I asked TESL Ontario educators to record their thoughts on the question “What are one or two ways that you incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in your teaching practice?” This post shares their recordings (see link below) and synthesizes their responses, which highlight the importance of infusing criticality in classroom texts, talks, and tasks.
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As a devoted English instructor, I have always thrived to be a rich source of inspiration and support to my students and their academic success. To my understanding so far, the overall composition of the elected Directors reflects a balance of perspectives from different sectors and regional diversity, and I am sure that as part of this Board and its Committees, I will learn a lot that I can then share with the community members.
I think one of the key reasons that motivated me to run for a position on the TESL Ontario Board of Directors has been the Board’s mission and vision as a leading authority to provide support and direction to professionals, government bodies, and industry stakeholders involved in the English language education field. It has been a great professional success for me to be appointed as a Board member and to serve on three of its Committees: Nomination, Research Advisory, and Strategic Planning.
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Have you considered taking the next step in your involvement with the TESL community?
I’ve recently taken on a new role with TESL Ontario. I’d like to tell you about my experience and why I think you too should consider taking on a new challenge.
Serving on the TESL Ontario board can be an amazing opportunity to develop your leadership skills, gain board experience and receive positive professional mentorship. Plus, the board needs your perspective.
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Guest Contributor: Jim Papple
Well, hello there! I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced, but we’ve probably bumped into each other before…maybe at a conference, or a webinar. Allow me to introduce TESL Ontario’s College and University Committee!
Over the last 3 years, a small but dedicated group of people have been toiling to put together the infrastructure to have a new committee and a voice for College and University educators. For a committee to work effectively, a lot of things need to be in place including terms of reference, a strategic plan, a call for volunteers. We accomplished these tasks and many more within our first year and have looked to grow and expand. Our mission is to develop leadership for professional development and practice among English language and TESOL educators working in both the college and university sectors.
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Guest Contributor: Christine Smart-Wiseman
Like many others in the field, I am always looking for new ways to improve my teaching. My research as a PhD student at York University led me to examine teaching from a critical pedagogical approach. The guiding principle of this approach is to construct equitable and democratic classrooms with a goal to positively transform students’ lives (Canagarajah, 2005).
While I was doing my research in an ELL classroom, I uncovered many ways in which ELL environments contradict the goals of critical pedagogical approaches. In many cases, planning and preparing ahead to foster a classroom environment that supports critical learning can overcome these challenges, but at times, there may be a dynamic need to shift classroom spaces towards empowering teaching and learning. I have developed a strategy I call critical pivoting to address this problem and would like to share it with you.
Guest Contributor: Catherine Crawford
Winter is a dormant season in Canada where the cold weather brings nature into hibernation. As such, our careers can also tend to fall into a period of stagnation during this time of year. It’s cold, dark and not many people are feeling energized compared to other times of the year. So, if you are trying to grow your career, how do you ensure it doesn’t suffer during these winter blues? Here are 4 career tips to implement this winter season:
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Guest Contributor: Catherine Crawford
September is the only month that rivals January for that feeling of a new beginning, a fresh start. As many of us have enjoyed the lazy days of summer, Fall brings a sense of change and a newfound energy with it. Whether you are headed back to school, back to the office in some capacity, or are looking for a career change, the Fall is a great time to refocus and set goals.
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Guest Contributor: Zainab Almutawali
In Part One and Part Two of this series I’ve talked about issues that may affect attendance for literacy learners, as well as some best practices I’ve picked up over the years. In this post, I’ll pass along some more effective teaching practices for literacy learners and tips on PBLA.
Guest Contributor: Catherine Crawford
Do you struggle to reflect your value in your resume and cover letter? Ever wonder what exactly a hiring manager is looking for in the interview? Feeling stuck in your career and don’t know where to begin? We all seem to know there is a recipe for success when it comes to job competition, but few of us have sought professional guidance on what that is.
Let me introduce myself. I’m Catherine Crawford, a Certified Career Strategist and Resume Strategist, and I’m very excited to help support TESL Ontario members with career strategies for better outcomes.
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Post by Jennifer Chow
#CdnELTchat was happy to have Anna Bartosik (@ambartosik) share her expertise on Self-Directed Professional Development (SDPD) on June 1. Anna is an English language teacher at George Brown College, instructional designer, and PhD Candidate at OISE. Her research is in self-directed professional development in digital networks. Learn more by reading her blog: https://annabartosik.wordpress.com/.
Before we started our discussion, we had a moment of silence to mourn and remember the #215children in Kamloops. #CdnELTchat is also taking time to reflect and plan a future chat with #teslONchat later this month to talk about what we need to do in order to move forward with the 94 Calls To Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and work for #Reconciliation.
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