Professional Biography

Alejandra Favela teaches a variety of courses for in-service teachers that lead to the ESOL/Bilingual Endorsement. In addition, she works closely with pre-service teachers and faculty members to infuse the curriculum in ways that benefit culturally and linguistically diverse students. Before coming to Lewis & Clark College, Alejandra was a lead member of the Teacher Education Faculty at Claremont Graduate University in California. Her interest in social justice and education for marginalized children began in Bosnia-Hercegovina where she worked in refugee camps and in various non-profit organizations throughout Eastern Europe. Her work in U.S. schools as a supervisor, consultant, and researcher have all been guided by her own experiences as an immigrant student and as a bilingual teacher in various urban and rural settings. Her teaching and research focuses on bilingual education, culturally responsive teaching, immigrant social networks, transnational education, critical pedagogy, sociolinguistics, and applying communities’ funds of knowledge in schools.

Courses

ESOL 500/ 600: Historical and Legal Foundations for ESOL/Bilingual Students

ESOL 504/ 604: Assessment & Evaluation for ESOL/Bilingual Students

ESOL 502/602: Focus on Culture & Community in Teaching ESOL/Bilingual Students

ESOL 507/607: Language Acquisition & Development

ESOL 535:  Effective Theory and Practice for English Language Learners

EDAD 568/668: Engaging the Community for Effective Schools

CORE 568: Tapping Community Resources to Support Minority Populations

Publications

Favela, A. (2010). Radical Lessons from Oaxaca: Teachers as Social Vanguards. Radical Teacher.

Favela, A.  (2010). Educational Border Crossers: Essential Skills and Attitudes for Teaching Immigrant Students. Saarbrucken: VDM Verlag.

Expósito, S.  & Favela, A. (2009). Reading The World in L1 and L2. In R. Cohen, Ed. Explorations in Second Language Reading.  Alexandria, VA: TESOL, Inc.

Dantas-Whitney, M., Favela, A. Mize, K. & Galloway, M. (2009). They’re Everyone’s Kids: Supporting Teachers Who Support ELLs. ORTESOL Journal. 26 (1), 1-6.

Favela, A. (2009). Confianza y Consciencia: Transnational Students in Mexican Schools. Border-Lines: Journal of the Latino Research Center. Vol. 3, 6-24.

Favela, A. & Torres, D.M. (March 2008). Supporting New Minority Teachers through       Culture, Community and Collaboration. Northwest Passages. 6 (1), 23-33.

Favela, A. (2007). Classrooms as Cultural Bridges: Learning with and from Immigrant Communities. Journal of Democracy & Education. 16 (4), 14-21.

Expósito, S. & Favela, A. (March 2003). Reflective Voices: Valuing Immigrant Students and  Teaching with Ideological Clarity. The Urban Review Journal, 35 (1), 73-91.

Grants

Title II Grant: The Oregon New Minority Teacher Institute. Partnered with 20 new hires from Beaverton and Woodburn School Districts, to come together with higher education experts in teacher support and mentoring to share and learn about their distinct experiences and challenges, as new minority teachers. Lewis & Clark College, Summer 2005.

Title II Oregon University/School Partnership Program Grant: The Oregon Language, Literacy and Culture Institute (OLLCI) will bring together 45 experienced and novice teachers working in urban and rural Oregon, that teach English learners in the heritage language or in English, for a two week institute centered on professional development in Reading, Language and Culture. Lewis & Clark College, Summer 2006.

Academic Credentials

Ph.D. 2004 Claremont Graduate University /San Diego State University
M.A. 1994 London School of Economics and Political Science
B.S. 1992 University of California, Berkeley