No longer accepting applications
What is the SEALED project?
The Supporting Educators’ Academic Literacies and Enhanced Discourse (SEALED) project is federally-funded ($6,148,903.00 U.S. Department of Education) project that provides professional development to local teachers. Participants are core subject secondary school teachers with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and they are enrolled in an M.S.Ed. program at the University of Miami (Education and Social Change, Special Education, or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Participants complete their respective graduate program, with half of the participants also receiving job-embedded supports from an instructional coach.
Avalos, M. A. (Principal Investigator), Cavendish, W., & de Oliveira, L. C. (Co-PIs). (2017-2020). Supporting Educators’ Academic Literacies and Enhanced Discourse(SEALED). The U.S. Department of Education, Supporting Effective Educator Development [SEED], $6,148,903.00.
About SEALED
SEALED has five focal areas: culturally responsive pedagogy, student engagement, academic literacies, data-based decision making, and project-based learning. Through data collection of video-recorded classroom lessons, teacher reflections, student artifacts, and student achievement data, the SEALED team is investigating the effectiveness of applied M.S.Ed. programs as professional development.
Accomplishments
Article accepted for publication: Cavendish, W., Barrenechea, I., Young, A., Diaz, E., & Avalos, M. A. Urban teachers’ perspectives of strengths and needs: The promise of teacher-centered professional development.Urban Review.
SEALED Stats
Core Subject
M-DCPS
TESOL
Education & Social Change
Special Education
SEALED Research Presentations
Avalos, M. A. (2020, October). Tools you can use. U.S. DOE SEED Annual Meeting, Virtual Presentation (Online).
Avalos, M.A., & Blair,A. (2019,July). Infusing SFL and a language-oriented pedagogical cycle within M.S.Ed. secondary methods and reading courses: Curriculum model and lessons learned. Paper presented at the International Systemic Linguistics Conference (ISLC) Santiago,Chile.
Avalos, M. A., & Blair, A. (2020, April). Investigating graduate-level courses as an avenue develop secondary content teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical practices for academic language instruction. Paper accepted to American Educational Research Association (AERA) San Francisco, CA.
Avalos, M. A., & Blair, A. (2020, April). Investigating graduate-level courses as an avenue to develop secondary content teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical practices for academic language instruction. Paper accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, CA. [Canceled COVID-19]
Avalos, M. A., & Blair, A. (2020, December). Teachers’ understandings and implementation of a teaching-learning cycle for content area writing instruction: Lessons learned to forward a critical approach for genre pedagogy. Literacy Research Association (LRA), Virtual Conference.
Avalos, M. A., de Oliveira, L., Díaz, E., & Blair, A. (2020, March). Teaching Content through Language: Secondary English Learners’ Academic Literacy Instruction. Paper accepted for presentation at the annual conference for TESOL International, Denver, CO. [Canceled COVID-19]
Avalos, M. A., Blair, A., Díaz, E., & Wadhwa, K. (2019, December). Supporting in-service teachers’ sense-making and implementation of academic literacies by design: Lessons from a research-practice partnership. Literacy Research Association (LRA) Tampa, FL.
Barrenechea, I., Cavendish, W., & Young, W. (October 2020). National Association of Multicultural Education. Critical Reflections on Increasing Student Engagement & Advocating for Change.
Blair, A., & Avalos, M. A. (2021, April). Graduate-level courses for developing secondary teachers’ language knowledge for linguistically and culturally responsive instruction. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting (Conference Online).
Blair, A., Avalos M. A., Barrenechea, I., & Wadhwa, K. (2019, July). Secondary content area teachers' evolving understandings of academic language. International Systemic Linguistics Conference (ISLC) Santiago, Chile.
Blair, A., Avalos, M. A., & Wadhwa, K. (2019, December). The role of analyzing student writing in secondary content area teachers' evolving understandings of academic language. American Reading Forum (ARF) Sanibel Island, FL.
Cavendish, W., Barrenechea, I., & Young, A. (November 2019). Teacher Perceptions of the Role of Culture in their Classrooms.National Association of Multicultural Education, Tucson, AZ
Cavendish, W., Barrenechea, I., & Young, A. (May 2021). Miami-Dade College: DEI Professional Development Series. Enactment of Culturally Responsive Practices in Higher Education
Cavendish, W., Barrenechea, I., Young, A., & Avalos, M. A. (April 2021). American Educational Research Association. Urban Teachers’ Perspectives of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: The Promise of Teacher-Responsive Professional Development
Cavendish, W. & Krawec, J. (June 2019). Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge and Use ofAssessment Data to Inform Instruction for Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities(LD).International Academy of Research on Learning Disabilities, Crete, Greece.
Cavendish, W. Young, A., Diaz, E., & Barrenchea, I. (February 2019). Perceptions of Strengths and Needs of Urban Teachers.Eastern Educational Research Association, Myrtle Beach, SC,
de Oliveira, L. (2019, July). Systemic Functional Linguistics and graduate teacher education: Background and context for the SEALED project.Paper presented at the International Systemic Linguistics Conference (ISLC) Santiago, Chile.
Krawec, J., Cavendish, W.,Young, A., & Crocco, C. (October 2019). Teachers Use of Assessment Data for Instructional Decision-making.Council for Learning Disabilities, San Antonio, TX
SEALED Team
Dr. Luciana de Oliveira
Wandarece Ruan
M-DCPS Office of Professional Development and Evaluation
Ana M. Gutierrez
M-DCPS Division of Academics and Transformation
Data Manager:
Dolores Romero Aldana
Curriculum Support Specialists:
Nancy Valdes
Janice Fleurantin
Visiting Asst. Professor:
Dr. Alissa Blair
Graduate Assistants:
Ayanna Young
Edgar Diaz
Kanushri Wadhwa
Ignacio Barranechea
Sharon Smith
Testimonials
I have been learning various methodologies and strategies that I have been able to put to the test in my classroom. I have learned what multicultural education is, the importance of respecting individual differences, and how to recognize and value these differences in the classroom. After each class I attend and each article I read, I become more confident in my ability to guide and support my emergent bilingual students.
I am far more culturally responsive with all students within not only my class lab, but with all students in the school. I have learned how to far better plan for all levels of learners day in and out, when thinking of the gifted student to the emerging bilingual student. I am learning that pedagogy is a practice that can be mastered over time, but is best thought of as an ongoing gift of knowledge.
The Education and Social Change program at UM has provided me an opportunity to reflect on my positionality in the education system and encouraged me to be intentional in my participation. Although the current architecture of the system provides many challenges for students and teachers alike, my colleagues and professors have worked together to find a means to exercise our agency to make positive changes for our students and ourselves.
SEALED IN THE COMMUNITY
- DJ Moreau, Education and Social Change
– Rookie Teacher of the Year 2019 - Ashley Gonzalez, Education & Social Change
– Rookie Teacher of the Year 2019 - Kelsey Major, Education & Social Change
– Started an after school club where middle school students work on magazine editions designed to persuade federal lawmakers to pass legislation to help prevent mass shootings.
Read the article here
SEND A MESSAGE
The SEALED project was funded by the U.S. DOE Supporting Effective Education Development program (2017-2020), Grant #U423A170078. Renewed funding is not expected for this project. Email Mary Avalos (PI) (mavalos@miami.edu) with questions concerning SEALED’s project outcomes.