Responsive Practice for Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Education

Jennifer J. Chen, EdD, is tenured full professor and chair of the Department of Early Childhood Education at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. She holds her BA in psychology (with a minor in linguistics) from Barnard College, Columbia University, an MA in bilingual and bicultural education from Teachers College, Columbia University, as well as an EdM in language and literacy and EdD in human development and psychology, all from Harvard University. Her scholarly publications thread multiple strands of early childhood education, including child development, language and literacy, teaching practices, and the role of artificial intelligence in young children's learning. Dr. Chen is bilingual and bicultural herself; she learned English as a teenager when she and her family immigrated to the United States from China. In addition, she has acquired some rudimentary Spanish. Dr. Chen was a Chinese-English bilingual teacher in New York City. She has now taught, mentored, been inspired by, and learned from many early childhood teachers in New Jersey.