Dr. Rafael Lara-Alecio (PI), Director of the Center for Research & Development in Dual Language & Literacy Acquisition (CRDLLA), was recently awarded a $15 million Expansion grant from the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program, U.S. Department of Education. His project leadership team includes Drs. Beverly J. Irby (Co-PI), Fuhui Tong (Co-PI), Roya Pashmforoosh (Co-I), Marcia Montague (Co-I), and Ramona Pittman (Co-I).
Project Rural Opportunities through Literacy, Observation, Tutoring, and STEM (ROOTS), with the Texas A&M Research Foundation, will work with the University of Southern Mississippi education faculty and 100 rural schools across Texas and Mississippi to enhance literacy and science outcomes for grade 3-5 students. ROOTS’ three main goals are: (a) to strengthen teachers’ capacity to apply the science of reading and literacy-infused STEM strategies, reflect on pedagogical practices, and build student achievement; (b) to determine the impact and effectiveness of a high-impact tutoring program with community members and the use of artificial intelligence on literacy and science achievement among treatment students as compared to control; and (c) to ensure the broad sharing of ROOTS’ findings, products, and processes for sustained educational improvement.
Dr. Rafael Lara-Alecio is a TAMU System Regents professor at Texas A&M University, where he has been a faculty member since 1991. He earned his doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Utah. Previously he was a math teacher, professor, provost, and university president in his home country of Guatemala. Currently, he is a Council of Principal Investigators (CPI) member, representing the College of Education and Human Development.
Dr. Lara-Alecio, with a background in the sciences, has made many contributions to the field of content-area instruction in dual language education with literacy-infused science and science-infused literacy. Additionally, he has the influential Four-Dimensional Bilingual Pedagogical Theory and Model tested in all types of classrooms from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. More specifically, this theory and the accompanying low-inference classroom observation instrument have been validated in dual language, transitional bilingual, and English as a second language (ESL) classrooms with English learners (ELs) across public schools in the state of Texas and beyond. The validation of the theory makes his work different from other theories and associated research in that it can be used as a valid tool for pedagogical improvement. He is the author of one of only three large-scale, national studies sponsored by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). These U.S.-based, longitudinal, randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies investigated the differences in outcomes between bilingual classrooms and English-only classrooms for ELs. His research has also contributed to the knowledge base on to how to best conduct virtual classroom observations with real-time feedback, develop school-university partnerships, including the creation of a STEM mentoring program (Science Role Models and Mentors – SRM2), Family Involvement in Science/STEM, and virtual teacher professional development with mentoring and coaching.
Dr. Lara-Alecio has authored and/or co-authored over 175 refereed publications, including chapter books, textbooks, and books. In external funding, he and his research team have secured over $136 million through federal and state agencies, including the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the Office of English and Literacy Acquisition (OELA), the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program, all housed within the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Texas Education Agency (TEA). ROOTS is expected to be another impactful, large-scale education project. These grants have provided a fertile training ground for a multitude of graduate, undergraduate, and postdoctoral researchers at Texas A&M University.