ABSTRACT
This contribution describes initial implementation of a teacher professional development (PD) initiative focused on creating opportunities for emergent bilingual (EB) children in a new immigrant community to participate in rigorous, equitable and consequential science and language learning. Foundational principles about teaching and learning are presented alongside a description of the PD model, which integrates formal PD institutes and school-based learning opportunities for teachers. School-based PD was framed by cycles of co-design that foregrounded authentic, collaborative work among teachers and researchers and involved co-planning, co-teaching, and co-investigating. Experiences from early implementation motivated a “starting small” approach to co-design that focused on working with two kindergarten teachers and allowed for intersections between district initiatives and project goals to emerge, trusting relationships to develop, and capacity to be built to foster EBs’ learning. Such capacity building efforts are critical in new immigrant destinations, where EBs are often not afforded equitable access to science and language learning opportunities.
