Making Content Comprehensible for Multilingual Learners

Jana Echevarría, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita at California State University, Long Beach, where she received her university's Outstanding Professor award for excellence in scholarship, teaching, and service. Prior to receiving her UCLA doctorate, she was a teacher in bilingual, ESL, and special education programs. Dr. Echevarria has published widely on effective instruction for multilingual learners, including those with learning disabilities. She has presented her research throughout the U.S. and internationally, including at Oxford University (England), Wits University (South Africa), Harvard University (U.S.), Stanford University (U.S.), University of Barcelona (Spain), and South East Europe University (Macedonia), where she was a Fulbright Specialist. She also was a resident instructor at Feng Chia University (Taiwan). Dr. Echevarria is a member of the California Reading Hall of Fame and serves as an expert on English learners for the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.

MaryEllen Vogt, Ed.D., is Professor Emerita of Education at California State University, Long Beach. She is currently director and reading specialist for Literacy Intervention & Instruction, a nonprofit program for students with reading delays. Dr. Vogt received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, and is author/co-author of numerous articles, chapters, and books for teachers and administrators. Her research interests include literacy intervention, teacher change and development, and disciplinary literacy for multilingual learners. Dr. Vogt has provided professional development in all 50 states and in several other countries, including Germany, where she served as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cologne. She received her university's Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, served as President of the International Literacy Association, and has been inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame, an international organization of literacy scholars and researchers.

Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., founded and directs Academic Language Research & Training, a consulting company, and provides professional development on academic literacy, content-based English as a new language, and sheltered content instruction worldwide. She has directed research and evaluation studies on multilingual learners and educational program designs for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Rockefeller Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and others. Publications include SIOP Model books for Pearson, The 6 Principles books for TESOL, ESL textbooks like Reach Higher, Inside, and Edge for National Geographic Learning, and professional journal articles. She taught ESL and EFL in New York, California, Virginia, and the DR Congo. She served as president of the TESOL International Association (2020 to 21) and has presented research in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South America, Europe, China, and the Middle East.

Katie Toppel, Ed.D., is an English Language Development Specialist at the elementary level, serving multilingual learners through collaboration, co-teaching, and small-group instruction. Dr. Toppel began her career as a preschool teacher in a Bilingual Migrant Head Start classroom. Her instructional background includes experience teaching kindergarten and first grade in addition to serving as a K to 12 Support Services Teacher at an international school in Germany. Dr. Toppel is a co-author of the book DIY PD: A Guide to Self-Directed Learning for Educators of Multilingual Learners. Her other publications include journal articles, online articles, and book chapters focused on culturally responsive teaching, co-planning, and co-teaching as well as contributing to 99 Ideas and Activities for Teaching English Learners with the SIOP Model, 2e. She is also the co-founder of #MLLChat_BkClub on Twitter, which is a virtual book club aimed at improving instructional practices for multilingual learners. Dr. Toppel presents and shares her work both nationally and internationally at educational conferences.