Pre-Conference Workshops Strand B -- Teaching & Learning

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Jon Nordmeyer

Academic Language: Barrier or Bridge?
10:00 – 11:50 am (100 min.)

When is a table not a table? When it is the water table or periodic table of elements. This interactive workshop will model an inquiry approach that can help students to understand how language varies within academic contexts. We will explore the WIDA English Language Development framework to help students develop language skills necessary to both process and produce in academic contexts. Participants will practice strategies for engaging learners at different proficiency levels.

Presenter Bio-Sketch
Jon Nordmeyer is the Director of International Programs at the WIDA Consortium, University of Wisconsin. He has been an educator for 25 years and has worked in Ecuador, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, China, and Thailand. He has also taught seminars at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Tibet University. Jon has written journal articles and chapters in several books and is the co-editor of the book Integrating Language and Content (TESOL 2010). Jon has a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA in TESOL from the School for International Training.

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Lunchtime Break: 11:50 am — 1:30 pm

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Chuck Sandy

Taking Learning Where It Leads 
1:30 – 3:20 pm (100 min.)

 
How can inquiry-based learning work in a language classroom? Equipped with nothing more than a napkin, people, pens, and some prompts, we will find out as we build a language-rich lesson together that is steeped in critical thought, based in inquiry, and centered in learning that goes in whatever direction(s) we take it.

Presenter Bio-Sketch
Chuck Sandy is a teacher developer, essayist, and author of course books for students like the recently published Passages 3rd Edition and Connect 2nd Edition from Cambridge University Press. He's also a cofounder and director of the International Teacher Development Institute (iTDi). Read Chuck's most recent essays about education and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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Jon Nordmeyer

Formative Feedback: It IS Rocket Science
3:30 – 5:20 pm (100 min.)

Formative language assessment is a powerful process to both motivate and guide students with specific feedback to move learning forward. This hands-on workshop will engage teachers in a simple but powerful simulation to demonstrate the value of assessment as learning. We will collaboratively assess samples of student work, using the WIDA English Language Development framework, and then build on what learners can do in order to target feedback to develop academic English skills.

Presenter Bio-Sketch
See Jon Nordmeyer's bio-sketch above.

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