Teaching Language Through the Lens of Social Justice
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Length:
1-Week
Format:
In-Person
Instructors:
Cassandra Glynn and Beth Wassell
Beth Wassell & Cassandra Glynn
This institute will provide language educators with tools and resources to transform their curriculum and instruction to emphasize inclusive, justice- and equity-based language teaching. Drawing on social justice education frameworks, participants will collaborate with colleagues to revise, extend, and expand standards, objectives, activities, and assessments for a unit or a segment of instruction.
This institute is appropriate for educators who are just getting started with critical or social justice approaches to language teaching and learning as well as those who have had previous experience or professional development. Participants will leave with a unit of instruction as well as other units, lessons, texts, materials, and resources that integrate language learning objectives with those related to identity, diversity, equity, justice, and action.
Target Audience:
This institute is designed for teachers of world language, immersion/dual language immersion, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English as a Second Language (ESL) at the elementary level through the postsecondary level, as well as teacher educators.
Program Schedule
9 a.m.–4 p.m. (Central Time)
Day 1
- Examining Equity, Justice, Access and Inclusion in Diverse Language Classrooms
- Sustaining the Voices and Identities of All Students
- Setting the Stage for Social Justice Education
Day 2
- Points of Entry for Social Justice Education
- Researching Topics, Issues, and Content
- Teaching Controversial or Politically Charged Content
- Exploring Sample Units, Lessons, and Activities
Day 3
- Adapting Materials for Diversity, Justice, Equity, Inclusion and Action
- Designing Activities and Formative Assessments
- High-Impact Experiences for Action and Advocacy
Day 4
- Integrating Content, Justice, and Action in Units
- Balancing Proficiency, Culture, and Social Justice Goals
- Incorporating Social Justice in Summative Assessments
Day 5
- Sharing Units, Lessons, and Materials
- Engaging in Inquiry, Reflection and Self-Assessment
- Advocating for Equity, Justice, Access and Inclusion in Classrooms, Institutions, and Beyond
Instructors
Cassandra Glynn is an Associate Professor at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, where she teaches world language methods, German, and works with student teachers. She is also Director of the Master of Education in World Language Instruction at Concordia College, in partnership with Concordia Language Villages. Prior to working in teacher education, she taught middle and high school German and French in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Beth Wassell is a Professor in the Department of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Education at Rowan University in New Jersey. She teaches courses related to language education and social justice education and conducts research that focuses on K-12 language teacher education. Prior to her work in teacher education, she worked as a Spanish teacher at the high school, elementary, and community college levels.
The CARLA Summer Institute "Teaching Language Through the Lens of Social Justice" is a well-structured course that prepares language educators with diverse experiences to both understand and implement social justice principles into the language classroom. The organization and content has prepared me to begin the next semester with new, pedagogically-sound ideas rooted in themes of social justice. —2023 institute participant