What are BRC's?

BRC stands for Bilingual Research Centers. Also known as Academic Research Centers in the upper grades. These can be done in any subject, and they replace the traditional lesson plan cycle. 

No matter the class, resources are provided to the students bilingually. All digital resources accessed by the students not used for direct instruction are in the opposite language of the language of instruction. For example, in Math, the lesson is taught in English, but resources accessed online for research should be in Spanish, promoting vocabulary enrichment in both languages. 

The final product of a BRC is decided by the teacher, but must be completed in the language of instruction. 

What is the format of a BRC?

Students are divided into groups of 4 or more students. NOT traditional bilingual pairs. 

The teacher should spend no more than 15 minutes on direct instruction. 

Students receive a rubric with all questions, instructions, and resources listed as well as expectations. 

Students will work together using bilingual resources to answer questions on the rubric and create a project. The project is completed in the language of instruction.

The project can be slides, an infograph, a poster, a creation, an experiment, a writing project, etc. 

All students are required to use a different color when working to show parallel effort. 

All students speak in the language of instruction and take a turn to present part of their project. 

There must be a presentation of the final project. 

Pre and Post Assessments may be completed before and after a BRC - teacher decides. 

It is STRONGLY recommended to prepare your BRC 6 to 8 weeks in advance.

• Bring in presenters!!!

• Save your BRCs for future years!!!

• Collaborate with opposite language teachers for resources!!!