From OELA's Director
English Learners Key to a Multi-lingual STEM Workforce
Posted on July 25, 2011 by Rosalinda Barrera at ED.gov Blog
Dr. Barrera, assistant deputy secretary and director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education, summarizes and reflects upon OELA's July 11 one-day forum entitled “High-Quality STEM Education for English Learners.”
Meetings
Supporting English Learners in Science: Strategies for Success
March 28, 2012, Indianapolis, IN, in conjunction with the National Science Teachers Association
The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) hosted a pre-conference professional development workshop at the 2012 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) annual conference. The one-day workshop featured classroom practitioners sharing effective science instructional practices for English Learners (ELs). A major challenge for ELs in mastering science content is acquisition of the academic language reflected in science texts and other science instructional materials. The workshop was geared toward middle- and high school science teachers seeking to learn techniques for teaching inclusive lessons for English Learners, as well as administrators wishing to share this information with their teachers.
High Quality STEM Education for English Learners: Current Challenges and Effective Practices
July 11, 2011, Washington, DC
On July 11, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for English Language Acquisition (OELA) hosted a forum on educating English learners in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Dr. Okhee Lee (University of Miami) and José Franco (WestEd) facilitated the meeting.
AccELLerate!
AccELLerate! 3.4. Special Issue on STEM for English Learners
The summer 2011 issue of AccELLerate! focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics for English learners. Articles address both language issues for EL students in the STEM content areas, as well as professional development for teachers, web-based resources for use in the classroom, approaches to developing reasoning skills, and using the native language to enhance science literacy.
AccELLerate! 2.1. Special Issue on Math and Science Literacy for English Language Learners.
The summer 2009 issue of AccELLerate! deals with the challenge of educating and assessing English Language Learners (ELLs) in math and science—subjects that have high cognitive and academic language demands, require advanced skills in English reading comprehension, and may have different, culturally bound symbols and algorithms for problem solving.
Webinars
STEM and ELs: A Collaborative Effort
June 7, 2011
This webinar provides an overview of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and ideas for inclusion and implementation with ELs from a science platform. Dr. Paula Hooper gives an overview of her experience of implementing a STEM program in a San Francisco Bay area school and offers some ideas from her experience working with teachers and students at the Institute of Inquiry, the Exploratorium. She provides examples of collaborative approaches and ideas as well as some techniques that assist in creatively engaging all students in STEM.
Considerations for Meaningful Classroom Assessment of ELs in Math and Science with a Focus on SEA issues (Part II)
October 29, 2010
This webinar will maintain a focus on how teachers might collect information in their classrooms about how students who are English Learners think, understand, and develop skills in mathematics, science, and other academic content areas. Dr. Rebecca Kopriva illustrates and provides concrete ideas and examples that are key to helping content area teachers understand how to collect meaningful and accurate information about what ELs know, particularly when it comes to measuring their higher order thinking skills effectively. She is joined by Ms. Shelda Hale and Dr. Mari Rasmussen who further discuss how these considerations may compliment resources provided by LEAs to SEAs.
Considerations for Meaningful Classroom Assessment of ELs in Math and Science with a Focus on SEA issues
August 20, 2010
This webinar focuses on how teachers might collect information in their classrooms about how students who are English Learners (ELs) think, understand, and develop skills in mathematics, science, and other academic content areas. Dr. Kopriva also focuses on some considerations that are key to helping content area teachers understand how to meaningfully collect accurate information about what ELs know, particularly when it comes to effectively measuring their higher order thinking skills. Issues and methods for designing and developing effective assessment activities for ELs are outlined. Additionally Dr. Rasmussen provides an overview of how these considerations compliment the resources provided to LEAs by SEAs Title III Directors.
Older Webinars