Events
The MIATC 2018-2019 professional development workshops included the following:
Teaching Arabic: Learner-Centered Instructions and Strategies for Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR)
Workshop by Dr. Wafa Hassan
Friday, July 27, 2018
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: 13624 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126
Sponsors: Global Educational Excellence and
MSU Asian Studies Center, MSU African Studies Center
This workshop will explore best practices teaching Arabic and using Learner-Centered instructional strategies to engage students.
Workshop Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants can:
1- Establish a clear idea about how a learner-centered instruction look like and how to implement strategies that encourages the students to be part of the learning process.
2- Integrate strategies of the 5Cs language goals with a learner-centered instruction and how to use effective strategies of GRR (I do-we do- you do)
3- Explore a variety of teaching and support materials and preparing mini lesson plans using the level appropriate materials
4- Enrich Arabic classroom libraries by providing samples of different stories, games, and realia objects and material from everyday life, especially how to use them as teaching aids.
Classroom Management Strategies
From Planning to Engaging!
Saturday, March 9, 2019
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Classroom management is essential for a successful instruction. Many Arabic teachers face challenges in creating and following classroom procedures that maintain the students’ engagement. Reasons are many and related to many factors including students’ attitude towards learning languages. This workshop will explore factors related to language learning, strategies for classroom management from planning to engaging all students. Exploring CHAMPS tools and strategies.
Workshop Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants can:
1- Design classroom procedures based on students’ learning needs
2- Design lessons that includes engaging activities for all stages of the lesson based on (I do – We do – You do)
3- Using CHAMPS strategies for lesson planning and classroom management
4- Using effective strategies to manage students’ behavior and support their learning.
Teaching Multileveled Arabic Classes
Using MTSS Strategies to Support Learning
Saturday, January 19, 2019
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Many Arabic classes have students with mixed proficiency levels. Teachers struggle meeting all students need within the limited time and resources. This workshop will explore differentiated Arabic instruction as it is the way in which the teacher plans and responds to a variety of students’ language needs in the classroom. In order to meet students’ needs, teachers differentiate by modifying the content (what is being taught), the process (how it is being taught) and the product (how students demonstrate their learning/assessment).
Workshop Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants can:
1- Design lessons based on students’ learning and language needs.
2- Group students by shared interest, topic or language proficiency.
3- Assess students’ learning and language levels using formative assessment
4- MTSA grouping to create a safe and supportive environment.
Performance & Achievement Assessment
How to track students’ performance and fill the skills gap?
Saturday, December 1, 2018
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
This workshop will explore the kinds of assessment and will focus on achievement performance-based assessment. The workshop will provide several examples of how students demonstrate their learning in all skills in order for their teachers to assess them and design the activities that will help them learn the skills.
Workshop Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants can:
1- Understanding proficiency, achievement performance assessment.
2- Assess students’ learning and language levels using formative assessment.
3- Create learning activities that are based on students’ needs and beneficial for all.
May 18, 2019
“Making Textbook Drills and Activities Interesting and Fun”
Presenter: Dr. Mohammad Alhawary (U of M)
Sponsor: Michigan Arabic Teachers’ Council (MIATC)
The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate how simple and basic drills and activities already included in a language textbook can be made interesting and fun. The workshop will offer hands-on training of how to modify certain drills and activities coupled with specific teaching techniques to make drills and activities more responsive to learners’ needs as well as more exciting and engaging.
Workshop Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants can:
1- Adapt drills and activities to be more appropriate to learners’ needs
2- Employ specific techniques to make language learning fun and enjoyable
3- Make the process of language learning more learner-centered, emphasizing student-talking time versus teacher-talking time.
MIATC Arabic Workshop
Sharing Successful Teaching Strategies
From Teacher to Teacher
Saturday, June 15, 2019
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
The main goal of this workshop is to allow teachers to share successful teaching strategies that worked in their classrooms and realizing that successful teaching strategies not only are research based but also required consistent performance.
Teachers in turns will present mini workshop sessions that includes resources and teaching ideas that were actually implemented in their classes. Participant teachers in five groups will rotate between presenters to enable all participants to attend all presented mini workshops. Participants and presenters will have the opportunity to discuss presented resources and strategies and learn from each other experiences. They will also share challenges they encountered in their Arabic classes and how they can face them.
MI Arabic Teachers’ Council 2017-2018 Activities
- July 13 – 14 (Workshop)
Best Practices Teaching Arabic as a World Language.
Participants earned 10 SCECHs
- Fall
Fall training for MTTC/SAT basic skills test required for teacher certification.
- 11 (Workshop)
Using the SIOP Model for Advancing Arabic Learning.
Participants earned 5 SCECHs
- 18-21 ACTFL (Conference)
Two teachers from MIATC attended (ACTFL) American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages annual conference.
- 16 (Workshop)
Differentiated Arabic Instructional Strategies.
Participants earned 5 SCECHs
- 27 (Workshop)
Arabic Language Connections to Other Subjects as a Goal of the 5Cs.
Participants earned 5 SCECHs
- March 10 (Workshop)
Using ACTFL Resources to Improve Lesson Planning.
Participants earned 5 SCECHs
- April Annual NCOLCTL Conference
Two teachers form MIATC attended and presented at the 2018 Annual conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages.
- May 26th (Workshop)
Sharing Successful Teaching Strategies From Teacher to Teacher.
Participants earned 5 SCECHs
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Previous Events 2016-2017
MTTC Writing Workshop by Dr. Zuzana Tomas – Part 1 October 29, 2016
The goal of this workshop is to give Arabic teachers writing professional strategies and practice to help them better prepare for the writing exam that is part of the Michigan Teachers Testing certification MTTC workshop. In this workshop participants were able to reflect on their own writing by describing three concrete changes they would make to their writing process and product. Also, they applied the content of the workshop to their writing process by completing a writing assignment and self-assessment tasks.
MTTC Writing Workshop by Dr. Zuzan Tomas – Part 2 November 5, 2016
In this workshop teachers were able to meet and get some individual feedback from the instructor about their writing samples. The instructor gave the teachers feedback based on teachers’ individual needs and the most common mistakes. She Focused on effective timed-writing strategies and how to build an organized essay. The instructor reviewed with the participants the essential elements of writing process. Teachers had the opportunity to revise their essay and learn from their mistakes. They also worked in groups reviewing and discussing different levels of writing examples
Workshop: Incorporating Gradual Release of Responsibility to Ensure Student Meet Learning Target by Laura Terrill – January 21, 2017
The goals of this workshop are: Explaining the gradual release of responsibility mode, identify clear learning targets and Establish a learning cycle that incorporates check for learning. Arabic teachers worked in groups to create lesson plans that build on Can-Do-Statements and use the backward design model.
Workshop: Standards of classifying Arabic language sounds and their features by Dr. Naji Abduljaber March 4th, 2017,
The main objective of this workshop is to recognize the concept of linguistics, phonology, syntax and semantics of the Arabic language. Also identifying some important features of Arabic language vowels and consonants and Arabic language sounds and categories and how to teach Arabic language sounds specifically to non-native speakers of Arabic.
Workshop: Teaching Arabic and Technology in Action- April 15th, 2017.
“From Teacher to Teacher”
By Dr. Wafa Hassan
Strategies of implementing technology in the Arabic language classroom as it relates to pedagogy, lesson objectives, and the three modes of communication. The teachers in this session had the time to work in small groups and created lesson plans using one or two technology tools to plan and reach the lesson communicative objectives.
Conferences:
The council this year sponsored three teachers to attend the QFI forum at ACTFL convention in Boston. The teachers had the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers and learn about the new programs and opportunities QFI is offering for all Arabic teachers in public and charter schools.
The council also sponsored three teachers this year to attend the NCOLCTL Convention in Illinoi. Ms. Mona Badawi a member of Michigan Arabic Teachers Council presented at NCOLCTL a lesson on Ibin-Batouta as it relates to the 5Cs.
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Previous Events (2016)
Michigan Arabic Teachers’ Council is pleased to announce the Councils’ spring 2016 professional development activities. We will have four workshops:February 27, March 19, April 16, and May 21. The coming workshop is on Saturday, February 27th from 10 am to 3:30pm at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. The workshop will focus on best practices integrating teaching culture for heritage and non-heritage students. All teachers are encouraged to share their successful strategies teaching culture and are welcome to bring samples of their lessons and students’ work.
MIATC met on February 27, March 19, April 16-2016 at the National Arabic American Museum. The Workshops titles:
1) Best Practices teaching culture for heritage and non-heritage students with
Dr.Wafa Hassan.
2) Teaching Arabic functional grammar within the context with
Dr. Naji Abduljabar.
3) Arabic performance assessment and global efficiency guidelines with
Dr. Daniel Conrad from ACTFL.
Previous Events (2015)
Saturday June 16th, 2015
The final workshop for the 2014-2015 school year was held at Habib’s Cuisine in Dearborn, MI. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss and reflect on the council’s activities over the past year, and for teachers to present on the successful classroom applications of methodologies learned from MIATC workshops over the past year.
The Council of Michigan Arabic Teachers hosted its inaugural event in Dearborn, MI on February 2nd, 2014. With several dozen Arabic teachers in attendance, members selected 7 board members to represent them for the coming months as well as completed surveys in order to for the council to determine how best to serve its constituents.
As a result of the information collected from these surveys – and in keeping with the MIATC’s goal of providing training and development to Arabic language teachers in the State of Michigan – the council will be hosting 4 professional development sessions in Dearborn this upcoming year. These sessions will be centered around differentiated language instruction, effective learner-centered teaching strategies, using and maintaining the Arabic language, and implementing a standards-based curriculum. In addition to being an excellent opportunity for development, certified language teachers are also eligible to receive State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECH) that can be used for renewing certification. The council will also sponsor 5 teachers to attend the 2015 NECTFL convention provided they have completed all four sessions during the year.
The schedule for upcoming workshops can be found below:
October 18, 2014
January 17, 2015
February 28, 2015
March 28, 2015
The Council would also like to thank those who attended the Michigan Symposium for Arabic Language teaching on June 21st, 2014. It was a tremendous success and we strive to continue offering high-quality professional opportunities for Arabic teachers and those seeking certification in the State of Michigan.