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 culturally responsive pedagogy, immigrant social networks, and in applying communities’ funds of knowledge in schools.

Courses

• Historical and Legal Foundations of Education with ESOL/Bilingual Students
• Assessment & Evaluation in the Education of ESOL/Bilingual Students
• Focus on Culture & Community in Teaching ESOL/Bilingual Students
• Language Acquisition & Development

Publications and Presentations

Favela, A. and Torres, D. (2006). Educational Border Crossers: Recruiting and Retaining New Minority Teachers. American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education Conference, San Diego, CA.

Favela, A. and Grenz, C. (2006). Classrooms as Cultural Bridges: Learning With and From Parents. California Association for Bilingual Education Conference, San Jose, CA.

Favela, A. and Wolf, L. (2005). Partnering with Districts to Promote Success for Novice Teachers and their ELL Students Oregon Association of Teacher Educators Conference, Portland, OR.

Favela, A. (2004). Educational Border Crossers: Effective teachers of immigrant students. Dissertation Abstracts International. (UMI No. AAT 3132978)

Favela, A. and Exposito, S. (2003). Reflective voices: Valuing immigrant students and teaching with ideological clarity. The Urban Review Journal.

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
B.A. 1992 University of California, Berkeley