WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES

[TARSIER]

Just thinking out loud here...since your MA is on education, why not propose that you be allowed to attend this one? Perhaps, it would sit well with them if you volunteered to echo the seminar in class after... 

But I won't mind publishing something here afterwards...

OO nga. Why I was not able to think out loud? Magandang idea Madam H. I will try sa Sabado kung ano... Kita-kits na lang kung pwede...

[erick]

I am very interested to attend the seminar by Dr. Stephen Krashen. I am one of the fans of his astounding theories on language acquisition and language teaching.

The thing here is it would cause conflict with my sched in MaEd. I hope somebody could share something here after the seminar.

Tell your instructor about it, FOR SURE your professor shall require you pa nga to attend this once in a blue moon presentation by Dr. Krashen himself!

[Madam H]

One of the things Krashen advocates is the use of "pleasure reading" in the classroom, not only to teach reading per se, but as a strategy to promote language acquistion.

I teach a certificate Program for adults in school, where I get to teach Independent Reading. Once every three days, I spend an hour-and-a-half lesson on Reader's Workshop, where time is divided up equally into the following parts:
     - Read (where students read silently on their own)
     - Words Work (where students read from their own book of choice, then pick out 7 new words for them to learn. Learning these words mean they write down the meaning of each word, may it be in English or in their own native language. The core activity here is when they write down a sentence for each new word they choose.
     - Journaling (where they are given prompts to choose from. Ex. Make a connection between the book/story you are reading and your own life. Explain this connection in detail.)
     - Share (where students get to discuss about their opinions about the characters they are reading about, information that they find interesting from their readings, opinions and thoughts that come to them as they read, etc)

      The students have to be in small groups; the most should be 4. As a group, they decide in which order they would like to proceed, as long as they cover all 4 parts of the workshop in one lesson. The teacher, goes around and listens in/discusses at times with the small groups, but only minimally. Your biggest job is the feedback you give in their journals and their Words Work notebooks after the lesson.

       A few words students use to describe this workshop include, "effective", "meaningful", "wonderful". What contributes to its popularity perhaps is the free reign that students have in their own learning. They are free to read at their own pace, the books are of their choice, they get to choose the words that are meaningful for them to learn and best of all, they have time to share their own thoughts/reflections and even question about the story.

       End result, you have established a small "discourse community" right in the confines of your classroom, and nothing beats that! Reading, is meant to be interesting, meaningful, and yes, fun! Sometimes, in our desire to cover the curriculum, we forget what it is that lead us to reach for books in the first place.

       For me, I started to read because I saw my father reading these very thick books by Robert Ludlum and Sidney Sheldon at home. I bet, that too, stirs up familiar memories of the first times you ventured out into reading. And so, if you find yourself (and your students) in some kind of reading rut, go find yourselves a book you really like, and recapture the times when reading was nothing but pure "magic"...

For more articles on reading and literacy, please visit www.heddatan.com.

[yllorco]

Very good ideas.  I will use them in my classes.  I highly recommend your articles on your site.  I've read some of them.  They are a great resource.

[Madam H]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Yllorco!

I'm starting a new thread to share things I've learned/got from the Dr. Stephen Krashen's talk on the Natural Approach to Language Acquisition.

[Madam H]

EARCOS Weekend Workshop at ISBE, Pattaya

Reading Assessment and Instruction to Support Growing Readers
Presented by: Carrie Ekey

February 13-14, 2009
Friday: 1:30pm – 7:30 pm
Saturday:  8:00 am – 3:15 pm


Reading is a developmental process that is scaffolded with explicit instruction to move from modeled demonstrations to independent use.  Participants will explore the use of informal classroom assessment to evaluate student reading proficiencies.  Strategies for setting up classroom libraries to support independent reading will be shared.  Instructional practices of interactive read aloud, guided reading, and reading conferences focused on comprehension will also be demonstrated. 

Outcomes:
•   Understanding student reading proficiencies and assessment strategies to use in evaluating those behaviors
•   Understanding text levels to match to student proficiency levels
•   Understanding of instructional components of a balanced reading program

Registration deadline:  Friday January 23, 2009

Accommodation:
The International School Eastern Seaboard (ISE) can book workshop participants at the Burapha Golf Hotel, about a 10 minute walk from ISE. Please indicate on the registration form if you would like to reserve a hotel room. The hotel website is http://www.buraphagolfthailand.com/html/hotel.html. The city of Pattaya is a 30-40 minute drive. It is difficult to find transport to ISE from Pattaya as taxis are not readily available.

For more information, visit www.earcos.org

[yllorco]

Thanks Madam H!  (It's good that it got in my email).  This is a great help for teachers.  I hope many will register.

[Madam H]

Thanks Madam H!  (It's good that it got in my email).  This is a great help for teachers.  I hope many will register.

No probs. Just spread the word around kasi deadline na for registration this Friday!

[yllorco]

I have just posted this announcement at Adventist Teachers in Thailand.

[TARSIER]

Inviting everyone to join the upcoming BTN Conference on "The Student as the Learner" at Bangkok Patana School. Please read the details below:

What: Bangkok Teachers' Network Conference
Where: Bangkok Patana School
          click www.patana.ac.th for location
When: 28th February 2009, Saturday
Cost: 1,200 Baht

There are plenty of topics to choose from which range from ideas exchange sessions to job-a-like discussions to workshops to be presented by our "colleagues" from Bangkok.

For more information about the event, visit http://patana.ac.th/BTNConference2009/default.asp

SEE YOU there folks!

[Madam H]

For those of you who wish to avail of great learning opportunities, here are two weekend workshops coming up in Bangkok in the next few months:

September 19-20
New International School of Thailand
Title: Differentiation in the International School Context

November 14 -15
International School Bangkok
Title: Garage Band for Beginners

For more info about these workshops, as well as workshops in other parts of this region, visit the website of EARCOS, East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (www.earcos.org).

[M!sS_D]

Is there a Thai Culture Training coming up for the next few weeks?

Info PLease. Thanks.

[iSDa(GO PORTAL)]

interesado ako sa Garage Band for Beginners.



sana included yan ang mga computer software music synthesizers.

hehehe.

[jordge24]

gud am po.... i am jordan 25, i was a teacher in the philippines 2 years ago. High school level then nag turo din ako ng mga korean nationals sa isang english language school for korean nationals... i am here in singapore now, working,  but i am afraid that the renewal of my working pass will not be approved because the ministry of manpower here has tighten its qualification for spass holder this july. i am working in f&b industry but basically hindi ako qualified kc teaching yung tinapos ko sa pinas naswertehan lang na approved yung working pass ko last year... just in case, gusto ko sana punta ng thailand at magturo...anong place or location ang maraming school?? san po ako pde makakuha ng mas murang tirahan... help po kabayan... God bless... pls reply....

Hello Jordan, please post your member intro here.