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Burke, April

Professor

FACULTY

Biography

Dr. April M. Burke conducts qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research on the schooling experience and academic performance of minority and disadvantaged K-12 student populations. The primary focus of her scholarship is the schooling of emergent multilinguals, students who are learning English as an additional language. Dr. Burke investigates the impact of educational policies on this population, their performance on high-stakes tests, the programming and instructional models afforded them, and the preparation of pre-service teachers to meet their needs. The philosophical foundation for her work is an advocacy, social justice, and participatory worldview. Given this orientation, her research involves collaboration with policymakers, teachers, and school leaders to bring about changes that will benefit students, school personnel, and ultimately the communities in which they reside. In addition, given Dr. Burke's interest and background in literacy and language education and to better serve the CMU pre-service teachers in the methods courses she teaches, she also conducts research and scholarship on children's literature and best practices for literacy instruction.

Dr. April Burke is currently the Director of the Teaching English Learners Program.

More about April Burke

Publications Available Via Google Scholar

Refereed Journal Articles

​Burke, A. M., Case, S., & Hamstra, C. (2021). A TESOL service learning program in rural Michigan: An innovative approach to preparing pre-service teachers. Michigan Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MITESOL) Journal, 3(1). 

Singh, M., Dunn, H., & Burke, A. M. (2020). Revealing the variation in performance of Hawai'i’s Asian Pacific Islander subgroups on the English Language Arts Smarter Balanced Assessment: Implications for policy and practice. International Journal of Educational Research, 103, 1-11.

Burke, A. M., Morita-Mullaney, T., & Singh, M. (2016). Indiana Emergent Bilingual Student Time to Reclassification: A Survival Analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 53(5), 1310-​​1342.

Thomas, K. K. & Burke, A. M. (2016). Building a world of frequent readers: How can teachers ​encourage all students to read? The Looking Glass: New Perspectives on Children's Literature, 19(1).

Burke, A. M. (2015) The impact of educational policy on English learners in a rural Indiana school corporation. Mid-Western Educational ​Researcher, 27​(4), 317-338.

Burke, A. M., DePalma, G., Ginther, A., Morita-Mullaney, T.​​, & Young, J. W. (2014). ​Accountability lessons for Indiana schools serving English learners. Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (INTESOL) Journal, 11(1), 10-24.

Burke, A. & de Oliveira, L. C. (2012). Educational policies in the United States and implications for English Learners (Políticas educacionais nos Estados Unidos e suas Implicações para aprendizes de inglês). Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada (Brazilian Journal of Applied Linguistics), 12(2), 311-329.

Book Chapters

de Oliveira, L. C. & Burke, A. M. (2015). Mainstream elementary teachers' perspectives about teaching English language learners. In L.C. de Oliveira, & M. Yough (Eds.), Preparing teachers to work with English language learners in mainstream classrooms (pp. 3-15). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Burke, A. (2013).The unintended consequences of No Child Left Behind on a school corporation: Implications for English language learners' advocates. In L.C. de Oliveira (Ed.), Teacher education for social justice: Perspectives and lessons learned (pp. 127-140). Charlotte, NC:
Information Age.

​Book Reviews

Burke, A. M. (2018). The dialectical practice of a Marxist educator [Review of the book A Marxist education: Learning to change the world]. International Socialist Review, 111.

Burke, A. M. (2014). First opinion: City Cat: A European adventure enhanced by postmodern elements [Review of the book City Cat]. First Opinions, Second Reactions, 7(2), 27-29.

Burke, A. (2013). [Review of the book The Latino education crisis: The consequences of failed social policies]. Bilingual Research Journal, 36(3), 371-374.

Burke, A. (2012).[Review of the book Applied linguistics and primary school teaching]. Teachers College Record, Date Published: February 23, 2012. ID Number: 16713.

Burke, A. (2011). [Revi​ew of the book The language demands of school: Putting academic English to the test]. Language Testing, 28(3), 417-420.

Burke, A. (2011). [Review of the book English learners left behind: Standardized testing as language policy]. Language Testing, 28(3), 421-424.

Conference Proceedings

Morita-Mullaney, T. & Burke, A. M. (2017). An Exploration of Indiana's English Language Learner Language Programming Models. In L. M. Dorner, S. S. Jeanetta, & C. Valdivia (Eds.). Latinos in the Heartland: Building Bridges, Dialogue, and Opportunity. Paper presented at The Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors) Conference, Columbia, MO, 8-10 June (pp. 85-91). Columbia, Missouri: Cambio Center at the University of Missouri.

Burke, A. M. (2016). Encountering Challenges, Achieving Success: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Provide Grammar Instruction to the Next Generation. In G. W. Layton (ed.), The Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG) Journal, 25(1). Paper presented at The ATEG Conference, Largo, MD, 24-25 July (pp. 8-11).

Research Awards
  • 2018 Distinguished Paper Award, co-authors H. Dunn and M. Singh, Hawai'i Educational Research Association (HERA), Consortium of State and Regional Educational Research Associations (SRERA), American Educational Research Association (AERA)
  • Finalist, 2018 Provost Award for Outstanding Research and Creativity, CMU
  • 2014-2015 Mary Kay Sommers Dissertation Award, College of Education, Purdue
  • 2014-2015 Outstanding Dissertation Award, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue
  • 2013 Early Career Award, AERA Division H: Research, Evaluation, & Assessment in Schools mentorship with Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation
Teaching Awards
  • 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award, Central Michigan University
  • 2018 Grammar Teacher of the Year Award, Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG)
  • 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Award for Instructional Excellence, Oral English Proficiency Program, Purdue University
  • 2014 - Ph.D. Literacy & Language Education, Purdue University
  • 2008 - C.A.S. English as a Second Language, University of Southern Maine
  • 2002 - M.A.T. Secondary Education, University of Maine
  • 1997 - B.A. English, University of Maine

Courses Taught

  • TEL 300: Teaching Multilingual Learners: Birth-Grade 1 
  • TEL 301: Teaching Multilingual Learners: Grades PK-6
  • TEL 302: Teaching Multilingual Learners: Grades 5-12
  • TEL 500: Assessment Practices for Teachers of Multilingual Learners
  • TEL 501: Teaching Multilingual Learners in the Sociocultural Context
  • TEL 502: Practicum in Teaching Multilingual Learners

Previous Courses Taught:

  • ENG 101H: Freshman Composition for Honors Students
  • ENG 175WI: The Nature of Language
  • ENG 201: Intermediate Composition
  • ENG 370: Teaching English Learners: PK-6
  • ENG 371: Teaching Grammar 
  • ENG 372: Teaching Grammar: 5-12
  • ENG 571: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Methods
  • ENG 574SL: TESOL Materials, Assessment, and Curriculum
  • ENG 577: Introduction to Second Language Acquisition
  • ENG 675A: Seminar in English Linguistics