Rate My Professor Aliza Fones

Fones' research specializations center on applied linguistics and TESOL, with a focus on professional learning communities for teachers of emergent bilinguals, teacher agency in high school English language learner settings, equity for multilingual students, and transnational funds of knowledge in social studies. Her key publications include 'Possibilities and Limitations From Two Urban High Schools: Understanding the Work of Professional Learning Communities for Emergent Bilingual Equity' published in the Journal of Education in 2024; 'Creating Accessible and Equitable Learning Opportunities for Teachers of Multilingual Learners' in TESOL Journal in 2025, co-authored with Shelby Miller and Carmen Durham; 'Beyond the "English Learner" Frame: Transnational Funds of Knowledge in Social Studies' co-authored with Dafney Blanca Dabach in 2016; and 'Discourses of Exclusion: Immigrant-Origin Youth Responses to Immigration Debates in an Election Year' co-authored with Dafney Blanca Dabach, Natasha Hakimali Merchant, and others in 2017. In 2022, Fones co-directed with Carmen Durham a five-year grant of nearly $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Education for Project UNITED, the University of Northern Iowa Teacher Education for Diverse Learners initiative. This project addresses the shortage of ESL-endorsed teachers in Iowa by providing tuition scholarships, professional development, and partnerships with area education agencies to support pre-service and in-service educators in rural and urban districts, enhancing equitable learning opportunities for multilingual students. Fones' contributions have advanced teacher preparation and community engagement in TESOL, with her works accumulating 173 citations across 10 research outputs.