Mathematics Colloquium

Upcoming Colloquium

Translanguaging in Mathematics: Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy
Dr. Adeli Ynostroza Ochoa, CSU Bakersfield

January 26, 2026
12:00pm-1:00pm via Zoom

Join 1/26 Zoom
Meeting ID: 865 0194 1650

Abstract

Translanguaging proposes we look at "bilingual children's linguistic performances from their internal perspective, from the child's use of language" (García & Yip, 2015, p. 2). From this perspective, emergent bilingual children do not have two external containers with two named languages. Instead, emergent bilingual children are recognized as having one language system with multiple language features that interact with their linguistic and cognitive performances (García, 2009). The guiding question for the presentation: How do translanguaging practices facilitate interactions in mathematics learning? By identifying episodes when using Spanish and English, 'informal' and 'formal' registers related to mathematics (using Python), I highlight the linguistic repertoire of emergent bilinguals. The presentation will highlight how middle school students made meaning of programming concepts and mathematics through the use of translanguaging, and conclude the presentation by providing best practices for designing instruction that offers maximum engagement of emergent bilingual students’ rich linguistic identity.

Biosketch

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Dr. Adeli Ynostroza-Ochoa, an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Sciences & Education, serves as Faculty in the Curriculum and Instruction, Master of Arts Program and the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at California State University, Bakersfield. Adeli, a Tejana of Mexican descent self-identifies as a Chicana, affirming her connection to the Chicano movement and its deep resonance with the struggles of the United Farm Workers Union, as the daughter of farmers and granddaughter of a Bracero, a Mexican farmworker, whose migration to the United States afforded her the opportunity to be in an academic space embracing a transcultural identity, de allá, de acá y todos los lugares intermedios. As a former early childhood and bilingual elementary teacher, her public and academic scholarship is committed to sustaining linguistic and cultural pedagogy. She brings her former to the development of the Kern Multilingual Residency Program curriculum, partnering with rural school districts in the lower San Joaquin Valley, preparing highly qualified bilingual teachers. Adeli's current research projects include but are not limited to, translanguaging, bilingual teacher identity, critical content analysis of children's books, placed-based curriculum, and culturally revitalizing teaching practices. Adeli has published in the Bilingual Research Journal, International Journal of Multicultural Education, contributed to a chapter in the Education Leadership of Immigrants (2019), and recently has been accepted to publish in the Handbook of Bilingual Teacher Education (2026). Her recent accolades include, receiving the Kegley Institute of Ethics Fellowship (2024-2025), the CSU Early Childhood Multilingual Literacy Faculty Fellowship for Teacher Preparation (2025-2026), elected to the West Ed Board of Directors (2025-2028), and most importantly is the proud mother of a Chicano male secondary Science teacher