The Maine DOE ESL/Bilingual Programs recently provided training for 28 school districts in developing and using language effectively to make connections between science language and science concepts in the science classroom.
Participants at the Department’s April 10 workshop in Freeport learned to analyze the language demand of science instruction and select instructional supports that encourage scientific reasoning, promote student engagement and develop academic language.
The workshop was hosted in collaboration with Project Reach, University of Maine and World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA). Troy Dassler, a national WIDA professional development outreach specialist, provided the training to K-12 science educators. The WIDA Consortium is a nonprofit cooperative group whose purpose is to develop standards and assessments that meet and exceed the goals of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and promote educational equity for English learners.
For more information, please contact Maine DOE Director of ESL/Bilingual Programs Nancy Mullins at 624-6788 or nancy.mullins@maine.gov.