2012 AAIE SUMMER INSTITUTES,

June 24 – 28,

Nova Southeastern University, Davie Campus

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Three Summer institutes will be offered. Participants are to register for one of the three institutes.

Please click here to register!

Institute I

Translating Brain Research into Effective Language and Literacy Instruction Trainer/Consultant:Virginia Rojas, Ed.D.

Description

This seminar examines how language is represented in the brain, and the neurolinguistic aspects of language development. By understanding how the brain learns naturally, international-school teachers will be better able to enhance their instructional effectiveness in the classroom.

An emphasis will be placed on "the bilingual brain": how two or more languages are organized and how they interact within a bilingual individual, and how the multiple language systems are deployed in language comprehension and production.  Some of the questions that will be addressed are:  

• Which aspects of language acquisition are programmed into the human brain and which are based on experience?
• Why do children acquire their first language in such an astonishingly rapid process yet it is not uncommon for learners to struggle with second language proficiency for years?
• Why does the acquisition of a first language seem effortless, yet second language learners find the process laborious and frustrating?
• Why is first language acquisition nearly invariable, while second language acquisition varies considerably with respect to outcome. 

Researchers have long debated the answers to these questions, but there is one thing they agree on: language acquisition is a complex process. Unraveling the process promises not only to explain fundamental features of language acquisition and the human brain, but also to inform educators on effective instructional practices for language development, literacy, and ultimately learning. 

Who will benefit

Language teachers, and elementary and secondary classroom teachers

Institute II

Early Literacy Intervention Strategies Trainer/Consultant: Karen Burke, Ed.D.

Description

This seminar will focus on activity-based and child-responsive interventions that enhance early literacy development. Participants will explore specific activities and teaching strategies for facilitating early literacy skills in both classroom and home settings, including ways to individualize instruction for various learning styles. Workshop activities will address developmentally appropriate settings, materials, experiences, and social support that encourage early forms of reading and writing to flourish and develop into conventional literacy. The specific classroom strategies will focus on reading, writing, oral language, guided reading, spelling, phonemic awareness, and word-making skills. In addition to having hands-on exposure to instructional strategies, the participants will be introduced to resources such as online literacy links, poems, rhymes, chants, and predictable books.

Who Will Benefit

Early childhood educators (grades PK - 3), special education personnel, related support staff

Institute III

Instructional Strategies for Diverse Learners                                          Trainer/Consultant: Yvonne Bui, Ph.D.

Description

This seminar will focus on providing instructional strategies for students with diverse learning needs in both general education and special education settings. Participants will first be given an overview of diverse learners (e.g., English learners, students with disabilities) and their exceptional needs. They will then be introduced to a variety of teaching methods for differentiated instruction, universal design for learning, accommodations and modifications, graphic organizers, and learning strategies from the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM)(University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning).

Who Will Benefit:

Elementary and secondary school teachers in general and special education settings

Click here for more information and to register!