As part of University of Cambridge’s 13th World Interfaith Harmony Week programming, we are holding a webinar Language Learning in/as Religious Education on February 2, at 15:45 GMT. I will join Adel Mozammel (Darul Ihsan School), Anastasia Badder (Cambridge U), Jo-Ann Myers (Leo Baeck Institute), and Youmna Helmy (Cambridge U) to explore how religious communities draw on language as a semiotic resource aimed at specific goals, and how different methodologies can reveal aspects of the aims, processes, factors, and outcomes of sacred language learning and use. The event is free, just register in advance to get the Zoom link.
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Supporting Black Children’s Language, Literacy, and Joy
Dr. Monique Mills and I the organizers of Supporting Black Children on Their Paths to Greatness: Language, Literacy, and Joy. This is a series of virtual mini-convenings that bring together a small group of people to create a collaborative space for sharing strategies that work well in advancing research, educational practice, advocacy, and dialogue and collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Each convening includes one or more talks by members of our emerging community of practice, as well as opportunities to discuss and to get to know one another. In 2022-2023, we meet roughly once a month, and each convening has a theme.
ASHA webinar with Monique Mills
Dr. Monique Mills and I will present a live webinar Perceptions of Narrative Quality in School-Age African American English (AAE) Speakers on December 22. The audience is school-based Speech-Language pathologists who work with African American children. We will explore variation in narrative practices common within AAE-speaking communities and discuss widely held beliefs about narrative language and its variation, how these beliefs affect clinical practice, and insights from research into how SLPs can expand our narrative language assessment practices to be more inclusive of culturally based narrative variation.
Sessions at AAA 2022 in Seattle
I am participating in 2 sessions at the 2022 Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Seattle. The panel ‘Using Anthropology Of Language And Literacy To Address Equity In Unsettling Times’ brings together educational anthropologists who draw on anthropological theory and methods to examine the teaching and learning of language and literacy, drawing on theoretical frameworks that challenge dominant understandings. The round table ‘Refugee Education Across The Life Span In Unsettling Times’ showcases research on/with the language and literacy dimensions of the refugee experience.
Seminar for U of Cambridge UK Inter Faith Week
I will be part of a virtual seminar ‘Language Learning in/as Education’, hosted by the University of Cambridge as part of the upcoming UK Inter Faith Week. The seminar will feature talks by Dr. Anastasia Badder (University of Cambridge) and Dr. Jo-Ann Myers (Leo Baeck College), and responses from Dr. Farah Ahmed (University of Cambridge) and me. We will explore the nature of ‘progress’ n Progressive religious contexts and the significance of language and literacy learning for religious community identity, focusing on Jewish and Muslim educational contexts. The seminar will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, 16 November, 12:30 – 1:45pm (UK time). Check out the short article on InterFaith Week events and a recording of our panel.
Advancing Ohio’s English Learners
The Ohio Department of Education has funded Advancing Ohio’s English Learners (AOEL), a project for which I am a co-PI. The purpose of AOEL is to create a comprehensive system of supports for English learners and their families whose school learning and engagement have been negatively impacted during the coronavirus pandemic. Belinda Gimbert (Education Studies) and Melissa Ross (Center on Training and Education) lead the four-part project. Peter Sayer and I will lead Activity 3, the development and dissemination of digital resources for K12 educators who work with English learners.
Saida Mohamed AAUW Dissertation Fellow
I am a member of the dissertation committee of Saida Mohamed, a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University. Saida has just been awarded an Association of American University Women (AAUW) American Dissertation Fellowship for the 2022-23 award year. Her dissertation examines the multilingual literacies (Somali, English, Kiswahili, Classical Arabic) of three families and their five to fourteen-year-old children of Somali and refugee background living in Nairobi, Kenya. Through the lenses of literacy as a social practice and funds of knowledge, Saida explores the connections between the children’s dugsi, school, and home language and literacy learning experiences and analyze how children and parents live and understand these experiences.
AAA 2021 virtual session: Supporting multilingual ECE
We just held our session ‘Supporting Multilingual Education in Early Childhood: Linguistic Anthropological Approaches’. Organized by Jennifer Reynolds (USC) and Amy Kyratzis (UCSB), the session examines the issue of how early childhood educators can be supported in sustaining and leveraging children’s expertise as a legitimate and generative means to expand linguistic repertoires and associated forms of knowledge production. The Zoom recording and documents will available through June 2022 to conference participants.
NAEYC 2021 session
I am part of a session ‘Bridging the gap: Developing accessible STEM programs and building partnerships to support bilingual children & families’ at the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC 2021). I am joined by Hardin Englehardt (Marbles Kids Museum) and Grace Sanchez (GrowingGreat). We discuss developing bilingual, accessible, culturally-relevant activities and building community partnerships to reach families. If you are registered for the conference, our session is available through November.
Advanced Methods Institute at OSU
The College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE) and the EHE Office of Research, Innovation, Collaboration’s (ORIC) QualLab are sponsoring a virtual, 3-day institute. The Advanced Methods Institute: Advancing Culturally Responsive Research and Researchers runs Wednesday, June 2 through Friday, June 4. I will moderate a panel, Breaking it Down: A Conversation about How Qualitative Scholars Advance Culturally Relevant Research and lead a topical lunch discussion, Linguistically and Culturally Responsive Research. #OSUAMI2021