Spaces of dissonance in dual language: teacher sense-making of a new biliteracy strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine the underexplored link between teacher sense-making and professional development on paired literacy approaches. Grounded in a year-long qualitative study in a Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) program in Massachusetts, we recount the experiences of dual language teachers learning about and implementing a biliteracy strategy that connects oracy and literacy, Lotta Lara, for the first time. We found that teachers’ acts of sense-making and sense-giving were meaningful examples of the ways in which spaces of dissonance provide opportunities for critical praxis and transformative change. Based on our findings, we join the extant literature in arguing for the urgency of specialized biliteracy training for dual language teachers.