News
Rightpath Researchers Present at TESOL International Convention & Expo
Panelists (l to r): Larry Grullon-Polanco; Carla Zayas-Santiago,MA; Sara Smith, PHD; Maria Carlo, PHD; and Denise Young, MA.
Researchers from the USF Rightpath Research and Innovation Center were among presenters at a recent conference aimed at providing programs, tools, and resources needed to advance expertise in English language teaching. The TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Convention & Expo was held in Tampa March 21-23. It is the largest professional development event in the TESOL field.
Rightpath's Associate Professor María Carlo, PhD, Social & Behavioral Researcher Denise Young, Graduate Research Assistant Carla Zayas-Santiago MA, Bilingual Data Collection Specialist Larry Grullon-Polanco joined Ester Garcia Plaza from the USF College of Education and Professor Sara Smith from the University of Florida to present discussions on "Remote Synchronous Instruction to Create Rich Academic Language Environments" for children learning English as a second language. The team highlighted the power of remote instruction in supporting linguistically diverse students. Discussions highlighted the critical role of scripted interventions in remote teaching to provide consistent and effective language learning outcomes. Presenting a comprehensive approach, the team explained the theoretical underpinnings, iterative intervention design, and best practices for implementation. The findings, strengthened by feedback from educators and stakeholders, underlined the promise of remote synchronous instruction in meeting the distinctive language requirements of English Learners.
Dr. Carlo joined USF in 2017 as part of the USF Rightpath Research and Innovation Center, housed within the Department of Child & Family Studies in the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences. She specializes in bilingualism and literacy development in children and adults and is involved in multiple projects involving these areas. Her research focuses on the cognitive processes underlying reading in a second language and in understanding the cross-language transfer of reading skills and how it affects the development of such skills. She has been involved in grants funded through the National Institute of Health and the Institute for Educational Sciences and has authored multiple publications.
Most recently, Dr. Carlo published a paper related to the TESOL discussion: Leveraging Technology to Increase Access to Differentiated Instruction: A Case Study of a Synchronous Remote Delivery Dual Language Intervention for English Learners. This work was sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, with Dr. Carlo as the Principal Investigator.