SIT faculty, alumni featured at 2019 International TESOL Convention
Announcement Date: March 20, 2019
SIT and its groundbreaking MA in TESOL program are well-represented this week at the 2019 TESOL International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, where at least 12 faculty and alumni are featured as panelists and program presenters.
鈥淎s always, I am excited to see the number of SIT alumni who are presenting at the International TESOL conference,鈥 says Dr. Leslie Turpin, chair of SIT鈥檚 MA in TESOL program, which began 50 years ago this academic year. 鈥淢ATs across the decades have had so much to contribute to TESOL鈥檚 work to better understand the role that learning and teaching play in moving the world toward a more just, inclusive and hopeful future.鈥
SIT鈥檚 TESOL program is designed to address both the inner work of teaching in the classroom and the outer work of participation in communities of practice, notes Turpin, who helped to pioneer SIT鈥檚 low-residency format. Her presentation, at 3 pm on Friday, March 15, is titled 鈥淩ethinking Teaching and Learning Relationships in a MATESOL Hybrid Program.鈥
SIT鈥檚 low-residency format allows teachers to continue to work in their professions as they complete their master鈥檚 degree. Students come to Vermont鈥檚 campus at the beginning of each semester for approximately two weeks, where they build bonds with their professors and fellow cohort members. They complete the remainder of their coursework online.
In a shift this year, SIT is incorporating a more plurilingual pedagogy that recognizes linguistic and cultural diversity of learners. Also starting this year, students may choose to focus on one of four emerging challenges in the field: teacher training; plurilinguistic pedagogy; teaching refugees and displaced persons; or teaching young learners.
SIT鈥檚 program was recently ranked among the nation鈥檚 top online programs for 2019 and was named 鈥渕ost collaborative.鈥
The SIT curriculum is also delivered by 91精品, SIT鈥檚 parent organization, as a 130-hour certificate program at centers and universities worldwide.
More than 5,000 educators from 110 countries are expected to attend this year鈥檚 convention, billed as the largest event of its type in the world. The event is organized by TESOL International Association, the professional association for more than 10,000 teachers of English to speakers of other languages.
SIT and 91精品 faculty and staff can also be found this week as booth #938 at the convention expo.
In addition to Turpin, SIT alumni presenters at the convention include:
Geoffrey Butler and Lara Kurth
Presentation: 鈥淔rom practice to publication: Guiding teachers and graduate students鈥
11 am-12:45 pm, Friday, March 15
Omni 鈥 Grand Ballroom C
Ray Clark, former SIT MAT faculty member
Presentation: 鈥淭eaching Vocabulary with Semantic Fields and Lexical Sets鈥
11-11:45 am, Wednesday, March 13
GWCC 鈥 A407
Beatriz Erazo
Presentation: 鈥淒ynamic Collaborative Writing: Making the academic writing process amicable鈥
9:30-10:45 am, Wednesday, March 13
GWCC 鈥 Poster Session Area, Expo Hall
Betsy Gilliland
Presentation: 鈥淧reservice EFL Teachers鈥 Reflective Writing Assessed through e-Portfolios鈥
11:30 am-12:15 pm, Thursday, March 14
GWCC 鈥 A404
Chairing/Organizing: 鈥淩esponse to Writing: Enduring Issues and New Frontiers鈥
1-2:45 pm, Thursday, March 14
GWCC 鈥 A301
Panel: 鈥淟2 Writing Pedagogy in Global Contexts: Challenges and Possibilities鈥
9:30-11:15 am, Friday, March 15
GWCC 鈥 A406
Eileen Kramer
Presentation: 鈥淐ontext-Based Lesson Plans for Teaching TOEFL and SAT鈥
1-1:45pm, Thursday, March 14
Omni 鈥 Sycamore
Stephanie Marcotte
Presentation: 鈥淧D Exploration for New and Seasoned TESOL Professionals鈥
10-10:45 am, Friday, March 15
Omni 鈥 Cypress
Mary Scholl
Panel: 鈥淓LT PD in Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities鈥
11:30 am-1:15 pm, Thursday, March 14
Omni 鈥 Grand Ballroom B
Judy Sharkey
Presentations: 鈥淎 Turn to Self: Illuminating Teacher Educators鈥 Identities & Pedagogies鈥
1-2:45 pm, Thursday, March 14
GECC 鈥 A411
鈥淏eing a Reflective Practitioner and Scholar in TESOL: Methodological Considerations鈥
4-5:45 pm, Thursday, March 14
Omni 鈥 International Ballroom