Re-figuring informational texts when using Spanish to create and teach with them in a bilingual teacher preparation program : Latino contributions to linguistics and pedagogy

This dissertation investigated how a group of Spanish-speaking bilinguals immersed in a transformative bilingual preparation program discursively responded to mainstream visions about academic Spanish and literacy teaching sedimented historically and systemically for bilingual education communities. Data sources combined curriculum artifacts submitted during bilingual teacher preparation courses and retrospective interviews. Gee's (2014) notion of the seven building tasks of language and the theory and tools of figured worlds guided the data analysis. Findings pointed to linguistic and pedagogical contributions that emanated from creating and teaching with Spanish informational texts when the latter incorporate the background knowledge and experiences of Latinos in the US. Attention to these findings can support conceptual models and teacher education efforts regarding academic Spanish, pedagogical efforts towards informational texts, and policy initiatives regarding simultaneous bilingualism, an area in need of research attention (Escamilla, 2014). In addition, results reinforce the potential of teacher education contexts that focus on strengths, rather than on deficit paradigms.