In this course, you will explore second language acquisition (SLA) and learn to understand the stages of acquiring a second language. You will also explore how SLA impacts educational experiences for multilingual learners’ cognitive processes, academic achievements, and socio-emotional growth.    Furthermore, this course introduces a variety of instructional strategies you can use in your classroom to support and engage your multilingual learners. Read more

This course is designed to introduce educators to the unique learning needs and challenges of today’s Multilingual learners (MLs). More than 55% of teachers in the United States have at least one ML in the classroom, making it critical for all educators to become familiar with the important roles that parent and community involvement, legal protections and policies, advocacy, and community organizing play in supporting these students in learning core academic content.  Read more

Multilingual learners (MLs) have unique needs when it comes to demonstrating their understanding and knowledge in an academic setting.  Creating assessments that provide MLs with opportunities to successfully demonstrate their learning is one of the key skills that teachers of MLs need to master. Assessments are one of the most important tools educators use to gather data that will drive best practices in their classroom instruction. To accurately assess MLs, teachers must identify the most appropriate tools to evaluate the reliability of assessments and create appropriate accommodations for their students.  This course will support teachers through the intentional design, creation, and evaluation of assessment tools for classroom use so that results best reflect multilingual students’ content knowledge, as well as their language ability. Read more

To effectively support the diverse needs of students from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, it is imperative to understand the concept of "culture" and how it impacts the process of teaching and learning.   This course presents culturally relevant pedagogy as a teaching method to leverage learners’ cultural knowledge, backgrounds, and experiences. By doing so, the learning process becomes more meaningful and suitable, thereby enhancing student achievement. Read more

The National Education Association is uniquely positioned to impact racial justice in education by focusing the work on awareness, capacity building, and action. Following this framework for change, this module will explore why NEA’s work on Racial and Social Justice in Education is a moral imperative and why it is essential to the success of our students, schools, and Association. Read more

In this 5-hour course, you will be introduced to the principles of adult learning and facilitation strategies for leading a Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on the National Education Association (NEA) Micro-credential program. You will learn how to design and facilitate PLC meetings that engage and support adult learners, and that help participants to develop the skills and knowledge needed to earn an NEA Micro-credential. This course will explore the use of effective facilitation techniques, including the GROWTH coaching model, peer feedback and questioning techniques, virtual facilitation strategies, and reflective practices. Throughout the course, you will have the opportunity to practice and develop your facilitation skills and to reflect on your own experiences as a facilitator. Whether you are new to facilitation or an experienced practitioner, this course will provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively lead and support adult learners in a PLC setting. Read more