A self-guided virtual learning journey to prepare you to work with bi/multilingual learners

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Traditionally, pre-service teachers take part in field experiences as part of their teacher preparation program. A field experience is a set of opportunities to apply knowledge and skills learned in class to various real-life educational settings. Some of the learning opportunities that take place in field experiences include classroom observations, one-on-one tutoring, and supervised small and large group instruction. Different programs and states have different requirements for field experiences.

Field experiences provide a much needed path to connect theory and praxis. The purpose of a field experience is to provide future educators with context, modeling, and mentoring to guide their journey into the profession. Through observation, interaction, analysis, and reflection, prospective teachers become familiar with the communities, issues, practices and dilemmas that they will encounter in schools. Field experiences also introduce future teachers to the analysis and instructional tools necessary to become critical, socially-just educators.

Because of COVID-19, many school districts and colleges across the United States moved to online instruction during the Spring and Summer of 2020. This also meant suspending physical field experiences. Although nothing can replace the experience of interacting in person with students and educators, our times call for innovative ways to continue doing the work of teaching and learning. With that in mind, I have created a self-paced online field experience of sorts, a virtual learning journey to prepare you to work with bi/multilingual learners.

In this virtual learning journey, you will:

• Use a critical bilingual lens to center the epistemologies and experiences of learners with a variety of language backgrounds

• Learn foundational knowledge about language and language acquisition, bilingualism, sociolinguistics, and linguistically responsive/sustaining instruction

• Gain a set of strategies to meaningfully connect with your bilingual learners and their families in person and online

• Apply knowledge and skills through video analysis, artifact production, and micro-teaching sessions, among many others