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Instruction in Diverse Classrooms

Reliable vs Non-Reliable

You may find sources in the Internet or in your university library's catalog, no matter where you look, always evaluate a source.

Currency: 

  • Is the information current enough for your needs?
  • When was it published?

Reliability:

  • Is the information based on fact or opinion?
  • Are the claims supported by facts and trustable data?
  • Is the information well-balanced, objective, and non-biased? 
  • Does the author attribute sources?

Authority:

  • Who is the author?
  • What is the affiliation of the author?
  • What are the credentials?
  • What publishing house supports the publication?

Accuracy:

  • Is the article/book peer-reviewed?
  • Do you see grammatical errors?
  • Does it look legitimate?
  • Does the author provides contact information?

Purpose: 

  • What is the intent of the work?
  • What is the domain of a website?
  • Who is the target audience?

Background Search

When looking for information, your first step is to find background information to have an overview of the topic. Background sources will connect you to essential terms associated with the subject matter, dates, names, and other information that will help refine your search. You can find background information in works of reference, general and subject-specific encyclopedias, dictionaries, and even textbooks.

Background Sources

Linking Your Search Terms

Image shows an advanced search with the terms: "emergent bilingual learners" AND general education AND secondary education

A reading of interest:

Gleeson, M. (2022). Is supporting the needs of emergent bilingual learners in mainstream classes a cultural or linguistic issue? How do policy, curricula, and secondary teacher education programmes in Australia and New Zealand compare? International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(8), 2962–2975.

Boolean Searching Tips

Boolean Operator Example What It Does
AND bilingual learners AND secondary education Narrows your search
OR bilingual learner OR linguistically diverse student Broadens your search
NOT bilingual learner NOT primary school Weeds out unhelpful stuff
"Quotation Marks" "bilingual programs" Searches an exact phrase, those words in that order
* (Asterisk)

bilingu*

(Will include possibilities like: bilingual, bilinguals, bilingualism

 Includes all possible word ending variations
A reading of interest:
Park-Johnson, S. K. (2020). Teachers’ Attitudes and Beliefs about Code-Mixing by Bilingual Students. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, 56(2), 125–144.