Achieving Praxis for TESOL Educators

Shifting educational landscapes have revealed a need for structured critical reflection. While research on culturally responsive teaching practices and critical reflection prompts exist, there is little in the way of short, synthesized resources for busy educators who desire to change systems of inequity. The authors of this chapter have developed the TESOL educator reflective self-checklist (TERS) for on ground and online educators that utilizes recent research on motivation to activate critical reflection and further culturally sustaining classroom practices. This chapter expands on the evidence and development of this reflective checklist, implementation of the checklist, and provides vignettes of the checklist in use.

Creating and Maintaining Balance

This chapter will discuss how to ensure that online educators are caring for themselves in order to avoid stress, burnout, and leaving the professions. Because many educators feel additional stressors when working online or from home, the following topics will be discussed to mitigate these stressors: life-work balance, self-care, and mindfulness. Each section will detail the research behind each strategy and will specific ways educators can implement these strategies with ease. The authors share key strategies to work-life balance, self-care, and mindfulness, as well as ways in which the reader can easily teach his or her own students these same skills to increase the likelihood that the future workforce is prepared for the stressors that will inevitably be a part of their lives.

Erradicación del analfabetismo funcional en el noreste de Brasil

OBJETIVOS: Mostrar las bases del Sistema de Alfabetización Scliar, creado para erradicar el analfabetismo funcional en Brasil, aplicado en dos municipios del noreste de Brasil. METODOLOGÍA: Investigación intervencionista que consistió en la educación continua en línea semanal de educadores involucrados en la enseñanza de la alfabetización a niños de 1° y 2° grado en escuelas públicas de São José da Laje, AL y Lagarto, SE, con metodología innovadora y material pedagógico, basados en los avances de la neurociencia, la lingüística, psicolingüística y neuropsicologia. Los instrumentos de evaluación de resultados fueron la Evaluación Nacional de Alfabetización (ANA), el Más Alfabetización y la prueba de Fluidez, todos del Ministerio de Educación de Brasil. RESULTADOS: Los niños de São José da Laje dieron un salto gigante en la competencia lectora, considerando el nivel más alto y deseable alcanzado por solo el 1.39% de los estudiantes de 8 años en el tercer año, según la ANA de 2016: después de la adopción del SSA, el municipio saltó al 71% de los estudiantes, a la edad de 7 años, en el mismo nivel, no en el 3º, sino en el 2º año, según el Más Alfabetización, em 2018. La ANA constato en el nivel más bajo 1, en el estado de Sergipe un porcentaje muy alto de 45,28% y en el 4, el nivel de competencia deseable, solo el 3.02. En la comparación de tales resultados, con los obtenidos en el Más Alfabetización, los dos colegios de Lagarto, también en el estado de Sergipe, que han adoptado la SSA desde 2017, constatase que en el nivel 1 hubo un porcentaje de solo 8,7 y 9,1, mientras en el nivel deseado, 3, el más alto las dos escuelas alcanzaron el 34,8 y el 31,8%. CONCLUSIONES: Los resultados muestran que es posible erradicar el analfabetismo funcional, si se produce un cambio en las políticas públicas de alfabetización, a favor de la formación continua de alfabetizadores, de metodologías y material pedagógico, basados ​​en las ciencias que abordan el lenguaje verbal. GOALS: Showing Scliar Literacy System fundamentals, created to eradicate functional illiteracy in Brazil, applied in two cities in the Brazilian northeast. METHODOLOGY: Interventional research that consisted of weekly online educators’ continuing education involved in teaching literacy to 1st and 2nd grade children in São José da Laje, AL and Lagarto, SE public schools, with innovative methodology and pedagogical material, based on advances in neuroscience, linguistics, psycholinguistics and neuropsychology. The results evaluation instruments were the National Early Literacy Assessment (ANA), the More Early Literacy and the Fluency test, all from the Brazilian Ministry of Education. RESULTS: São José da Laje children made a giant leap in reading proficiency, considering the highest and most desirable level reached by only 1.39% of 8-year-old students in the third year, according to the 2016 ANA: after the SSA adoption, the municipality jumped to 71% of the students, at the age of 7, at the same level, not in the 3rd, but in the 2nd year, according to the More Early Literacy, in 2018. The ANA found in the lowest level 1, in Sergipe state a very high percentage of 45.28% and in 4, the desirable level of competence, only 3.02%. Comparing these results, with those obtained by More Early Literacy, the Lagarto two schools, also in the state of Sergipe, which have adopted the SSA since 2017, it was found that in level 1 there was a percentage of only 8.7 and 9.1, while at the desired level, 3, the highest, the two schools reached 34.8 and 31.8%. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that it is possible to eradicate functional illiteracy, if there is a change in public literacy policies, favoring continuous training of early literacy teachers, methodologies and pedagogical material, based on the sciences that address verbal language.

#Openteach: Open Course, Open Online Teaching, Open Textbook

This paper will explore the experiences of the #Openteach project team in developing a flexible and evidence based approach to support professional learning for those who teach online. The project had a number of phases, which included a needs analysis of online students and educators about effective online teaching, the publication of a review of the literature entitled Teaching Online is Different, and a pilot evaluation report. The #Openteach open course ran in March 2020 and focused on five key aspects of teaching online: social presence; facilitating discussion; collaboration online; live online teaching; and supporting online students. The final phase of the project involves the creation of an open textbook bringing together all of the project outputs, due for publication in summer 2021. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data collected from online educators pre and post the initiative, this paper reports on two aspects of the #Openteach project in detail: the design, development and delivery of the open online course and the process of creating the #Openteach open textbook.

A Review of Misinformation Across Disciplines: Implication for Online Education

Misinformation research has grown to become a critical topic in all disciplines. Since the expanding of online media, misinformation has been spreading rapidly across the globe through social media and other information systems. Paralleling the rise of academic interest in misinformation, is the emergence of online education scholarship. Interest in the online educational implications of misinformation and its impact attracts an increase in scholarship on misinformation. This article presents the results of a review of 1172 publications with “Misinformation” across disciplines and a subset of 174 misinformation literature in online education that were published between 2009 and 2021. This review answers three questions: (1) What is the overall distribution of publication activity with "misinformation" publications? (2) What methodologies have scholars used to investigate misinformation involving online education? (3) What have scholars reported about the results of studies involving misinformation in online education? The review reveals that various methodologies were used in literature focusing on misinformation online education with leading numbers of content analysis and quantitative studies. This systematic review is particularly relevant to those online educators in various disciplines who are interested in learning what scholars from their own academic disciplines are writing about misinformation.

A Review of Misinformation Across Disciplines: Implication for Online Education

Misinformation research has grown to become a critical topic in all disciplines. Since the expanding of online media, misinformation has been spreading rapidly across the globe through social media and other information systems. Paralleling the rise of academic interest in misinformation, is the emergence of online education scholarship. Interest in the online educational implications of misinformation and its impact attracts an increase in scholarship on misinformation. This article presents the results of a review of 1172 publications with “Misinformation” across disciplines and a subset of 174 misinformation literature in online education that were published between 2009 and 2021. This review answers three questions: (1) What is the overall distribution of publication activity with "misinformation" publications? (2) What methodologies have scholars used to investigate misinformation involving online education? (3) What have scholars reported about the results of studies involving misinformation in online education? The review reveals that various methodologies were used in literature focusing on misinformation online education with leading numbers of content analysis and quantitative studies. This systematic review is particularly relevant to those online educators in various disciplines who are interested in learning what scholars from their own academic disciplines are writing about misinformation.

COVID-19 and necessity-based online entrepreneurship education at US community colleges

PurposeThis paper explores community college entrepreneurship education's near-instantaneous transition to online course delivery following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were obtained from 92 community college entrepreneurship faculty via online survey in late March of 2020, right at the time faculty were required to transition their courses to an online mode of delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in partnership with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurship Education Project.FindingsWhile the majority of community college entrepreneurship educators have taught online previously, many were not familiar with exemplar education technology tools and applications, demonstrating an opportunity for continued professional development. To deliver courses online, educators primarily relied on pre-recorded lectures and using Zoom as the technology platform of choice. Last, there were significant faculty concerns about their ability to effectively create an “experiential” classroom virtually for students to learn and practice entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThis is the first paper investigating how community college entrepreneurship educators responded to one of the most disruptive events to ever impact entrepreneurship education (viz. the COVID-19 pandemic). More broadly, this is also one of very few studies exploring both (1) community college entrepreneurship education and (2) how unexpected crises (e.g. natural disasters, pandemics) impact educational environments.

Motivations among Special Education Students and their Parents for Switching to an Online School: Survey Responses and Emergent Themes

Research focusing on the experiences of special education students in online K–12 schools is scant despite growing numbers of enrollments. This study utilized an emailed survey to understand the motivations and experiences of a group of special education students (n = 30) and their parents (n = 29) while enrolled in an online K–12 school in the U.S. Responses indicated that the three most compelling reasons for choosing the school were flexibility, previous poor fit, and teacher availability. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses produced two major themes—prior experiences and affordances of the learning environment—with sub-themes related to bullying, personnel, academics, disabilities and accommodations, health considerations, lack of support, self-determination, and the where, when, and how of online learning. These findings may help policy makers enact policies and online educators adapt their approach to better meet the needs of K–12 students with special needs.

Scalable Online Learning in Physical Chemistry

The SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted higher education across the globe. As of early November 2020, Europe now finds itself in the middle of a second wave that is even more destructive than the first. The Swiss Federal Council declared on 28 October, 2020 that face-to-face teaching at Swiss Universities was to cease within days. With large introductory lectures in natural science faculties forced entirely online, educators in Switzerland are facing new challenges and dealing with the limitations of remote instruction. Through a series of anecdotes and observations, this article identifies challenges associated with scalable online learning, and explores methods to mitigate them. Additionally, several advantages to scalable online instruction are identified. By focusing on areas where online instruction has significant advantages, I argue that we can deliver high quality instruction in the chemical sciences remotely.