Eliana D. Rojas
Assistant Professor in Residence
Grant Director , USDOE Title III National Professional Development Program - TEACEP (2002-2007)
Principal Investigator, USDOE Title III Grant (2000-2005)

Dr. Rojas’ research and practice concentrates on teaching and learning mathematics content in socio-culturally and linguistically diverse environments. The framework of her research examines various aspects of educational reform in Latin America and the Caribbean, and its impact on student learning in the United States. It includes: curricular standards, classroom discourse, best practices in teacher preparation, teacher competences, in-service teacher evaluation, and professional development. Dr Rojas is the Director of two 5 year $1 million USDOE National Professional Development Grants for the Bilingual Education Program at the Neag School of Education. She has also been awarded $150,000 by the World Bank to train 25 in-service secondary mathematics/technology teachers from Chile at the University of Connecticut’s Storrs campus. Recently Dr. Rojas received $8,000 from the University of Connecticut’s General Education Provost's Competition to develop a mathematics pre-calculus course in Spanish for the Fall 2005 semester. The course represents the university's commitment to prepare students for a global society. Dr. Rojas has been a visiting scholar at various institutions in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain.

•PhD, University of Connecticut

•MA, University of Connecticut

•BA, University of Minnesota

•Licenciatura en Matematicas, Universidad de Chile

« Full C.V. »

Contact Information: 

Gentry - 326

Phone: (860) 486-2005
Fax: (860) 486-1142
Mobile : (860)-208-7940

Email: eliana.rojas@uconn.edu

Office Hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday 12:30pm. - 3:30pm.

Mailing Address:
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Neag School of Education
249 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2033 Storrs
Storrs, CT 06269

Personal Web Page

Current Courses Taught:

Mathematics 109 Pre-Cal - [English -Spanish]

EDCI 397

EDCI 430: International Education: Educational Reform In Latin America

EDCI 307: Curricular Issues in Bilingual Education

EDCI 309: Special Topics In Bilingual Education

Associations/Committees/Outreach:

National Association for Bilingual Education

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Internacional Society for Language Studies

The Center for Community and School Action Research (CCSAR)

Sociedad Chilena de Educacion Matematicas

In the News:

Educators Compare Notes on Teaching Math in U.S. & Chilean High Schools

The Second Annual Conference on Leadership in Bilingual Education

Areas of Expertise:

Mathematics Education

Teacher Education

Classroom Discourse

Bilingual Education

Education and Human Rights

Funded Research:

The Impact of Native Language: Teaching Pre Calculus to Diverse Learners.

Effective Pedagogy: Use of Spanish in Mathematics Content Teaching for ELLs' Successful Learning.

Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices in ELL High School Classrooms. What Matters Most: A Mathematician's Observations. Connecticut Schools. CT. (2003-2005).

Effects of a MA Degree on ELL Teachers' Professional Growth and Commitment: Follow up with 30 ELL Teachers. Connecticut Schools. CT. (2002 – 2005)

Selected Publications/Presentations:

Mathematics and Science Learning for Emigrant Children: The Ecology of Classroom Discourse. Paper presented at the International Society of Language Studies Conference. Montreal, Canada.

Mathematics to ELL Secondary Students: Strengthening the Content through Valid Practices. NABE.

Transferencia de experiencias Internacionales y su Impacto en América Latina. Plenary Lecture : Primera Conferencia Nacional de Chilenos Profesionales en el ExteriorMinistry of Exterior-World Bank. Santiago Chile

Effective Pedagogy: Use of Spanish for ELLs' Mathematics Successful Learning. AATSP, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Yale University.

Rojas, Eliana D. Teacher Evaluation, Professional Development, School Improvement and Student Learning: Focusing on What is Most Important. Pensamiento Educativo. Coordinación de Investigación y Publicaciones de la Facultad de Educación de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Santiago Chile.

Rojas, Eliana D.Las Matemáticas Como Lenguaje de Comunicación y Expresión de Conocimiento: Un Principio Socio-Constructivita. Revista Latinoamericana de Investigación en Matemática Educativa. Comité Latinoamericano de Matemática Educativa. Thomson Editores, AS. A. de C.V. México.

Rojas, Eliana D. & Reagan, Timothy. Linguistic Human Rights: A New Perspective on Bilingual Education. Educational Foundations. Marquette University. Milwaukee, WI.