HEIS Newsletter - December 2014 (Plain Text Version)

Return to Graphical Version

In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
•  LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
•  MESSAGE FROM THE CO-CHAIRS
ARTICLES
•  PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
•  ELECTRONIC VILLAGE ONLINE SESSION: "DREAM ACT: WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO"
BOOK REVIEWS
•  CRITICAL THEORY IN PRACTICE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
•  SUPPLEMENTING IN OR OUT OF THE CLASSROOM WITH ONLINE TEXTBOOK COMPONENTS
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
•  PROJECT-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING: PREPARING IEP STUDENTS FOR STEM FIELDS
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY
•  ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY: HIGHER EDUCATION INTEREST SECTION
•  CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
•  CALL FOR BOOK REVIEW SUBMISSIONS
•  CALL FOR COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY SUBMISSIONS

ARTICLES

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Dawn E. McCormick, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Dear Higher Education Interest Section Member,

I am writing to you as the chair of the Professional Development Committee (PDC) to provide you with an overview of TESOL International Association professional development opportunities and to facilitate communication between the PDC and ISs. The PDC is an official TESOL Standing Committee that works with the TESOL Education Programs staff to plan online courses, virtual seminars, symposia, academies, certificate programs, and leadership training.

Many of the opportunities for professional development may be of interest to those working in a higher education context. TESOL International Association offers online courses that enable participants to increase their language content knowledge, for example, Grammar 1: Phrasal Structures and Grammar 2: Multiclause Structures with Nancy Ackles. TESOL members interested in becoming a leader in the organization can enroll in the Leadership Development Certificate Program to develop knowledge and skills in association leadership. If you are interested in teaching listening online, consider signing up for the June 2015 online class with Emily Reynolds. The planning for several 2015 TESOL academies and symposia are in the works, so check the “Attend & Learn” page on the TESOL website in the future.

Often, members of the PDC provide suggestions of topics and speakers for these professional development opportunities, and this is where we would like to increase the communication between the PDC and ISs. To that end, we have designated one of the PDC members to act as a point of contact for you, and, in turn, the newsletter editor of the HEIS will act as the point of contact for the PDC. If the PDC needs recommendations for higher education topics and experts, the PDC liaison will get in touch with the HEIS newsletter editor. If the HEIS identifies a topic of import that would be appropriate for a symposium or online course, the HEIS newsletter editor would share that information with the PDC liaison. Establishing points of contact between TESOL communities is one way that we can keep each other informed about needs, opportunities, expertise.

The PDC looks forward to working more closely with the HEIS. Have a wonderful academic year!

Sincerely,

Dawn E. McCormick

Professional Development Committee Chair

Dawn E. McCormick is a lecturer in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Linguistics and an associate director of the English Language Institute.