Tag: writing

Touro University TESOL Candidate Maria Quiroz SIOP’s Practice and Application Discussion Board

EDDN 637 Second Language Learners and the Content Areas

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.

Maria Quiroz is a Spanish teacher at John Adams High School in New York City. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in TESOL at Touro University, where she focuses on supporting multilingual learners through effective instructional strategies. Her work emphasizes creating engaging, inclusive, and language-rich classroom environments.

“My journey at Touro has helped me connect theory to real classroom practice, allowing me to better support my multilingual learners. I have grown as an educator by learning how to design lessons that build both content knowledge and language skills. This program has strengthened my confidence and commitment to teaching diverse students.” Maria Quiroz, Touro University TESOL Candidate

Exemplary Discussion Board 7 Practice and Application submission for EDDN 637 Second Language Learners and the Content Areas

Prof. Jasmin Cowin: This Discussion Board submission is exemplary because it demonstrates a clear and applied understanding of the SIOP model through the integration of hands-on practice, structured application tasks, and attention to multiple language domains. It is further strengthened by the effective use of direct textual evidence to support instructional decisions and by the analytical treatment of teaching scenarios, which moves beyond description to evaluation. The discussion of writing samples is particularly well developed, as it connects proficiency levels to observable learner performance, reflecting a grounded understanding of second-language development.

  1. Textbook Chapter 7 Practice and Application (p. 182-203): What activities are you planning to provide for your students in your SIOP lesson to apply content and language knowledge? Support your statement by quoting directly from the text with the page number.

In my SIOP lesson, I plan to use hands-on practice and meaningful application tasks so students can build content understanding while also using academic language. First, I will include manipulatives or visual models that students can touch, move, and use to demonstrate new concepts. The chapter explains that “students have a greater chance of mastering content concepts and skills when they are given multiple opportunities to practice in relevant, meaningful ways” (p. 185).

Next, I will design an application task that asks students to use the new concept in a new way, such as explaining a process to a partner using sentence frames, creating a short written explanation, or acting out a concept and describing it orally. This matches the idea that for students learning a new language, application matters because “discussing and ‘doing’ make the abstract concepts more concrete” (p. 187).

I will also plan for students to use more than one language domain in the same lesson, so they practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing connected to the same objective. The chapter states that for SIOP instruction, “practice and application tasks should also aim for practice of all four language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking” (p. 183).

2. Teaching scenarios, starting on p. 193 – discuss your takeaways from the teaching scenarios and quote directly from the text with the page number.

My key takeaway from the teaching scenarios is that practice and application must be active and structured, so students do not stay passive. In Mrs. Bertoni’s lesson, students listened, repeated, copied, and then were expected to complete homework independently, but they did not get guided opportunities to practice and apply the concepts in class. The discussion makes this point clearly: “Listening to a teacher read is not a practice activity” (p. 198).

In contrast, Mr. Sherbiny’s lesson shows what strong SIOP Practice and Application looks like. Students used hands-on materials, practiced the language frames aloud, read a text, wrote sentences, and applied concepts through examples and demonstrations. The scenario analysis highlights that “students used manipulatives in small groups to demonstrate revolution and rotation and practiced language frames to explain the concepts” (p. 198).

Mrs. Aliheri’s lesson reminded me that interactive activities still need careful scaffolding. Even though she used a video and tried word cards, the task did not set students up for success because there were missing supports and unclear steps. The text explains that “her planning was poor, as was the execution of the task” (p. 198). Overall, these scenarios reinforced that SIOP practice must be hands-on and guided, and application must require students to use both content knowledge and language in a supportive structure.

3. Choose one grade-level writing sample to build your understanding of the different writing competencies and levels at your teaching level.  Choose 3 writing samples of your grade level and discuss how they are similar/not similar to what you see your ELL/ML students produce in your writing assessments. Select a writing sample below. INCLUDE A SCREENSHOT of the writing sample because neither your peers nor I will be able to guess what you are analyzing!

https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/writing_samples.htmlLinks to an external site. 

For this part, I selected three Grades 7–9 writing samples at Level 1, Level 3, and Level 5 from the LearnAlberta Writing Assessment Exemplars to understand differences in writing competencies across proficiency levels.

Level 1 shows very basic writing control. The writing is short, repetitive, and relies on simple sentence patterns. Ideas are listed more than developed, and there are frequent grammar errors that affect clarity. This looks similar to what I see when my beginner language learners write, even in my Spanish classroom. At early stages, students often depend on repeated sentence starters and basic vocabulary because they are still building control of word order and sentence structure.

Level 3 shows growth in development and organization. The student writes a longer response, attempts to explain reasons, and includes more detail. Sentences are longer and more complete, and the ideas connect more logically, even if there are still noticeable language errors. This is similar to what I see when students move from novice to more intermediate performance in a second language. They take more risks with language and expand their ideas, but they still need support with accuracy and cohesion.

Level 5 shows stronger control of extended writing. The response is longer, more organized, and includes explanations and examples. Vocabulary is more varied, and sentences show more complexity, even though some grammar issues remain. This resembles what I see in my more advanced language learners, who can sustain an argument or explanation and elaborate their ideas with more independence.

References

Echevarría, J., Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. J. (2017). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model(5th ed.). Pearson.

Alberta Education. (n.d.). Writing assessment exemplars: Grades 7–9. LearnAlberta. https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/writing_samples.html

Touro University TESOL Candidate Kamryn Sherman’s Differentiated Instructional Activity Assignment with Focus on Assessment

The MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Program helps NYS-certified PreK-12 teachers more effectively teach and communicate with a diverse student population

If you have questions about our admissions requirements, certification guidelines, or transfer credits, feel free to contact us.

The EDDN 637 Differentiated Assessment

The EDDN 637 Differentiated Assessment assignment connects the principles of differentiation to the practical work of classroom teaching by focusing on lesson planning, authentic student products, reflection, and multimodal explanation.

It begins with an existing lesson plan and asks for a modified version that incorporates differentiated assessment. This structure reflects classroom reality: teachers often adapt existing lessons to better respond to students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Using the same lesson plan template for both the original and revised versions makes the instructional changes visible and easy to compare.

A central feature of the assignment is the use of anonymized student products. These products provide concrete evidence of how differentiation functions in practice. Rather than discussing differentiation only in theory, the assignment requires analyzing real student work and demonstrates how assessment can be adjusted while maintaining meaningful learning goals.

The reflection component supports professional growth by requiring an explanation of how differentiated assessment applies to English language learners and multilingual learners. The use of Grammarly is required as part of the writing and revision process. The screenshot requirement also supports transparency in completing the reflection.

The video component adds another practical dimension. By presenting one aspect of differentiated assessment through Padlet, the assignment connects written analysis to oral explanation. This mirrors professional teaching contexts, where instructional decisions must often be explained clearly to colleagues, supervisors, or families.

The assignment is AI-resistant because it depends on authentic, context-specific evidence. A generic response cannot replace an actual lesson plan, anonymized student work, a documented revision process, and a personalized explanation of classroom practice. AI may support limited tasks, such as helping create a graphic organizer when properly disclosed, but it cannot substitute for the required connection among teaching context, student products, reflection, and professional judgment.

Overall, the assignment links differentiation theory to classroom-based assessment practice. It emphasizes that differentiated assessment is not only a planning concept, but a documented instructional process grounded in the needs and products of multilingual learners.

Kamryn Sherman is currently teaching at Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School as a 1st-grade leave replacement in an ENL co-taught classroom. She earned her degree in Childhood Education (1-6) from SUNY Oswego and is currently pursuing her master’s in TESOL at Touro University. Her work focuses on creating inclusive, language-rich classrooms that help all students build confidence and feel valued in their learning.

“My time at Touro University has pushed me to think more deeply about my teaching and has strengthened my ability to support multilingual learners in meaningful ways.” Kamryn Sherman, Touro University TESOL Candidate

Differentiated Assessment Kamryn ShermanDownload

Padlet Link:

Differentiated Assessment in action

Touro University TESOL Candidate Jennifer Taranto’s Fieldwork for EDDN 637 – Second Language Learners and the Content Areas

MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Course Description
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 upon classroom learning. Special challenges in teaching and assessment in each content area will be discussed. Examination and analysis of curriculum materials and instructional strategies for creative teaching and learning in grades Pe-K-12. Includes content-specific lesson planning that addresses the New York State Student Content Learning Standards with emphasis
on English Language Arts, English as a Second Language, and content area instruction. Course content includes demonstrations, simulated activities, and field observations in Pre-K-12 classrooms. The course also examines how the teaching of English to non- native speakers can be integrated with the teaching of cognitive skills in all content areas. Students will be offered a variety of methods and materials to integrate ESL standards throughout all content areas for classroom use. Includes 15 hours of fieldwork. Includes 15 hours of fieldwork. 3 credits

Jennifer Taranto: I’m graduating with my TESOL certification this June, and I can’t wait to bring everything I’ve learned into the classroom. After 17 years as a paraprofessional and now three years as a special education teacher, I’ve learned that every student shines when given the right scaffolds and support. Teaching in a 12:1 classroom keeps me on my toes, challenges me to be creative, and reminds me why I love this work every single day.

“During my 15 hours of ENL field observations, I learned that effective teaching goes beyond delivering content; it’s about creating a learning environment where all students can participate and feel confident. Seeing how intentional scaffolding, clear instruction, and ongoing support help English learners access content showed me the real impact thoughtful teaching can have on student engagement and success.” Jennifer Taranto, Touro University TESOL Candidate

Ms. Taranto wrote in her fieldwork paper:

“Throughout these lessons, teachers consistently integrated explicit language objectives, modeled think-alouds, provided sentence frames and word banks, and designed opportunities for oral rehearsal prior to writing, moves that reflect core sheltered instruction practices for making content comprehensible while advancing language development (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2017; Kareva & Echevarria, 2013). The instructional materials throughout the lesson followed a purposeful multimodal approach. The segregation lesson utilized historical photographs, while picture cards and sentence strips helped students learn sentence structure and the past tense, and emojis aided them in understanding the meanings of adjectives and their effects.” Jennifer Taranto, Touro University TESOL Candidate

In my opinion, this passage clearly crystallizes her fieldwork insights for several reasons.

First, it demonstrates analytic synthesis rather than description. Jennifer moves beyond listing observed practices and explicitly names how those practices function within a sheltered instruction framework. The linkage between observed classroom moves and theoretical constructs such as comprehensible input, multimodality, and oral rehearsal signals disciplinary competence and analytic maturity.

Second, this section demonstrates a tight alignment between the data and the framework. She does not merely cite the SIOP Model, but illustrates its components through concrete instructional examples, such as think-alouds and sentence frames. This alignment indicates that she synthesized SIOP as an enacted pedagogy rather than an abstract checklist.

Third, the passage captures fieldwork-specific insight that could only emerge from sustained observation. The reference to emojis, historical photographs, and sentence strips reflects attention to how teachers translate abstract language demands into tangible semiotic supports. This is a hallmark of strong qualitative fieldwork analysis, as it foregrounds instructional decision-making in context.

637 Field Work Paper Fall fieldwork (1)Download

Joyann Castilletti, Touro University TESOL Candidate, on her experience working with structured prompt engineering and AI

MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TESOL – New York is a state that speaks many languages. We need teachers who can find the common ground.

🏛️ As part of Touro University’s comprehensive initiative to introduce #AI #literacy to our students, I am engaged in a #Touro #University #grant focused on developing AI literacy in #TESOL candidates. My project-based approach empowers future educators to leverage AI as a strategic partner in curriculum design, bridging theoretical understanding with applied classroom practice.

Joyann Castilletti is a 7th–12th grade certified English teacher,  currently working as a permanent substitute teacher while pursuing her TESOL degree at Touro University. She is passionate about creating learning environments where every student feels seen, heard, and loved, and where each learner is supported in achieving success. She continues to inspire a love of learning in every English learner while equipping them with the skills to communicate confidently and effectively. 

Although my time at Touro has been brief, it has inspired me to reconnect with my cultural roots through my father and grandmother, celebrating the legacy that came before me. Through Touro’s TESOL graduate program, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with peers from diverse backgrounds, sharing experiences that have enriched me professionally and sparked conversations I might never have had otherwise. 

Joyann Castilletti, Touro University TESOL Candidate

Joyann Castilletti, Touro University TESOL Candidate, on her experience working with structured prompt engineering and AI:

Using this prompt showed me a few things about designing rubrics. For starters, specifics are key to a solid rubric. When I first started student teaching, every assignment I gave had some sort of rubric mainly to protect myself in case a student didn’t do too well. Since student teaching, I have still utilized rubrics but have worked towards making them more specific and rooted in whatever standard I was working on. The rubric that CoPilot and ChatGPT provided is a great jumping point if my students were doing this presentation. My biggest negative with this rubric is that since CoPilot is primarily analytic based, it does not allow for a holistic view of my students (especially since all of my key domains were also analytical). When I make my rubrics, I try to include some element that allows my students that may struggle with the assignment a chance to achieve highly in one category. Additionally, since this rubric was generated from a prompt it did not allow me to have student insight which I like to do (unless I took this rubric to the students and had a discussion about it with them for recommendations or suggested changes). I do like that CoPilot clearly establishes the format of “you do exactly this– you get this score”. When I make my rubrics, I tend to struggle with the verbiage to express exactly what I am looking for and to separate between each score point. With this said, by utilizing this format, I can create more efficient rubrics and change them as needed to make my accommodations.   

Joyann Castilletti 673 db 4 FinalDownload

Touro University TESOL Candidate Anastasios Panagiotidis on Complex Texts and Addressing Challenges for ELLs/MLs in the Content Area

EDDN 637 Second Language Learners and the Content Areas

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 states that he is “a high school Earth Science teacher who proudly serves the South Huntington Union Free School District. As I enter my tenure year at the age of 25 my love and compassion towards the culturally and academically diverse student population have inspired me to craft lessons that not only target individual student needs but make learning relatable to the world outside of school. This is all in hopes that each student, regardless of language or academic abilities, can reach their highest possible potential through my instruction. “

I am eager to continue growing as a young educator, and Touro University has gifted me 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, TESOL candidate, Touro University

The assignment description: Text Analysis & Critique
Analyzing Complex Texts and Addressing Challenges for ELLs/MLs in the Content Area

Objective:

The objective of this assignment is to deepen your understanding of the cognitive and linguistic demands of complex texts in the content areas and to analyze a specific chapter or aspect of a content-area text currently used or recommended by the New York State/BOE. By closely examining the underlying concepts, you will develop a thesis and purpose for your analysis. You will critically evaluate the challenges that make the selected concept or section difficult for ELLs and provide substantial, logical, and concrete development of ideas in your critique.

Analyzing text complexity for English Language Learners (ELL) and Multilingual Learners (ML) requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account various factors. You can begin by examining the linguistic demands of the text, including vocabulary, sentence structure, and discourse patterns, ensuring they align with the proficiency levels of the students. Additionally, you, the teacher should consider the cultural and background knowledge necessary to comprehend the text, as well as the cognitive processes required, such as inference or critical thinking. Furthermore, evaluating the organization and coherence of the text, along with its purpose and intended audience, allows you, the teacher to gauge its appropriateness and relevance for ELL/ML learners. By conducting a thorough analysis of text complexity, you can make informed decisions about instructional strategies, adaptations, and scaffolding techniques to support their students’ language development and comprehension skills.

Deliverables:

Analysis of a Chapter or Aspect: Select a chapter or aspect of a content-area text and thoroughly analyze its complex nature. Identify and explain the quantitative elements, qualitative factors, and reader and task considerations that contribute to its complexity.

Development of Thesis and Purpose: Based on your analysis, develop a clear and concise thesis statement that reflects the main idea or argument of your analysis. State the purpose of your analysis, outlining the specific goals and objectives you aim to achieve.

Linguistic analysis which involves examining the linguistic features and demands of a text in order to determine its suitability for language learners. It focuses on various aspects of the text, including vocabulary, sentence structure, and discourse patterns, with the aim of aligning them with the proficiency levels of the students. Here’s a breakdown of these elements:

  1. Vocabulary: The analysis considers the range and complexity of words used in the text. It examines whether the vocabulary is appropriate for the students’ language proficiency level, taking into account factors such as word frequency, difficulty, and relevance to the topic. It also considers the presence of idiomatic expressions, figurative language, and specialized terminology that might pose challenges for learners.
  2. Sentence structure: The analysis looks at the complexity and variety of sentence structures employed in the text. It considers factors such as sentence length, grammatical structures (e.g., verb tenses, conditionals, relative clauses), and syntactic complexity. The aim is to ensure that the sentence structures are within the grasp of the students’ language proficiency level, allowing for gradual progression and challenges appropriate to their abilities.
  3. Discourse patterns: This aspect of linguistic analysis examines how ideas and information are organized and presented in the text. It includes analyzing discourse markers (e.g., conjunctions, transitional phrases) that indicate relationships between ideas, as well as cohesive devices (e.g., pronouns, repetition, referencing) that connect sentences and paragraphs. The analysis ensures that the text’s discourse patterns are comprehensible and aligned with the students’ proficiency levels, promoting their understanding of the text’s overall structure and coherence.
P_Text Analysis and CritiqueDownload

The Four-Part Functional Grammar Classification: A Practical Approach to Language Acquisition by Dr. Jasmin (Bey) Cowin

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:

  1. 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.

Encountering Complexity: Syntax Analysis in The Very Hungry Caterpillar for Educators by Dr. Jasmin (Bey) Cowin

Understanding the complexity of syntax in children’s texts is essential for TESOL educators, as it unbundles the cognitive load multilingual learners face when decoding seemingly simple sentences. The infographic Encountering Complexity: Syntax Analysis in The Very Hungry Caterpillar is designed to help educators appreciate the intricate linguistic demands embedded in a classic children’s text.

By analyzing the sentence, “One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and – pop! – out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar,” this infographic unpacks the nuanced interplay of grammatical components that may challenge multilingual learners (MLs). My analysis underscores the sophistication hidden within children’s literature and its implications for language acquisition. I wanted to highlight the layered complexity of the sentence through a detailed syntactic breakdown.

Section 1 categorizes elements like adverbial phrases, noun phrases, and verb phrases, explaining their functions and interactions.

Section 2 visualizes the sentence’s structure using a “Sentence Tree,” mapping two interconnected clauses to reveal how they contribute to the sentence’s flow and meaning.

Section 3 offers a granular analysis of each phrase, employing color-coding to differentiate grammatical categories such as determiners, adjectives, nouns, and verbs. These insights allow teachers to see how even a brief sentence integrates multiple linguistic elements, requiring learners to simultaneously process temporal, spatial, and descriptive details.

Syntax analysis is critical for TESOL educators, as it emphasizes the cognitive demands placed on MLs when engaging with texts. For MLs, processing a sentence like this involves not only vocabulary comprehension but also navigating complex syntactic relationships, such as interjections, modifiers, and clause coordination. By recognizing the intricacies in children’s literature, TESOL teachers can better scaffold learning experiences, create targeted interventions, and develop strategies to reduce cognitive overload while fostering language development. My infographic serves as a reflective tool for my students at Touro University to approach children’s texts with a deeper awareness of the linguistic challenges faced by MLs.

Touro University TESOL Candidate Julianna Walter’s Text Analysis and Critique for EDDN 637 – “Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match” by Monica Brown

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

New York’s classrooms are some of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the country. Our TESOL certificate program prepares NYS-certified teachers to provide responsive, comprehensive education to students of every background. 

EDDN 637 Second Language Learners and the Content Areas

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.

Julianna Walter, a 22-year-old graduate student in the TESOL program at Touro University holds an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with a focus on both General and Special Education. Her passion for working with children and shaping young minds has always been a driving force in her career and studies.

“As a first-semester student in the TESOL program, I have already gained valuable strategies and tools for supporting English language learners, which I am eager to incorporate into my future classroom.”

Julianna Walter, TESOL program at Touro University

Excerpt by Julianna Walter, TESOL program at Touro University

Sentence Structure:

There are various sentence structures within the story ranging from short to long. The average sentence length in this story is 8 words. An example of a short sentence structure, with

minimal words, in the story is “Then I see him” (HMH, 31). This is one of the few short sentences in the story, as most sentences are longer and filled with detailed ideas that add to their length. An example of a longer sentence written in the story is “When I wake up on Saturday I put on my pink shirt, my favorite polka dot skirt, and my favorite hat— the one my abuelita brought me from Peru” (HMH, 30). Simple and complex sentence structures are also displayed throughout the story. The sentence “I like to wear polka dots” is an example of a simple sentence because it possesses a subject-verb-object structure. These types of sentences are more clear and straightforward making it more understandable for ELL students. Compound sentences “contain more than one independent clause” (Four Types of Sentences to Know). An example of a compound sentence in the story is “I am part Peruvian, and I am part Scottish” ( This sentence combines two related ideas with a conjunction. By basing this lesson on a story with various sentence lengths and structures it helps to build the students comprehension abilities. Second language learners will be able to improve their fluency and practice decoding words.

Juliianna WalterEDDN 637 Text critique and analysisDownload

Proteus vs Papert – Musings by Dr. Jasmin B. Cowin

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What does the future of public, private and corporate education hold for us? I believe Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, natural language processing, neural nets and deep learning will be the catalysts for world-changing disruptions in fields such as medicine, education, and job creation. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Baidu, Ford, Tesla to name but a few are positioned to be leaders in this transformation. Questions on institutional pathways to success and viability need to be framed against the background of AI, super intelligent machines and the broader questions of humanity and human consciousness.

In The Gears of my Childhood, Seymour Papert states “What an individual can learn, and how he learns it, depends on what models he has available. These questions raise, recursively, the question of how he learned these models. Thus the “laws of learning” must be about how intellectual structures grow out of one another and about how, in the process, they acquire both logical and emotional form.” Papart sees the computer as the “proteus of machines,” the universal enabler, an instrument flexible enough so that “many children can create something” which assimilates new models of knowledge into their individual styles of learning. However, kindling the spark of “love” for learning and inquiry as the driving force in creating a “genesis of knowledge” is the dominant message of Papert’s essay and the universal message to and for educators.

For Ray Kurzweil “Technology goes beyond mere tool making; it is a process of creating ever more powerful technology using the tools from the previous round of innovation.” As a generation of students prepares for their future, they must be prepared for a fluid and lifetime assimilation of new technology and models of national and international coexistence.  However, Luke Rhinehart aka George Cockcroft, a psychiatrist, university professor, and writer of the cult novel The Dice Man wrote: “Man must become comfortable in flowing from one role to another, one set of values to another, one life to another. Men must be free from boundaries, patterns, and consistencies in order to be free to think, feel and create in new ways. Men have admired Prometheus and Mars too long; our God must become Proteus.”

Thinking about the future of education and humanity brought forth the questions: Is the quest for AI a quest to create God? If yes, in whose image? Alternatively, is this quest for the ultimate AI the ultimate archetypical story on the search for immortality? After all, humans have fantasized about the possibility of bringing a loved one back from the dead ever since that fateful, everlasting separation of Eurydice and her husband Orpheus on their wedding day through the venom of a viper. In this light, Rhinehart’s words that “men must be free from boundaries” seem prophetic.

Open Access, Author Rights, and SPARC by Jasmin B. Cowin, Ed.D.

Open Access, Author Rights, and SPARC publication model exploration.

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Open access allows researchers to access books and other items for free.  These resources are openly available to users with no requirements for authentication or payment:www.cs.cornell.edu/wya/DigLib/MS1999/Glossary.html. 

In this publication model neither readers nor a reader’s institution are charged for access to articles or other resources. Users are free to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles.  The free availability of scholarly research literature, without restrictions of price or permissions on the Internet, is an important research tool in the age of IoT. Open Access journals allow researchers self-archiving in a digital repository or publication.

Using Open Access does not mean giving up all copyrights of ones scholarly work since it is anchored in the U.S. copyright system. When publishing with traditional scholarly journals, authors typically sign an agreement that transfers all their copyrights to the publisher, retaining no rights for themselves to re-use or distribute their own work. However, with open access journals, authors retain their rights to re-use their work in teaching and further scholarship. (Information consolidated from Lloyd Sealy Library)

One of the best ways keeping scholarly work within one’s personal control is the SPARC Author Addendum. SPARCis a legal instrument that modifies the publisher’s agreement and allows authors to keep key rights to their articles. The Author Addendum is a free resource developed by SPARC in partnership with Creative Commons and Science Commons, established non-profit organizations that offer a range of copyright options for many different creative endeavors. (quoted from SPARC BROCHURE)