Timothy Boals

Research Director /Senior PI

Tim Boals is the Founder and a Senior Principal Investigator at WIDA. He holds a Ph.D. in curriculum from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an emphasis in the education of multilingual learners. His background includes language education, educational policy, curriculum, and Spanish language and literature.

As Senior PI, Tim is responsible for thought leadership initiatives at WIDA. He also serves on the leadership team and is an advisor to the WIDA Executive Director, Jenni Torres. In his role directing thought leadership, Tim convenes researchers and policy makers to discuss current topics in serving multilingual learners and how WIDA can further develop language standards, assessments and resources to meet the needs of the field.

Tim's research interests involve the interplay between content and language learning for multilingual learners across the language acquisition continuum and the effects of standards on classroom practice for these learners. He has collaborated on articles about re-conceptualization of academic language and the evolving construct of English language testing, the books "Multilingual Learners and Academic Literacies" and "Formative Language Assessment for ELLs," and a book chapter on supporting multilingual learners with special needs. Current writings and presentations include the topic of opportunity to learn for multilingual learners and what is required to ensure high quality academic environments for these students.

Tim has presented at international, national and regional conferences on the challenges facing multilingual learners and how schools and educators can better meet their needs.

Contact Information

tjboals@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-4326
Office: 1263N Ed Sciences

Current Projects

Completed Projects