This course will provide insight into how our cultural and linguistic experiences shape our development and readiness for school-based learning. By using examples of typical developmental learning experiences, the course highlights how exposure to and experience with more than one language or culture leads to differences in instructional needs and acquired skills and knowledge. Various examples are used to reinforce how differences affect instruction and assessment needs.
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain how cultural factors impact language learning.
- Identify and describe experiential differences for multilingual learners as opposed to ability differences.
- Compare and contrast typical patterns of linguistic, cognitive, and academic development in multilingual learners with those of monolingual peers.
Intended Audiences
- Pre K–12 General and Special Educators
- District and Building Administrators
- Multilingual Educators
- Speech and Language Pathologists
- School Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Interventionists
- Specialists
Course Type
- Self-Paced
Recommended # of PLUs
- 1 PLU
Educating students learning English presents unique challenges. Yet with these students, we often mistake poor performance and low test scores as indications that a student might have a disability, rather than focusing on the nature of the education a student is receiving and how it interacts with their second-language development. These students have different circumstances and development compared to monolingual learners; however, if we do not understand or accept this, we are essentially undermining their educational experience. This course will provide educators with a solid foundation for understanding the many challenges students face as they learn English in the school system and are expected to progress and learn in ways that don't always reach every child, which may lead to poor academic performance and mimic intrinsic signs of disability.
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Communicate the nature of language acquisition vs. language learning and its implications regarding instruction and comprehensible input.
- Recognize the myths surrounding language acquisition and development, and understand their relevance to academic development.
- Communicate the manner in which development plays a substantial role in learning, particularly for Multilingual Learners (MLLs).
- Communicate how language, cognition, and achievement are developmental processes that are interrelated and interdependent.
Intended Audiences
- PreK-12 General and Special Educators
- District and Building Administrators
- Multilingual Educators
- Speech and Language Pathologists
- School Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Interventionists
- Specialists
- Instructional Coaches
Course Type
- Self-Paced
Recommended # of PLUs
- 1.5 PLUs
This course will provide insight into how our cultural and linguistic experiences shape our development and readiness for school-based learning. By using examples of typical developmental learning experiences, the course highlights how exposure to and experience with more than one language or culture leads to differences in instructional needs and acquired skills and knowledge. Various examples are used to reinforce how differences affect instruction and assessment needs.
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain how cultural factors impact language learning.
- Identify and describe experiential differences for multilingual learners as opposed to ability differences.
- Compare and contrast typical patterns of linguistic, cognitive, and academic development in multilingual learners with those of monolingual peers.
Intended Audiences
- Pre K–12 General and Special Educators
- District and Building Administrators
- Multilingual Educators
- Speech and Language Pathologists
- School Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Interventionists
- Specialists
Course Type
- Self-Paced
Recommended # of PLUs
- 1 PLU
*Purposeful Instructional Design at Tier 1--Part 1 Foundations is a prerequisite for this course.
This course is the second part of a two-part series and builds on the elements learned in Purposeful Instructional Design at Tier 1--Part 1 Foundations. In this Part 2 Advanced course, we will provide more in-depth evidence-based strategies for instructional design with special considerations for multilingual student populations.
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Reflect on and assess instruction and assessment, as well as the role of physical environment and classroom climate in teaching and learning.
- Examine and assemble more advanced evidence-based strategies for Tier 1 instructional practices.
- Apply translanguaging strategies.
- Explore cross-linguistic features of common home languages in their communities.
Intended Audiences
- K-12 General and Special Education Teachers
- Building Administrators
Course Type
- Self-Paced
Recommended # of PLUs
- 2 PLUs