The Applied Linguistics & TESOL Programs at Teachers College, Columbia University seeks a Full-Time Language Program Director. This position entails directing two related programs: the Community Language Program (CLP) and the TESOL Certificate Program (TCP). The CLP provides English and foreign language instruction to adult learners and is an onsite language lab for students and faculty in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. The TCP offers a Summer full-time intensive program as well as a part-time Fall-Spring program. 

Responsibilities:

The Director is responsible for providing academic leadership for both the CLP & TCP academic programs in conjunction with the Applied Linguistics and TESOL Program faculty sponsor. The Director will thus oversee the implementation of the existing CLP & TCP academic programs including all efforts involving teacher supervision, teacher mentorship and professional development, curriculum development, and assessment. The Director will also spearhead any curricular reform, in conjunction with the faculty sponsor. 

The Director will also be responsible for providing administrative leadership for the two programs, including representing the CLP/TCP at the program and College levels, and serving as liaison between the CLP/TCP and other administrative offices. The Director will also be responsible for overseeing the CLP/TCP budget in conjunction with the faculty liaison, and for hiring and supervising staff and course instructors including doctoral fellows, managing work schedules for CLP fellows, supervising CLP placement testing, preparing annual reports of each program, and overseeing efforts regarding student recruitment, and marketing. Finally, the Director will work closely with the Program Manager, who is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administrative operations of the two programs.  

The successful candidate may also be invited to teach one or more courses in the Applied Linguistics & TESOL MA programs (for additional pay) depending on qualifications.  

For more information visit: https://careers.tc.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=57593

Disclaimer: The LLC Program does not offer this position. This announcement is for general information only.

I was a sensitive young man, sometimes confused or hurt by social situations and people's behavior. In the years after college, I finally started to see patterns in circumstances that had baffled me or caused me pain. I began to write them down, so that I would not forget. 

I'm glad I did. Even now, decades later, I still sometimes need the reminders.

I first published my list on Co-Create UMBC nine years ago, and have been thrilled that others have found it useful. I'm hoping that's true for you, and that you'll add your own insights--even the ones you're still working out--as comments. Let's help each other make our way.

1.

A very large portion of people’s behavior is driven by insecurity. And a very large portion of the behavior that stems from insecurity can look like confidence.

2.

In many situations, people face a choice between doing something in a way that feels right, resonates, comes from the heart, makes sense, and fits the moment; or doing the thing in the way that they think they are supposed to do it. Examples: Giving a speech; proposing marriage; dealing with somebody’s emotional crisis; disciplining a child; interviewing a job candidate; responding “heroically” to a threat. More often than not, the genuine approach produces more satisfying results. And more often than not, people  instead choose to do what they think they are supposed to do. (Part of the problem is that people’s sense of what they are supposed to do comes from many sources, including media, that present the relevant situations in misleading ways. For example, the media may capture the mechanical aspects of an effective speech but not the way the words match the emotions of the moment).

Please send a letter of introduction and a resume to Dr. Patricia Young, Associate Professor, UMBC Department of Education (pyoung@umbc.edu), and Lisa Harris, Administrative Assistant (lisah@umbc.edu), as soon as possible. 

Please direct any questions to Dr. Young. 

The group will meet on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at the Counseling Center located in the Student Success and Development Center near the dormitories.

Please contact Emilie Stuber-Lawson (410-455-2472 or estuber@umbc.edu) with questions or to express interest.

Dr. Renetta Tull receives the Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity at the ABET Awards Gala in Baltimore, MD on October 28, 2016.  Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Renetta Tull’s wordpress website

The application for UMBC's STRiVE leadership retreat is now available. There will be two STRiVE sessions in 2017: one during winter break (January 9-13) and one during spring break (March 20-24). The same application works for both sessions.

Calling STRiVE a "leadership retreat" is like calling your favorite meal "food." It's not inaccurate, but it doesn't fully capture the warmth, intensity and magic! Students returning from STRiVE often describe it as a truly transforming, and even years later will identify STRiVE as their most important UMBC learning experience, and as the moment UMBC became a true home for them. 

Well over 99.5% of all students ever to participate in STRiVE have said they would recommend STRiVE to a friend.

The two of us will be among the STRiVE coaches, so this is also your chance to spend five days with us (and roughly 55 other UMBC students and five staff members)! We love participating in STRiVE because of the opportunity to connect with and learn from the participants. No two STRiVEs are alike, but they're all powerful and amazing.

So complete the application by the November 6th deadline, and tell a friend! This is your chance to truly make UMBC your own.

On November 16, 2016, PROMISE AGEP will be providing an in-person “Learning Community” for CIRTL’s “Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Reaching and Teaching Diverse Learners” workshop. Light refreshments will be served, This event is open to all USM campuses. All participants need to RSVP on this website AND register on the CIRTL website. 

Registration: Click the “I Can Attend” button AND register on the CIRTL website: (Note: Registration on CIRTL website is October 24, 2016 – November 7, 2016),

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: In-person viewing of the “Universal Design for Learning” workshop

Why does Universal Design matter? Course design based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles provides a framework and strategies that recognize the unique backgrounds, experiences, and abilities of our students and helps us design courses that are inclusive and accessible to our diverse learners. Originating from the field of architecture, UDL made the physical world accessible to people with disabilities, but also demonstrated how everyone can benefit from these principles.

What will the workshop cover? This workshop will assist participants in preparing to teach new courses and/or revise existing courses using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and practices. Participants will have the opportunity to clarify student learning outcomes, learn about teaching methods that can reach a broader range of learners, and consider ways to apply UDL principles to reduce barriers to learning in their courses.

Facilitators: Dr. Carolyn L. Sandoval, Instructional Consultant, Texas A&M University; Vernee Butterfield, Texas A&M University.

Who’s invited? Anyone can register for our workshop, though students from CIRTL institutions will be given preference. Registration will be open Monday, October 24 through Monday, November 7.

What’s required of me before and after the workshop? Prior to the workshop, participants will be provided with a sample course syllabus and will be asked to review and document initial impressions related to course design. Following the workshop, participants will be asked to incorporate concepts learned into a revised syllabus and upload the revisions into Moodle for peer review. Instructors estimate these pre- and post-workshop tasks will take about 2 hours.

Where will the workshop take place? We’ll use Moodle to host assignments and discussion boards before and after the workshop; you’ll automatically receive a Moodle account once you’re enrolled in the workshop. The live session on the 16th, which everyone is required to attend, will take place in Blackboard Collaborate. To participate in the Blackboard Collaborate sessions, you will need to download the necessary software and have access to headphones and a computer with a microphone and camera.

Accessibility: We want to make this workshop accessible to as many people as possible. If you have questions about the workshop content, how to register, or how to use the required technology, contact kdiamond3 AT wisc.edu.

https://sites.google.com/a/wisc.edu/cirtl/workshops/universal-design-for-learning-reaching-and-teaching-diverse-learners

by David Hoffman and Craig Berger

As UMBC has celebrated its 50th anniversary by looking back on its earliest years, the names of the original buildings have been invoked repeatedly. The original academic building (now part of Biological Sciences) once was called Academic I. The original student gathering space, with a gym and a cafeteria, was called Gym I. And the classroom between them was Lecture Hall 1.

Except ... that's not what any of those buildings were called in 1966-1967! All of those names betray a knowledge of events (specifically, the construction of newer facilities) that were, in 1966-1967, still in the future. You don't call something "1" until there's a "2" (see, e.g., World Wars, Super Bowls, movies with sequels, etc.). On opening day, the original buildings were simply the Academic Building, the Lecture Hall, and the Multi-Purpose Building.

You can see those original facilities (left to right) in the 1967 photo below. Compare that image with the photo below it, taken from the same spot in 2016.

1967 (Source: Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery Digital Collections).

2016