Director for the English Learner and Migrant Education Services team at WestEd
Dr. Chu is a national expert on mathematics education for English Learners. His work connects theory, research, and practice to improve learning opportunities and outcomes in mathematics in grades 6–12. He collaborates with education systems to build human and organizational capacity to improve policy, programs, and pedagogy for English Learners at all levels. Dr. Chu serves as a co-principal investigator for the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners, funded by the Institute Education Research Science, and the Investigating Novel Mathematics Tasks for Engaging in Conceptual Talk with English Learners Education Core Research study, funded by the National Science Foundation. These rigorous research projects have developed, tested, and refined innovative new tasks to engage English Learners in simultaneous development of concepts, language, and practices. In addition, Chu engages educators across the nation in professional learning to expand their capacity to challenge and support English Learners.
About QTEL
Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) professional development offers research-informed, practical approaches for teaching the conceptual understanding, academic practices, and language that are critical to ensuring success for English Learners. Educators nationwide benefit from our institutes and customized, sustained work with districts and schools. Learn more.