Dr. Jasmin (Bey) Cowin, an Associate Professor at Touro University, received the 2024 Touro University CETL Faculty Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching and the Rockefeller Institute of Government awarded her the prestigious Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellowship (2024-2025). As a Fulbright Scholar and SIT Graduate, she was selected to be a U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist. Her expertise in AI in education is underscored by her role as an AI trainer and former Education Policy Fellow (EPFP™) at Columbia University's Teachers College. As a columnist for Stankevicius, she explores Nicomachean Ethics at the intersection of AI and education. She has contributed to initiatives like Computers for Schools Burundi, served as a resource specialist for Amity University in Uttar Pradesh, India, and participated in TESOL "Train the Trainer" programs in Yemen and Morocco. Her research interests include simulations and metaverse for educators-in-training, AI applications in education and language acquisition and teaching, and distributed ledger technologies, with a focus on her 'Education for 2060' theme.
In conclusion, my commitment extends beyond transactional interactions, focusing instead on utilizing my skills and privileges to make a positive, enduring impact on the world.
This comprehensive course builds upon the foundation of curriculum development and classroom management in the context of teaching English language learners. Expanding its horizons to embrace the digital age, the course adeptly weaves innovative technology integration into the domain of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Crafted to empower prospective TESOL/BLE educators, the course hones in on fostering competence in designing, implementing, assessing, and reflecting within diverse language learning environments, all while capitalizing on the potentials of cutting-edge technology. With a strong focus on practical application and discerning appraisal of technological tools, this course primes upcoming educators to excel amidst the ever-evolving educational landscape. Includes 10 hours of field work.
The assignment was to create a list of technology tools that not only aid teachers in instructional strategies and curriculum development but can also facilitate community outreach and engagement. I selected 9 tools that I currently use and explained how each tool can be used in an educational context for ELL students and for community outreach within my school. I used a padlet as I felt it was the best way to highlight each tool/website, it provides a clear view of the link, description and analysis. The assignment helped me further understand how many technological tools are used within a classroom.
Oralia Lainez-Tutka is a 4th year middle school Spanish teacher. This is her second semester with Touro University through the TESOL program.
“Although I have just begun my Touro journey, I do feel it is a positive one. My classes have supported my teaching, provided ample support, and I have been able to practice strategies and apply knowledge from my classes to my teaching. ”
This comprehensive course builds upon the foundation of curriculum development and classroom management in the context of teaching English language learners. Expanding its horizons to embrace the digital age, the course adeptly weaves innovative technology integration into the domain of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Crafted to empower prospective TESOL/BLE educators, the course hones in on fostering competence in designing, implementing, assessing, and reflecting within diverse language learning environments, all while capitalizing on the potentials of cutting-edge technology. With a strong focus on practical application and discerning appraisal of technological tools, this course primes upcoming educators to excel amidst the ever-evolving educational landscape. Includes 10 hours of field work.
Jennifer Taranto, is currently enrolled in the Touro University TESOL master’s program. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Touro University in June 2023 and secured a teaching position immediately under a special education license. Now, in her second year of teaching, she approaches each day with a sense of gratitude and fulfillment. She shares: “This is my second year teaching, and every morning when I walk into my room, I feel extremely blessed and grateful.”
Touro is not just about learning facts, but about learning how to think, grow, and navigate the journey of becoming who I was meant to be.
Jennifer Taranto, Touro University TESOL master’s candidate
Jennifer Taranto: This was my first time creating a mind map. The assignment was to align NYS Next Generation Standards to the TESOL Curriculum. For aspiring ENL teachers, understanding how to align the NYS Next Generation Standards with TESOL instruction is crucial for delivering effective, meaningful, and legally compliant instruction. This alignment helps create an inclusive classroom where English learners can develop language proficiency while mastering grade-level academic content, ultimately setting them up for long-term success.
Jennifer Taranto: For this Padlet assignment in EDDN 635, I curated 9 favorite Tech tools. Each resource is broken down into descriptions, educational use, community engagement, and challenges. By completing this Padlet assignment, educators and students gain a well-rounded perspective on educational technology, learning how to leverage tech tools for student success, foster community connections, and navigate challenges. It is a valuable resource for future classroom integration and professional growth in a technology-driven educational landscape.
In the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), traditional approaches to teaching grammar often emphasize memorization of parts of speech and grammatical rules, without adequately connecting language structure to practical communication. My Four-Part Functional Grammar Classification infographic presents an alternative that transforms the conceptualization and teaching of grammar for language educators.
My framework shifts focus from viewing grammar as a set of abstract rules to understanding it as a functional system serving communication purposes. By categorizing grammatical elements according to their communicative functions rather than traditional parts of speech, my model creates a more intuitive approach to language learning and teaching. This aligns with contemporary methodologies like Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), prioritizing meaningful language use over memorization.
The model recognizes that languages vary in how they express grammatical relationships. Analytic languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, and to a significant degree English, rely primarily on word order, function words, and contextual cues to convey meaning. These languages exhibit minimal inflection, with words remaining relatively unchanged regardless of their grammatical roles. In contrast, synthetic languages like Latin, Russian, and Turkish employ morphological systems with prefixes, suffixes, and internal word changes to express grammatical relationships, allowing for flexibility in word order.
In my opinion, the framework accurately highlights how grammar operates in service of conveying ideas. It encourages learners to see language structures not as isolated rules but as tools for meaning-making. Such an approach can help students discern the interconnectedness of grammatical features and more readily apply them in authentic communicative contexts. However, as with any model, practical classroom application may require adjustments based on learners’ needs or language-specific nuances.
Each component serves a specific purpose:
Terminal Elements comprise core lexical items that form the foundation of meaning in sentences. These include nouns, main verbs, and key adjectives—elements without which a sentence would lack substance. In the sentence “The dog runs,” “dog” (noun) and “runs” (verb) constitute the essential Terminal Elements carrying the fundamental meaning. Without either, the communicative purpose would be compromised.
2. Auxiliary Elements encompasses grammatical support structures that modify aspects of the Terminal Elements, such as tense, mood, voice, or aspect. These include helping verbs, modals, auxiliary verbs, and determiners. In “The dog has been running,” the auxiliary elements “has” and “been” create the present perfect progressive tense, adding temporal and aspectual information to the core meaning.
3. Modifiers consist of elements that refine or limit the meaning of Terminal Elements. These include adjectives, adverbs, participles, and modifying phrases. In “The small dog runs quickly,” the adjective “small” modifies the noun “dog,” while the adverb “quickly” modifies the verb “runs.” Modifiers enhance precision in communication without altering the fundamental meaning.
4. Connectors encompass relational elements that establish connections between words, phrases, or clauses. These include conjunctions, prepositions, and relative pronouns. In “I stayed home because it was raining,” the conjunction “because” establishes a causal relationship between two clauses, demonstrating how Connectors create coherence within and between sentences.
In implementing the Four-Part Functional Grammar Classification, educators can foster a deeper understanding of language by highlighting the interplay of its communicative elements. Instead of treating grammar as a discrete set of prescriptive rules, instructors integrate Terminal Elements, Auxiliary Elements, Modifiers, and Connectors into lesson designs that reflect authentic language use. This approach promotes increased learner engagement with meaning-making processes, as students actively observe how these functional categories intersect to convey nuanced ideas. By contextualizing grammar within real-world communication, educators encourage learners to perceive linguistic forms as interconnected tools that support coherent expression rather than isolated technicalities.
Moreover, the model’s applicability to both analytic and synthetic languages underscores its potential for unifying diverse linguistic backgrounds. Identifying functional similarities across distinct language systems can stimulate positive transfer, enabling learners to draw on their existing linguistic repertoires more strategically. Future pedagogical investigations may explore how this classification influences long-term language development, particularly in multilingual contexts where cross-linguistic awareness is vital. Emphasizing the functional essence of grammar aligns with contemporary SLA perspectives by foregrounding communication as the driving force behind language instruction, thereby challenging educators to replace traditional rule-based models with pedagogies that prioritize meaningful, context-rich engagement.
The spark behind this design stems from my observation that conventional grammar instruction often creates artificial boundaries between grammatical elements rather than highlighting their interconnected functions. By reconceptualizing grammar as a system of terminal elements, auxiliary elements, modifiers, and connectors, I sought to create a visual metalinguistic tool that would facilitate deeper cognitive engagement with language structures across varying proficiency levels.
Theoretical Foundations: An Integrated Approach
The four-component model deliberately integrates complementary theoretical perspectives:
The Dependency Perspective: Drawing from Tesnière’s (1959) seminal work, this framework emphasizes relational characteristics over categorical classifications. Terminal elements establish semantic foundations upon which auxiliary elements construct grammatical meaning, modifiers refine conceptual boundaries, and connectors create hierarchical relationships—mirroring the valency patterns and dependency structures that Tesnière identified as fundamental to syntactic organization.
The Functional Perspective: Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar provides the theoretical underpinning for examining how each component serves specific communicative purposes. Terminal elements primarily fulfill ideational functions; auxiliary elements negotiate interpersonal dimensions through tense, mood, and aspect; modifiers enhance textual richness; and connectors organize logical coherence between propositions—all operating simultaneously across what Halliday termed the “metafunctions” of language.
The Structural Perspective: From Chomskyan X-bar theory, this model adapts the concept of hierarchical constituency. The classification systematically maps onto phrase structure configurations where terminal elements function as heads, auxiliary elements as functional projections, modifiers as adjuncts, and connectors as complementizers and relational markers—creating a bridge between transformational grammar and functional applications.
1. Enhanced Sentence Analysis Teachers can guide students in breaking down sentences by identifying:
Terminal elements (primary content words)
Auxiliary elements (grammatical markers for tense, aspect, etc.)
Modifiers (descriptive elements that refine meaning)
Connectors (elements that establish relationships)
2. Comparative Language Analysis The focus on function rather than form makes this approach useful for:
Comparing how grammatical functions manifest across different languages
Helping multilingual students connect new structures to familiar concepts
Discussing similarities and differences between L1 and English grammar
I am grateful to our collaborative, transdisciplinary and international work with Dr. Cristo Leon, Ph.D., James Lipuma, and Mauricio Rangel-Jimenez. 🚨 “Meta-participation and ethical transparency in role-playing games: Examining AI and algorithmic influence.” Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and other non-human participants in role-playing games (RPGs) has brought new dimensions to interactive storytelling and game design. As AI evolves to simulate human-like interactions more convincingly, its role in games raises significant ethical questions, particularly regarding transparency and player agency. This paper critically examines these issues, focusing on the concept of the meta-participant—the programmer or author responsible for designing the AI’s decision-making algorithms— and the implications of their invisible influence and personal bias on the gaming experience of human players. Leon, C., Lipuma, J., Cowin, J., & Rangel-Jimenez, M. (2025). Meta-participation and ethical transparency in role-playing games: Examining AI and algorithmic influence [Peer-reviewed journal]. STEM for Success Resources(101). https://lnkd.in/eHSifda7
Students will become acquainted with and practice effective approaches, methods, and strategies for teaching and evaluating English language learners in the content areas (ELA, social studies, math and science). Throughout the course, students will explore the impact of culture and language on classroom learning. Special challenges in teaching and assessment in each content area will also be discussed. Includes 15 hours of field work.
Anastasios Panagiotidis is a dedicated high school Earth Science teacher serving the South Huntington Union Free School District. As he approaches his tenure year at the age of 25, he recognizes that his career is still in its early stages. However, his passion for education and commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment drive his work every day. Inspired by the culturally and academically diverse student population he teaches, he strives to design engaging, student-centered lessons that not only address individual needs but also connect learning to real-world contexts. His ultimate goal is to ensure that every student, regardless of their language proficiency or academic abilities, has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential under his instruction.
Touro University contributes to the tools, knowledge, and wisdom I strive to acquire as I continue to develop and mature as an educator, while allowing me the opportunity to broaden my horizons in a wide variety of areas relative to the rapidly evolving field of education.
Anastasios Panagiotidis, Touro University TESOL candidate
The SIOP Model: An Essential Framework for ESL Instruction by Prof. Dr. Jasmin Cowin
The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) is a research-based instructional model designed to support English Learners (ELs) in developing both content knowledge and English language proficiency simultaneously. Developed by Echevarria, Vogt, and Short, the SIOP model provides a structured approach to lesson planning and delivery, ensuring that ELs receive comprehensible input and meaningful language support across content areas.
As a TESOL educator, understanding and implementing the SIOP model is essential for effective ESL instruction. The model provides a structured yet flexible framework that ensures ELs have equitable access to academic content while simultaneously developing their language proficiency. By integrating language and content instruction, teachers can create an inclusive classroom environment that promotes both linguistic and cognitive development for English Learners.
The SIOP Model: Components and Structure
The SIOP framework consists of eight interrelated components that guide teachers in designing effective lessons for ELs:
Lesson Preparation
Clearly defined content and language objectives
Use of supplementary materials to support comprehension
Meaningful activities that integrate both content and language practice
Building Background
Explicitly linking students’ background knowledge to new content
Connecting past learning experiences to new concepts
Introducing and reinforcing key vocabulary
Comprehensible Input
Adjusting speech for EL proficiency levels
Using clear explanations of academic tasks
Incorporating visuals, gestures, and realia to support understanding
Strategies
Teaching students learning strategies to support comprehension
Encouraging metacognitive awareness and self-monitoring of learning
Scaffolding tasks through teacher modeling, guided practice, and peer collaboration
Interaction
Promoting student-to-student discourse using structured peer interactions
Designing opportunities for extended academic conversations
Encouraging collaborative learning experiences
Practice & Application
Providing hands-on learning experiences
Integrating reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities
Allowing ELs to apply language skills in meaningful contexts
Lesson Delivery
Ensuring objectives are clearly communicated and met
Keeping students engaged and maintaining an appropriate pace
Aligning instruction with student needs
Review & Assessment
Regularly reviewing key concepts and vocabulary
Conducting formative assessments to monitor comprehension
Providing feedback to guide language and content development
Anastasios Panagiotidis’ Discussion Board provides excellent insight into Building Background.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) [MS] We offer a Master of Science in TESOL appropriate for NYS-certified PreK-12 teachers interested in expanding their teaching fields to ESL or strengthening their capacities to serve a diverse student body. Evening, Sunday, and online courses are available.
We offer three Bilingual certificate programs to qualified educators and professionals seeking advanced bilingual certification:
Bilingual General Education, for mainstream teachers looking to work with bilingual students, teaching their content area in two languages
Bilingual Special Education and Speech & Language Disabilities, for special education teachers who want to work with bilingual students
Bilingual Pupil Personnel Services, for school counselors, social workers and psychologists, who want to work with bilingual students
All options include field experiences.
Julia Boris is in her third year teaching middle school Spanish to 7th and 8th graders. She is currently working towards her Masters in TESOL education. She loves to travel and learn about various cultures to bring her experiences into the classroom.
Julia Boris created a mind map comparing NYS Next Generation Standards to the National Standards in regards to TESOL Education. The mind map she created explains the differences expected for educators and students and their path to success.
“Touro has inspired me to be the teacher on a journey to connection and empathy. Touro has shown me that the students learn from us as much as we learn from them.”
Literacy [MS] The Master of Literacy program prepares teachers to become Literacy Specialists who work with students with reading and writing difficulties. The program includes ample field experience and leads to certification in both Birth – Grade 6 and Grades 5 – 12. Classes are offered online, as well as on site in Bay Shore in the evenings.
Alissa Fernstrom is currently a Teaching Assistant for a Special Education classroom in the Herricks School District. She completed her undergraduate dual degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education at Molloy College, graduating in 2018. Afterward, she took graduate courses through Queens College to obtain her Special Education certification before selecting Touro University to obtain her Masters in Literacy. In addition to teaching in the classroom, she teaches dance, which allows her to share one of her life-long passions with others.
My time here at Touro has not been traditional, but the flexibility of the online program coupled with the supportive professors and staff, have made my journey to obtain my Masters in Literacy one I will forever be grateful for.
Alissa Fernstrom, Masters in Literacy, Touro University
Part I
a. Identify techniques for connecting students’ personal experiences and past learning to lesson concepts.
“It is a widely accepted notion among experts that a learner’s “schemata”—knowledge of the world—provides a basis for understanding, learning, and remembering facts and ideas found in texts” (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J.J., & Short, D. J., 2016, p.72). This fact is important to consider as a teacher, specifically of ENL students, because every learner comes into the classroom with their own set of knowledge that can be tapped into and utilized to help them better understand the new content being taught. One technique to connect students’ past experience with new lesson concepts is the use of anticipation guides. These guides consist of a number of statements that students can agree or disagree with based on their background knowledge of the topic being taught. This serves not only to activate their prior knowledge, but also to set a purpose for what they are to learn during the lesson. These questions should also be revisited at the end of a lesson in order to address any misconceptions and help students make new connections. Another technique that should be used when activating prior knowledge is culturally responsive teaching. Since students from different cultures will have vastly different experiences from their peers, it is important to consider that the way in which they will react to new information may not align with the way their peers do. It has been “questioned whether we can assume that students from every subculture will have the same experience with, or emotional reaction to a story or article, or whether we should expect the same outcomes from them” (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J.J., & Short, D. J., 2016, p.73). Teachers must consider that a student’s reading comprehension may be affected by their prior experiences or background knowledge and may not interpret a situation in the expected way. This is why culturally responsive teaching is a very important technique to utilize with ENL students.
b. List 2 elements of academic language and describe their importance for English learners.
”Academic language involves the use of more sophisticated sentence structures and forms of expression than are found in everyday conversation” (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J.J., & Short, D. J., 2016, p.76). This language is commonly seen in the content subject areas and leads to academic success. This type of language can be broken down into two specific groups, content vocabulary and general academic vocabulary. Content vocabulary “are the key words and terms associated with a particular topic being taught” (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J.J., & Short, D. J., 2016, p.76). These words are normally found in bold in the informational texts students read about a topic. They also include the words students need to know in order to share their thinking about a topic, such as character and setting. General academic vocabulary “are academic words and phrases students must learn because they are used in all academic disciplines” (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J.J., & Short, D. J., 2016, p.77). These types of words are not normally explicitly taught, but should be since they are words commonly seen in every academic setting. These words may have multiple meanings depending on the content being explored and can cause issues for ENL students. These words also help students to understand how information may be provided to them and how they are expected to interact with it. Both types of academic language are important and should be taught when working with ENL students.
Part II
a. Describe 1 activity YOU used during this week to introduce key academic subject-specific vocabulary for your ENL students. (p 76/77) divide your academic vocabulary using words from these three groups: content vocabulary, general academic vocabulary, word parts: roots and affixes?
This week, I introduced academic subject-specific vocabulary to my 5th grade class, of which one student is an ENL student. We started a new science topic entitled “Got Water?” which focuses on the different spheres of the earth, specifically water. The way in which I introduced these words was by providing students with a list of the words and a picture to accompany each that they glued into their science notebooks. The pictures served as a great way for not only my ENL student, but for all students in my special education room, to create a concrete picture in their mind of what each word meant. Once students had their list, we went through each word one by one, giving students a chance to share their own background knowledge and build upon the definition I had given by using the word in a sentence. This allowed all students to participate and utilize the new vocabulary in a way that was familiar to them. We also talked about the prefixes on some of the words and had students share other words they knew of that started in a similar way. This further helped students to solidify the meaning of these new words.
general academic vocabulary: observation, inference, cycle
roots and affixes: hydro-, bio-
b. Describe 1 activity YOU used during this week to introduce general academic or language function vocabulary for your ENL students (p 76/77).
In our reading unit, students are working on a culminating project with their fantasy novels. The general academic words that were introduced and utilized this week to start this project were compare, contrast, and support your answer. The overall task is for students to pick two elements of a fantasy book and compare and contrast how these elements are seen in the class read aloud and their independent book. In order for students to effectively complete the assignment, they first had to understand what these general academic words mean. I started by simply writing both words on the board and having students use any prior knowledge they had about each word to create their own definition. Since these students are in 5th grade, they had all, including my ENL student, been exposed to these words and were quickly able to come up with definitions as a class. They also identified that we could use a venn diagram to help us compare and contrast the two books. Utilizing charts is a great way to help all students organize their thinking. Finally, we discussed what it means to support your answer. We first compared it to our math lessons when we are always asked to show our work. Students were able to make the connection that the work supports our answer and that in the case of reading, the words in the book are our support. This helped them to realize that supporting their answers in reading meant going back into the text.
c. Use one of the methods described (p 82 – 88) in YOUR classroom and describe what happened – please include a photo of any of YOUR realia/anchor chart/game cards.
The method I chose to utilize with my class is a word wall. A word wall is a place for relevant content words to be displayed in alphabetical order. “These words are revisited frequently throughout the lesson or unit, and students are encouraged to use them in their writing and discussions” (Vogt, M., Echevarria, J.J., & Short, D. J., 2016, p.85-86). I decided that a word wall could be a great way to display our new science words for students. I noticed that once the words were visible to students at all times, they were more likely to use the words when answering questions, not only during our science lessons, but making connections back to them throughout the entire day. For example, students spoke about how our predictions at the end of our chapter in reading were really inferences because we were using what we saw in the book to make a guess as to what would happen. This was so amazing to see as a teacher and hearing students that are both in special education and ENL utilize such sophisticated language in an appropriate way showed me how impactful such a simple vocabulary method could be.
C Vogt, M., Echevarria, J. J., & Short, D. J. (2016). Making content comprehensible for English Learners. (5th ed.). Pearson: New York.
Welcome to my newest exploration: From Research to AI: Language Learning in 2050: A Technological and Cultural Forecast, a podcast where I explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping academic work—not just in the classroom, but in the way we disseminate knowledge itself.
As researchers, we write, analyze, and synthesize ideas, but what happens when we use AI tools to take our work beyond the written word? In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of my latest research on the future of language education – examining how AI, multimodal learning, and cross-cultural adaptability might redefine teaching by 2050.
But here’s the twist: this podcast wasn’t scripted in the traditional way. Instead, I uploaded my work into NotebookLM, an AI-powered tool designed to transform written work into interactive and engaging formats. From text to voice, from static research to dynamic dialogue—this episode is an experiment in what AI can do for academic communication.
Join me as tow AI generated personas not only discuss the future of language education but also reflect on how AI is changing the way we share and interact with research itself. What does this mean for acadmics, educators, students, and the future of knowledge dissemination?
Click the link to listen to this AI generated podcast!
On January 7th, 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stunned the media, the public, and political world by announcing in a Facebook video an end to Meta’s longstanding fact-checking Meta for Media program. Instead, Meta will be implementing “community notes,” a system based on Elon Musk’s user-driven moderation strategy on X (formerly Twitter). Zuckerberg stated in the video, “It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression. We’re replacing fact checkers with Community Notes, simplifying our policies…” read more at Stankevicius:
Dr. J's Education Blog 