Teaching Math for Emergent Bilinguals: Building on Culture, Language, and Identity
This open textbook is concise yet informative. Although some chapter sections might benefit from additional details, various relevant areas related to theory and practice essential to effective math teaching to Emergent Bilinguals are covered well and are framed in the BUMBLEBEE acronym ("Building Understanding in Mathematics By Leveraging Emergent Bilinguals’ as Equals in Education"). The preface and Introduction provide helpful background and historical context that complement the first chapter focused on a discussion of challenges that EBs face in math classrooms. The terms, theories, and frameworks explored in the first part (Chapters 1 and 2) provide a range of background knowledge that helps clarify for students the distinctions between ELLs and EBs. The second part of the open textbook (Chapters 3-6) provides concrete, concise, and accessible teaching practices and strategies important for maintaining high expectations of content in mathematics (and other STEM) classrooms. The final chapter discusses frameworks and models related to community cultural wealth and emphasizes viewing parents and community resources as assets that should be leveraged to maximize learning opportunities and expectations for students.
The many resources and references included within and at the end of each chapter provide accurate theory and practices that are beneficial to teaching mathematics to -- and improving the learning of -- Emergent Bilingual students. Relevant data, resources, and references are accurate and the many links and hyperlinks provide a rich base of supporting examples and opportunities for additional reading to supplement the concise open textbook.
Up-to-date content, examples, and resources are complemented by relevant theories important to and typical of literature reviews in the discipline. Clear tables of global data often involving useful comparison, as well as visuals and lesson analysis tools, make the open textbook relevant to meaningful approaches to teaching math to Emergent Bilingual students. The resources, examples of relevant educational projects, global models, frameworks, speeches, podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, and student work examples provided throughout the text provide relevant connections between important theory and concrete practices and examples that students can learn from and either apply directly to or adapt in their mathematics classrooms. The examples embedded within and at the end of each chapter are often appropriate for and applicable to all students, not just EB students.
The headings and subheadings for each chapter are clear, informative, and practical for pre-service and in-service mathematics educators. Each chapter offers questions for self-reflection, as well as questions posed by the authors to consider. These make the application of the theory included clear and meaningful for educators. Various theoretical frameworks, models, conceptual lenses, and tools and included, discussed, and linked, which increase the clarity within each of the six chapters. Additionally, connections in some chapters to prior chapters' ideas make clear the relationships to ideas discussed in other chapters.
The authors' use of BUMBLEBEE ("Building Understanding in Mathematics By Leveraging Emergent Bilinguals’ as Equals in Education") as an acronym offers a consistent lens and a consistent reminder of and emphasis on the importance of equity and an asset-based mindset. The pre-reading and post-reading questions for each chapter serve as a consistent tool for pre-reading and post-reading analysis and reflection: Important ideas are emphasized in a practical personal way for the reader.
The Introduction and the six chapters are each modular (divisible) in nature, offering opportunities for concise yet informative assignments and organizational structure in a course. Each chapter provides 4-15 relevant references that often include direct hyperlinks for additional reading and exploration. The terms, theories, and frameworks explored in the first part (Chapters 1 and 2) provide a range of background knowledge that helps clarify for students the distinctions between ELLs and EBs. The second part of the open textbook (Chapters 3-6) provides concrete, concise, and accessible teaching practices and strategies important for maintaining high expectations of content in mathematics (and other STEM) classrooms. The final chapter discusses frameworks and models related to community cultural wealth and emphasizes viewing parents and community resources as assets that should be leveraged to maximize learning opportunities and expectations for students.
(1) The headings and subheadings for each chapter are clear, informative, and practical for pre-service and in-service mathematics educators. (2) Each chapter offers questions for self-reflection, as well as questions posed by the authors to consider. (3) The pre-reading and post-reading questions for each chapter serve as a consistent tool for pre-reading and post-reading analysis and reflection. (4) The resources and references included within and at the end of each chapter provide accurate theory and practices beneficial to teaching mathematics to Emergent Bilingual students.
No interface issues were observed, and the links and hyperlinks to various external resources and references embedded within and at the end of each chapter worked well.
No grammatical errors were noticed; the writing is clear and concise.
There is a wealth of culturally relevant information, practical resources, and scholarly references in this open textbook. The resources, examples of relevant educational projects, global models, frameworks, speeches, podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, and student work examples provided throughout the text provide relevant connections between important theory and concrete practices and examples that students can learn from and either apply directly to or adapt in their mathematics classrooms. The final (sixth) chapter discusses examples and implications beyond the classroom: Community cultural wealth models, parents as resources that should be embraced, and references to various frameworks in the chapter enhance the cultural relevance that forms the basis of this open textbook.