The CEA Pat Clifford Award

Gail Prasad

Dr. Gail Prasad’s research highlighting the benefits of culturally and linguistically inclusive classrooms has the potential to reshape the way teachers support language learners across Canada.

CEA is proud to recognize Dr. Gail Prasad – Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the department of Curriculum and Instruction, and PhD graduate of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto – as the recipient of the 2016 Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education. This prestigious award is in recognition of her work in redefining the ways in which teachers can maximize learning for all students in our increasingly multilingual classrooms.

Dr. Prasad’s Indian-Japanese Canadian background – growing up in a household where her parents and extended family spoke a wide range of languages – spurred her fascination for language and identity. Leveraging her experience as a former classroom teacher and strong desire to connect with every learner, Dr. Prasad has boldly and successfully collaborated with groups of multilingual elementary students as co-investigators of their language experiences by using a highly creative arts-based approach that incorporated photography, drawing, and multilingual bookmaking.

Dr. Prasad’s current research examines how linguistically-inclusive teaching practices – that sustain students’ cultural identities and expand their language skills – can be implemented across K-12 school settings. At the elementary level, she is working with Kindergarten to Grade 5 teachers to design multilingual, project-based learning activities across subject areas including Math, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts. At the middle and high school level, she is working to support Master’s-level teacher candidates and their students through designing activities that bring more intercultural understanding and multilingual awareness to the classroom.

TO ACCESS A Q & A ARTICLE WITH DR. PRASAD, AND FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HER RESEARCH, PLEASE VISIT:
www.cea-ace.ca/cliffordaward

About the Pat Clifford Award
Pat Clifford was one of the co-founders of The Galileo Educational Network, which is based in Calgary, Alberta. Pat had an extensive teaching background from primary through graduate level, and was the recipient of numerous awards for both research and teaching practice. Pat passed away in August of 2008 but she left a gift to us in her teaching, scholarly writing, poetry and stories. As a teacher, Pat was steadfast in her belief that each child had the right to succeed brilliantly, and brought to them her own love of literature, writing and history. This award is dedicated to her memory.