Category Archives: Professional Development

“Thrown to the wolves” – Teacher education during a pandemic

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By Johanna Tigert, Christine Leider, and Michaela Colombo for the MATSOL Teacher Educator Special Interest Group.

Special thanks to Adrienne, Anastasia, Claudia, Helen, Irma, Ivone, Jocelyn, Joni, Josh, Laura, Marialuisa, Melissa, Moira, Paula, Peter, and Rachel, whose voices we drew on in writing this piece. 

The MATSOL Teacher Educator Special Interest Group (SIG) met on April 27 via Zoom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our work. A record number of people attended – a testament to the desire of people to connect and be heard during these unprecedented times. In small groups, we shared both our recent challenges and triumphs as distance teacher educators. We’re not going to pretend challenges didn’t dominate our conversation – they were serious, multiple, and complex. People needed the space to voice their concerns. However, the resourceful group we are, we also shared strategies, resources, and tips for overcoming some of the challenges. 

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English/Multilingual Learners with Disabilities: Teaching and Learning Remotely

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Online Open House

Thursday, May 7, 3:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.

Co-presenters: Dr. Jenny Jacobs, Boston Public Schools and Joni Magee, Lasell University

Please join the Coalition for Equity, Diversity, and Disability (CEDD) for an open house meeting to discuss teaching and learning remotely with students who are linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities. The Coalition for Equity, Diversity, and Disability (CEDD) promotes interdisciplinary collaboration to address the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities and their families.

During this open house, a diverse community of practitioners will meet to discuss:

  • Practices that are working well in remote teaching with this student population
  • Challenges that present as we teach remotely with this student population
  • Resources for teaching remotely with linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities and their families
  • Opportunities to share experiences from the field and higher education

Please register here for this open house. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting in Zoom.

Co-sponsored by MATSOL, MABE & Lasell University

Pre-Conference Institutes Sold Out!

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MATSOL members, you are a dedicated bunch. Not only have you registered for the 2019 Conference in record numbers, but you’ve signed up for two Pre-Conference Institutes on Tuesday, May 28, to become even better teachers.

Here’s what you can look forward to.

Teaching and Learning Content-Based Literacies: 
Systemic Functional Linguistics in Action

Presented by Meg Gebhard, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Meg Gebhard

This interactive session will help you explore how language works in different ways to construct content-specific meanings in the types of texts or “genres” your students are routinely required to read, write, and discuss.

The morning session will guide participants in analyzing personal and literary narratives using multicultural children’s literature. The afternoon session will focus on scientific explanations and arguments using authentic texts written by middle schoolers.

Co-Teaching for English Learners: Collaborative Planning, Instruction, Assessment, and Reflection

presented by Andrea Honigsfeld, Ed.D. and Maria G. Dove, Ed.D.

Andrea Honigsfeld

Andrea Honigsfeld

Maria Dove

Maria Dove

Are you an ESOL teacher who works with content-area teachers (or vice versa)? Do you want to improve your co-planning, co-instruction, co-assessment, and reflection processes—all for the benefit of your EL students?

In this pre-conference institute, these four key components will be illustrated using authentic video clips of both novice and experienced co-teaching teams. The presenters will guide you as you develop short-term and long-term plans to support the language, literacy, and content skills of ELs in your integrated classroom.

New Course! Expeditions in Collaborative Practice: The Collaboration Tool and Multilingual Learners

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This new course Expeditions in Collaborative Practice: The Collaboration Tool and Multilingual Learners draws on the deep and practical knowledge and experience of educators of multilingual learners across our Massachusetts school districts, and the emerging body of research and evidence-based collaborative practices that undergird high-quality, coherent and connected curriculum, instruction and assessment of multilingual learners. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is generously sponsoring 4 different opportunities to take the course this Spring! See the registration flyer!

Cost: Free!

DESE will sponsor the participation of each registered team.

DESCRIPTION

This course provides active engagement and exploration of two important aspects of teaching multilingual learners. First, for language and content teacher teams who participate, the course builds competency around collaborative pedagogical practices and tools that create shared knowledge of students, and coherent curriculum (written and taught) across or within classrooms, given different teachers may provide different components or hold different teaching roles for students who are multilingual learners. Second, the course provides participants with more in-depth knowledge of both academic language development and integration of language and content standards, for purposes of strengthening and sustaining curriculum, instruction and assessment of multilingual learners and creating coherence across classrooms. The course is set up as a series of collaborative expeditions (in class, in your school and online) using the evidence-based Collaboration Tool as a central guide. These expeditions draw on your knowledge and current classroom contexts, build collaborative experiences of your team, leverage and expand your language and content knowledge, and strengthen your shared responsibility for the educational progress and success of multilingual learners in their grade or schools. See the registration link for more information and all course dates.