During my third semester as a student pursuing a Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)--which was also my second semester as an ESL teacher--I was encouraged by a professor of a graduate seminar to think outside the box about professional development (PD). After all, inquiry-based approaches to PD and teacher education emphasize…

The number of English learners (ELs) in our schools continues to increase, and at the same time, the academic achievement of ELs consistently lags behind the achievement of native-English-speaking peers. These second language learners bring with them a set of special needs for teaching and learning, especially for mainstream content area teachers,…