Bridget Bunten

Education

• Ph.D. | Curriculum & Instruction: Language and Literacy Education | The Pennsylvania State University 
  • Dissertation title: “Voices of the Classroom Policymakers: How Teachers Make Sense of an English-only Policy”
• M.A. | Applied Linguistics | UMass Boston
• B.A. | Spanish, Elementary Education | Gettysburg College

Teaching at WC

• EDU 303. Comparative Education
• EDU 318. Cultural & Linguistic Diversity in Education
• EDU 351. Processes & Acquisition of Reading
• EDU 352. Reading Instruction & Assessment
• EDU 354. Children's and Young Adult Literature
• EDU 412. Curriculum & Instruction: Language Arts and Social Studies
• EDU 413. & 414. Elementary Education Teaching Internship

Prior Teaching Experiences

As a former bilingual and ESL educator in Massachusetts, Professor Bunten worked with elementary-aged students from all over the world and facilitated professional development seminars on language acquisition, cultural sensitivity, and second language literacy and assessment for in-service teachers.

• Spanish (as a foreign language) | Grades K-8
• Two-way Bilingual Program Teacher | 5th Grade
• ELL Administrator & Lead Teacher | Grades K-5
• Adult ESL & Citizenship Courses
• Teaching Reading & Language Arts in Elementary School (college-level)
• Teaching English to English Language Learners (college-level)
• Language, Culture, and Classroom Issues for Practitioners (college-level)
• Evaluating Schools, Performances, and Programs with ELLs (college-level)
• Clinical Application of Instruction (college-level)

Research

Professor Bunten’s research interests include: addressing the needs of English language learners (ELLs) within teacher education, investigating the impact of a culturally and linguistically diverse student population on teaching and learning, understanding the language and literacy development of ELLs, and interpreting language policy and its impact on students, teachers, schools and communities.

Recent Publications

Kelty, R. & Bunten, B. A. (2017). Risk-taking in higher education: The importance of negotiating intellectual challenge in the college classroom. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Bunten, B. A. (2014). “Welcome to America, now speak English: Preservice teachers’ discourses focus on native Russian-speaking students.” Reprinted in N. Gallavan (Ed.) Annual editions: Multicultural education (17^th edition). McGraw Hill.

Bunten, B. A. (2014). Neither right nor wrong: How a teacher integrates her personal and professional life with policy. Theory Into Practice, 53(3), 204-211.

Kim, Y., Erekson, J., Bunten, B. A., & Hinchey, P. (2014). Toward sustainable educational changes through school-based professional development on ELL assessment for new teachers. Theory Into Practice, 53(3), 228-235. 

Conference Presentations

Bunten, B. A. (October, 2017). "Expanding the Possibilities: Undergraduates' Reflections on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity." New Orleans, Louisiana: Curriculum and Pedagogy Conference.

Kelty, R., & Bunten, B.A. (March, 2016). “College Classrooms and Safe Spaces: Negotiating Intellectual Challenge and Risk Taking in Higher Education.” Boston, Massachusetts: Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society.

Kelty, R., Bunten, B.A., & Kraus, S. (February, 2015). “The Risk of Personalizing Privilege and Oppression: Pedagogy to Foster Understanding the Social Nature of Stratification.” New York, New York: Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society.

Bunten, B.A. (November, 2014). “The Impact of Personal Experience on Undergraduate’s Understanding of Cultural and Linguistic Diversity.” New Orleans, Louisiana: Curriculum and Pedagogy Conference.

Kim, Y., & Bunten, B.A. (April, 2013). “Knowledge Poverty in ELL Teacher Education Assessment: Issues & Explorations.” San Francisco, California: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.