Professional Organizations
Being a member of professional organizations, attending conferences, and organizing and/or presenting at conferences is another important component of professional activity. Following is an overview of my activity in this area.
TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages)
"TESOL is an international association of professionals advancing the quality of English language teaching through professional development, research, standards, and advocacy" (TESOL Mission Statement).
As an English language teacher, TESOL is one of the most important organizations I can be associated with. I am currently a member of TESOL and its regional affiliate I-TESOL (Intermountain TESOL). As a new faculty member I was fortunate to attend the TESOL international convention in Philadelphia, PA in 2012. This was my first time attending such a convention and it was an excellent introduction to the standards and professionalism in my field. On my return I was able to report on some of the sessions and workshops I had attended at our department meeting. In September 2015 I had another opportunity to attend a TESOL conference, this time the I-TESOL conference in West Yellowstone, MO. I have documented highlights of this conference and application of what I learned here. I attended the I-TESOL mini-conference on March 5th, 2016. Included are some notes. In October 2016 I attended the I-TESOL Conference at BYU and presented. Recently my presentation proposal was accepted for the international TESOL conference in Seattle, WA and I am looking forward to presenting and attending in March 2017. When not able to attend conferences there are alternative ways to stay involved and I have found it useful to keep up with the latest from TESOL by subscribing to their regular bulletins, the information from which is often shared among ESL colleagues.
SWADE (South Western Association for Developmental Education)
Another professional organization I am associated with is SWADE, which is a chapter of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE). I have attended SWADE conferences every year since 2013 and I have presented for the last three years. My 2014 presentation is titled Engaging the Low Attention High Tech Students. The 2015 presentation is Strategies for Peer Review and Student-Teacher Conference. My 2016 presentation was The Teaching Circle: High Impact - Low Cost Professional Development. I always take away very useful and practical information from SWADE, some of which I have documented here. I look forward to continuing my membership in this organization and I also would like to play a role in its organizational structure in the future. I feel strongly that this organization needs the full support of developmental and ESL faculty at the College and I enjoy recruiting colleagues and encouraging participation!
TYCA (Two Year College English Association)
I attended the TYCA conference in 2015. I first became aware of this organization when Developmental Education merged with the English Department. The conference I attended was that of the regional association TYCA-West and was hosted by SLCC English Department faculty. I was able to attend the Friday session, which I have documented here.
Some other professional organizations and conferences that I have been involved in are the following:
CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association)
As a developmental educator I am eager for students to receive additional quality support through tutoring and other services. I had the opportunity to be part of a panel of presenters at the CRLA conference in April 2015 to discuss the role of learning centers generally and specifically the Academic Literacy Center at SLCC.
English Language Learners Symposium
This was the first ELL conference I attended in the United States in my first year as a full-time employee at SLLC and it was an interesting introduction to some of the dominant teaching and pedagogical approaches in the US. I have not returned to this conference, but I think it would be worth revisiting.
Adjunct Faculty Conference
As well as attending and presenting at professional conferences, I have also had the opportunity to participate as an organizer and facilitator. As Chair of the Adjunct Faculty Impact committee I had the responsibility to lead and coordinate my committee's efforts in hosting the Adjunct Faculty Conferences at SLCC. This has been a very valuable experience and I believe an important part of my continued professional development; it is also an area that overlaps with service to the college (see subsection).
TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages)
"TESOL is an international association of professionals advancing the quality of English language teaching through professional development, research, standards, and advocacy" (TESOL Mission Statement).
As an English language teacher, TESOL is one of the most important organizations I can be associated with. I am currently a member of TESOL and its regional affiliate I-TESOL (Intermountain TESOL). As a new faculty member I was fortunate to attend the TESOL international convention in Philadelphia, PA in 2012. This was my first time attending such a convention and it was an excellent introduction to the standards and professionalism in my field. On my return I was able to report on some of the sessions and workshops I had attended at our department meeting. In September 2015 I had another opportunity to attend a TESOL conference, this time the I-TESOL conference in West Yellowstone, MO. I have documented highlights of this conference and application of what I learned here. I attended the I-TESOL mini-conference on March 5th, 2016. Included are some notes. In October 2016 I attended the I-TESOL Conference at BYU and presented. Recently my presentation proposal was accepted for the international TESOL conference in Seattle, WA and I am looking forward to presenting and attending in March 2017. When not able to attend conferences there are alternative ways to stay involved and I have found it useful to keep up with the latest from TESOL by subscribing to their regular bulletins, the information from which is often shared among ESL colleagues.
SWADE (South Western Association for Developmental Education)
Another professional organization I am associated with is SWADE, which is a chapter of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE). I have attended SWADE conferences every year since 2013 and I have presented for the last three years. My 2014 presentation is titled Engaging the Low Attention High Tech Students. The 2015 presentation is Strategies for Peer Review and Student-Teacher Conference. My 2016 presentation was The Teaching Circle: High Impact - Low Cost Professional Development. I always take away very useful and practical information from SWADE, some of which I have documented here. I look forward to continuing my membership in this organization and I also would like to play a role in its organizational structure in the future. I feel strongly that this organization needs the full support of developmental and ESL faculty at the College and I enjoy recruiting colleagues and encouraging participation!
TYCA (Two Year College English Association)
I attended the TYCA conference in 2015. I first became aware of this organization when Developmental Education merged with the English Department. The conference I attended was that of the regional association TYCA-West and was hosted by SLCC English Department faculty. I was able to attend the Friday session, which I have documented here.
Some other professional organizations and conferences that I have been involved in are the following:
CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association)
As a developmental educator I am eager for students to receive additional quality support through tutoring and other services. I had the opportunity to be part of a panel of presenters at the CRLA conference in April 2015 to discuss the role of learning centers generally and specifically the Academic Literacy Center at SLCC.
English Language Learners Symposium
This was the first ELL conference I attended in the United States in my first year as a full-time employee at SLLC and it was an interesting introduction to some of the dominant teaching and pedagogical approaches in the US. I have not returned to this conference, but I think it would be worth revisiting.
Adjunct Faculty Conference
As well as attending and presenting at professional conferences, I have also had the opportunity to participate as an organizer and facilitator. As Chair of the Adjunct Faculty Impact committee I had the responsibility to lead and coordinate my committee's efforts in hosting the Adjunct Faculty Conferences at SLCC. This has been a very valuable experience and I believe an important part of my continued professional development; it is also an area that overlaps with service to the college (see subsection).