Understanding Emergent Bilinguals’ Language Needs to Create Equitable Educational Practices

This presentation will identify and provide demographic information about who qualifies as "Emergent Bilinguals." It will also review current academic performance of these students in Nevada and beyond, current assessment and proficiency levels, and the available support that inform educational policies. 

Admission is free and CEUs are available for those attending the live event. A recording of the event will be available online.

Presenters

Gloria Carcoba Falomir, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education 

Gloria Carcoba Falomir is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education at UNLV. She worked in early childhood general education settings in Mexico City and Aguascalientes for four years before earning her masters and Ph.D. in Special Education from UNLV. During her doctoral program, she worked for four years as the project coordinator of a federally funded grant, sponsored by the office of English Language Acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education, that sought to improve the academic achievement of emergent bilinguals by stimulating their academic language via sheltered content instruction. In addition, Dr. Carcoba Falomir worked as the Las Vegas coordinator of a federally funded grant, ROOTS Replication: A Systematic Replication of a Tier 2 Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Oregon. Her interdisciplinary research includes the development of a valid and reliable survey to measure special and general education teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the planning and implementation of mathematical discourse for diverse students in inclusive classrooms. Dr. Carcoba Falomir’s research interests focus on supporting the mathematics performance and achievement of students with mathematics learning disabilities as well as students who are emergent bilinguals. She has presented her research in multiple international conferences, including American Educational Research Association, Council on Learning Disabilities, Nevada TESOL, and Council for Exceptional Children. In addition, Dr. Carcoba Falomir has published in different journals, such as Response to Writing, Intervention in School and Clinic, and CATESOL.

Suheyla Sarisahin, Ph.D. 
Visiting Assistant Professor of Special Education
Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education 

Dr. Sarisahin received her Ph.D. in special education in 2022 from UNLV and joined the department of early childhood, multilingual, and special education as a visiting assistant professor of special education. Dr. Sarisahin earned her B.A. in 2007 and M.Ed. in 2016 in English language teaching and learning. Dr. Sarisahin had 11 years of teaching experience at secondary-level schools. She has taught undergraduate and graduate-level special education and TESL courses at UNLV since 2018. Dr. Sarisahin’s research focuses on supporting the academic language development of students with disabilities and emergent bilinguals. Specifically, Dr. Sarisahin’s research centers on the role of video-self reflection in teacher preparation programs in the context of classroom discourse. She is a member of the American Educational Research Association, Council on Learning Disabilities, Nevada TESOL, and Association of Teacher Educators. In addition, Dr. Sarisahin has published in different journals, such as the Journal of Response to Writing, Intervention in School and Clinic, and Behavioral Interventions.

About the Scholarship in Practice Web Lecture Series

Aligned with UNLV’s Top Tier goal of community engagement, the Scholarship in Practice Web Lecture Series is a forum offered to local and national communities to discuss critical issues and propose concrete solutions on topics related to PK-20 education and mental health. Steeped in the latest scholarship, lectures are designed to support educators, practitioners, and other stakeholders. The UNLV College of Education provides approximately 6-8 lectures per year.