Celebrating Linguistic Diversity, Annual Conference 2014
When:
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Where:
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
252 Bloor Street West (St. George subway station)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Detailed information on the keynote sessions is included below.
KEYNOTE SESSIONS for Wednesday, April 30, 2014
1st Keynote Address
Dr. Bonny Norton, University of British Columbia
“Literacy, Identity, and Social Change: Back to the future with Jim Cummins”
Dr. Bonny Norton is Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia.
2nd Keynote Address
Dr. Lars Anders Kulbrandstad, Hedmark University College, Norway Dr. Christian Edvard Horst, University of Aarhus, Denmark
“How Nordic Welfare States Respond to Multilingualism in Schools: Tracing the influence of Dr. Jim Cummins in Norway and Denmark”
Dr. Lars Anders Kulbrandstad, is Professor of Norwegian Language in an Educational Perspective: Department of Humanities, Faculty of Teacher Education and Natural Sciences, Hedmark University College, Norway. Dr. Kulbrandstad will be presenting “Perspectives on Norway”.
Dr. Christian Horst is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education at the Danish University of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark. Dr. Horst will be presenting “Perspectives on Denmark”.
3rd Keynote Address
Dr. Margaret Early, University of British Columbia
“Multiple Literacies in Education: An Ongoing Dialogue with Jim Cummins”
Dr. Margaret Early is Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
PLENARY SESSIONS
(9:00 – 10:00 am: two simultaneous sessions)
Keynote Speakers: Dr. Kelleen Toohey & Dr. Diane Dagenais – Main Floor Auditorium
Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
“Production Pedagogies and Language Learning”
In this keynote, we will describe and illustrate our work with diverse young students learning an additional language through the production of socially valuable objects such as podcasts, digital stories, videos, and so on. Like deCastell and Jenson, 2007, p. 195, we believe that when “learners are engaged as knowledgeable, thoughtful and above all, legitimate social actors with a contribution to make to their own and their peers’ well-being”, their language and literacy learning is facilitated and enhanced. We will show samples of student-produced texts and videos of them working on these texts, and argue that such socially valuable activity provides a context, purpose and ethic for students’ language and literacy learning.
Dr. Kelleen Toohey is a Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Education and an Adjunct Professor at University of Ontario Institute of Technology. She has engaged in classroom research throughout her career and is the author of Learning English at school: Identity, social relations and classroom practice (2000) and Teacher-researcher collaboration in multilingual classrooms (2009).
Dr. Diane Dagenais is a Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Education. Her classroom research focuses on language teaching, bilingualism and multilingualism, and literacy practices in and out of school, including multimodal literacies.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mary Jo Leddy, Romero House, Toronto
“Refugees: Our Teachers about Hope and Justice”
All too often refugees are weighted in the scales of our minds in terms of whether they are an economic asset or liability. Our country has been greatly diminished by such econometrics. What refugees bring is an immense hope in the decency and goodness of our country. We have much to learn from them.
Dr. Mary Jo Leddy has been living and working with refugees for almost 25 years at Romero House in Toronto. She teaches theology at the University of Toronto and is a senior fellow at Massey College. Dr. Leddy is an active member of Ontario Sanctuary Coalition and PEN Canada, a journalist and a writer. She is a frequent radio and TV commentator and has lectured on various topics nationally and internationally. She was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1996.
PLENARY SESSIONS for Friday, May 2, 2014
Opening Remarks: Dr. David Booth, University of Toronto
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jim Cummins, University of Toronto
“Teaching through a Multilingual Lens: What Ministries of Education, Faculties of Education, School Boards, and Individual Schools Can Do to Align Policy and Practice with Research Evidence”
Closing Remarks: Dr. Margaret Early, University of British Columbia
The presentation will draw on 20 years of collaborative work with educators teaching dual language learners (DLL) to highlight the kinds of instructional practices that result from teaching through a multilingual lens. The notion of teaching through a multilingual lens draws attention to the impact on DLL students’ academic engagement, language awareness, identity development, and achievement when the school communicates to them that their language talents and cultural knowledge are assets rather than deficits. Unfortunately, the policies of most ministries of education, school boards, faculties of education and individual schools are still only partially aligned with the research evidence regarding effective instruction in multilingual schools. Drawing on concrete examples of instructional practice in schools across Canada, the presentation will specify in detail steps that ministries of education, faculties of education, school boards, and individual schools can take to implement coherent and evidence-based policies designed to teach all students effectively.
Jim Cummins is a professor in the Centre for Educational Research on Languages and Literacies (CERLL) and the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning of OISE/University of Toronto. His research focuses on literacy development in multilingual school contexts as well as on school-based strategies for educational improvement. He has served as a consultant on language planning in education to numerous international agencies. His publications include: Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society (California Association for Bilingual Education, 1996, 2001); Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire (Multilingual Matters, 2000); Literacy, Technology, and Diversity: Teaching for Success in Changing Times (Pearson Education, 2007, with Kristin Brown and Dennis Sayers) and Identity Texts: The Collaborative Creation of Power in Multilingual Schools (Trentham Books 2011, with Margaret Early).
Thursday Dinner Symposium with Dr. Shelley Fairbairn, Drake University & Stephaney Jones-Vo, Starfish Education
Providing Access to Content Curricula: Engaging English Language Learners through Linguistic Differentiation
Utilizing student-based scenarios and relevant data, the presenters will model the use of differentiated strategies to engage English language learners at all levels of linguistic development. Using a template, participants will practice and take away immediately applicable strategies for engaging ELLs in the simultaneous development of both language and content knowledge skills and abilities. In particular, participants will focus on differentiating language-based expectations in tandem with various types of scaffolding and supports for each specific level of English language development, while maintaining a consistent focus on addressing the same content across English language development levels.
Dr. Shelley B. Fairbairn is a professor at Drake University School of Education and a national teacher professional development consultant. She specializes in the instruction and assessment of K – 12 English language learners, cultural and linguistic diversity and teacher education.
Stephaney Jones-Vo is an ESL/Diversity consultant and professional developer at Starfish Education in Iowa. She has extensive experience as a K – 12 ESL teacher, Title III grant director, refugee resettlement volunteer, and private consultant in meeting the diverse needs of newcomers.
Friday Lunch Session with Dr. Bonny Norton & Dr. Margaret Early, UBC
“From Oral Literacy to Digital Storytelling: A conversation between African and Canadian Educators”
For the past two decades, the presenters have worked in diverse ways with students and teachers in both African and Canadian schools, seeking collaborative ways to enhance language and literacy education for children and youth. This presentation will focus on the insights they have gained across multiple sites, particularly in the African context, where both oral literacy and digital storytelling impact educational practice in innovative and intriguing ways. The following YouTube video on the African Storybook Project provides some background to the presentation, and illustrates the ways in which the work of Jim Cummins has travelled to global sites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc-qjmdetp8&feature=youtu.be
Dr. Bonny Norton is Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia. An AERA Fellow, her primary research interests are identity and language learning, critical literacy, and international development. Her current research addresses the African Storybook Project.
Dr. Margaret Early is Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia. Her research addresses English in the mainstream and multimodal pedagogies. She is currently involved in research to better understand how “Global Learning Networks” enable English Language Learners to: develop digital literacy; draw on their multimodal/multilingual resources; and enrich connections with local and global communities.