Elsa Billings

Elsa Billings is a consultant for the Understanding Language Initiative.Elsa holds a Ph.D. and two M.A.'s from Stanford University.Her work as an educator and researcher seeks to address one of the nation's most pressing issues; informing and improving educational access and opportunities for linguistically and culturally diverse students.Elsa has extensive experience and expertise in teaching, curriculum development, professional development of teachers and coaches, and working with schools to improve instructional practices for English language learners (ELLs).Elsa has published numerous book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals. Her corpus of work includes investigations of the pedagogical practices in serving ELLs in the classroom, and the ways that technological innovations can support teaching and learning. Elsa's current research agenda seeks to extend this work by more closely examining the professional development (PD) provided teachers around the new Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards, with a specific focus on ways that this PD targets gaps in teachers' understandings of how to implement effective instruction for their ELLs.