Facilitating professional development for teachers of English language learners

The study explores the process of facilitation in professional development for educators. The study relies on discourse analysis of interaction among K-12 teachers and administrators in a Midwestern U.S. state during a semester-long professional development program especially designed for educators working with English language learners (ELLs). The study examines the facilitation practices employed by the lead facilitator of the professional development program from three analytical lenses: context as participation, context as ideology, and content. The paper provides an empirical illustration of how recommendations in the literature about professional development for educators of ELLs can be put in practice.

► I examine facilitation practices in the context of professional development. ► I illustrate how recommendations about teacher learning can be put in practice. ► I demonstrate how a facilitator promotes a collaborative learning environment. ► I illustrate how a facilitator disrupts negative discourses about students. ► I show how a facilitator helps foster political awareness in participants.