🎯 Core Principle
"Language fluency doesn't dictate cognitive ability."
Cognitive Science
Cummins: BICS vs. CALP
Students can do complex thinking while developing English proficiency
- BICS: 1-2 years
- CALP: 5-7+ years
Sweller: Cognitive Load Theory
Language processing consumes working memory needed for content learning
OMEC Solution
Parallel access points:
- Full academic English
- Simplified bilingual
- Rigorous Spanish
Same cognitive rigor, variable language support
L2 Acquisition
Krashen: i+1
Comprehensible input just above current level accelerates acquisition
GarcÃa: Translanguaging
One integrated linguistic repertoire—leverage ALL resources
L1 Scaffold Research
L1 support accelerates (not hinders) L2 development
OMEC Solution
- Bilingual materials throughout
- L1 recognized as cognitive relief
- Addresses "language burnout"
- Validates full linguistic identity
Literacy Instruction
Beck, McKeown, Kucan: Tiered Vocabulary
Explicit Tier 2 academic vocabulary instruction essential
Duke & Pearson: Comprehension Strategies
Explicit strategy instruction with complex texts
Pearson & Gallagher: Gradual Release
"I do, we do, you do" progression
OMEC Solution
- Embedded vocabulary instruction
- Comprehension strategies scaffolded
- Modeling → guided → independent
- Complex texts with scaffolds
Academic Language
Zwiers & Gibbons: Academic Discourse
Explicit instruction in academic language structures needed
Graff & Birkenstein: "They Say/I Say"
Making argument patterns explicit
Toulmin: Argument Structure
Recognizable patterns in academic argument
OMEC Solution
- Artifact-Construction Model
- Pressure-Type Analysis framework
- Sentence stems as temporary scaffolds
- Explicit academic discourse patterns
Curriculum Design
UDL: Universal Design for Learning
Multiple means of engagement, representation, action/expression
Teacher Autonomy Research
Scripted curricula undermine effectiveness; flexibility essential
OER Research
Open resources promote equity and teacher collaboration
OMEC Solution
- "Lego-style" modular design
- Teacher decision-making preserved
- Completely free & open-source
- Adaptable to local contexts
Cultural Responsiveness
Paris & Alim: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
Sustain and nurture students' cultural/linguistic practices
Moll, González, Amanti: Funds of Knowledge
Build on students' cultural assets
Freire: Critical Literacy
Literacy as tool for liberation and transformation
OMEC Solution
- Diverse authors centered
- Multilingualism as asset
- Critical analysis of power/systems
- Pressure-Type Analysis framework