English-learning expert to speak at next UND College of Education and Human Development AAA Lecture Series event, Monday, Oct. 20

Amy Halvorson

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

10-14-2014

Campus Unit

College of Education & Human Development

Abstract

Virginia Pauline Rojas, an expert in the development of young English learners, will speak at the University of North Dakota on Monday, Oct. 20, as part of the Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere (AAA) Lecture Series presented by the UND College of Education and Human Development.

The lecture, set for 3 p.m. in the Education Building's Room 5, is titled "Developing Growth-Mindsets for Responsive English Language Learning (ELL) Schooling."

The mission of the AAA Lecture Series is to learn about providing access across the rural state of North Dakota, and across the country. The series lectures will be live streamed to other universities, colleges and schools in the state.

About the Lecture:

ELLs are the fastest growing educational subgroup in the United States compromising about 10 percent of the K-12 student population. Rojas will address questions such as; what challenges does this pose for K-12 schools; how is higher education being impacted as ELL students graduate from high school and increasingly enroll in college; how can educational institutions at all levels be responsive to this diverse and growing student population?

About Rojas:

Rojas conducts professional training on effective programs and strategies for English learners from pre-school through grade 12 for English as a second language (ESL) and classroom teachers alike. As an Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) faculty member, Rojas uses the Understanding by Design backwards design curriculum model to enable teachers to design high-challenge, high-support learning experiences from strengthening English learners' second language proficiency and academic achievement. She provides professional development trainings, job-embedded coaching and demonstration lessons, and conducts linguistic audits of ESL programs.

She has worked in more than 200 international schools throughout the world as well as with numerous school districts in the US and Canada. Rojas is the author of Strategies for Success with English Language Learners: An Action Toolkit for Classroom and ESL Teachers, published by ASCD (2007) and of Educating English Language Learners: Connecting Language, Literacy, and Culture (2010), an ASCD DVD series.

Rojas teaches graduate courses for the Association for the Advancement of International Education and is the ESL Coordinator for the World Language Initiative with International School Services.

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