Research Associate
Research Associate Alex J. Insaurralde provides research-based technical assistance to help educators improve schooling for diverse populations.
A member of WestEd's Teacher Professional Development Program, Insaurralde designs and coordinates professional development workshops in both English and Spanish, focusing on developing teachers' advanced knowledge in science at the secondary level, including the role of literacy in science classes.
Insaurralde's work focuses on WestEd's Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL), a unique professional development project that helps teachers and teacher educators become better equipped to educate secondary students who are also learning English as a second language. Using new research-based tools and processes developed by Insaurralde and colleagues, QTEL presents linguistically and culturally relevant theory and pedagogy in such a way that educators' learning experiences mirror that of their students.
Insaurralde frequently teaches middle and high school faculty nationwide how to scaffold learning tasks to accomplish both content and language acquisition for English learners. As a result of Insaurralde's guidance and work, faculty learn how to structure classroom activities, identify factors required for successful scaffolding, and learn how to tailor these structured activities to their own classrooms.
Prior to joining WestEd, Insaurralde was an instructional specialist for secondary science in the Chief Academic Office, San Francisco Unified School District. Insaurralde coordinated professional development for secondary science teachers, provided support in developing the district's biotechnology program, and managed a program to integrate data collection technology into science labs. As a result, science teachers were able to enhance their expertise in their discipline and provide new laboratory experiences for their students.
As a teacher of science at the secondary level, he taught beginning to advanced level English as a second language and bilingual classes. He has also taught biology, integrated science, principles of biotechnology, physiology, and introduction to computers.
Insaurralde has given presentations on QTEL science at the National Science Teachers Association, California Science Teachers Association, and California Association of Bilingual Educators.
He received a BA in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MA in educational leadership from Sacramento State University.
Tel: 415.615.3282
415.565.3012
Email: ainsaur@wested.org
Mailing Address:
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, California 94107-1242
Project Work:
Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL)
