Dr. Katie Toppel is a SIOP author and language specialist with extensive experience supporting multilingual learners through collaboration, co-teaching, and small group instruction.
As educators, we know the value of professional learning that is relevant to our work, yet so often the opportunities presented to us are not a match with what we want or need. Even with many webinars and conferences to choose from that may focus explicitly on our targeted areas for professional growth, those events often come with fees and travel, which aren’t always feasible. DIY PD: A Guide to Self-Directed Learning for Educators of Multilingual Learners, which I co-authored with Dr. Carol Salva and Tan Huynh, came about because of our authentic need to find ways to chart our own path in professional learning–ways that worked within our professional and personal lives.
My DIY PD process took hold in 2016 when my colleague and I became interested in co-teaching. We were granted permission to initiate co-teaching, but we didn’t have any formal training or professional development to support our process. Since I have always loved reading professional texts, I set out to learn everything I could through books and articles about collaborative practices. One book in particular, Collaboration and Co-Teaching: Strategies for English Learners by Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld and Dr. Maria Dove changed everything. Tweeting a photo of the book cover along with my intention to read it led to the formation of #MLLChat_BkClub (originally ELLChat_BkClub) which was a way for educators to connect and engage with one another via Twitter as we read books focused on supporting multilingual students. My experience learning about co-teaching was greatly enhanced because of the interactions I had with other educators reading the book and sharing both insight and experiences about initiating collaborative partnerships.
#MLLChat_BkClub book studies were widely popular as a result of being free, asynchronous, and flexibly paced professional learning. Since 2016, educators of multilingual learners from around the globe have engaged in 39 virtual book studies featuring excellent and important texts by leading authors in the field. For a (mostly) complete list of books, please visit https://mllchatbkclub.blogspot.com. The existence of a virtual professional learning network is a priceless way to learn with and from one another. I attribute so much of my professional knowledge to the content of the books we have read and the expertise of those who have participated in the book studies over time, including many of the authors! Sadly, the momentum was disrupted by changes to Twitter. Participation and engagement dwindled, and consequently it no longer felt like the ideal platform for engaging around book studies.
After a hiatus that felt too long, I decided to find a new place to conduct our book studies and revive engagement in what has proven to be a meaningful and feasible opportunity for both professional learning and connection. I opted for a private group on Facebook that requires answering two brief questions for access. Our first round on the new platform was a success, so I am going to begin another book study September 14th featuring Teaching Math to English Learners by Adrian Mendoza and Tina Beene. If you are interested in participating, please join here!
The book chat will feature:
An interactive notebook containing all of the information needed
A suggested reading schedule
Weekly reflection questions
Additional ideas for engaging with the text
A professional learning community with the shared goal of supporting multilingual learners
Dr. Katie Toppel is a SIOP author and language specialist with extensive experience supporting multilingual learners through collaboration, co-teaching, and small group instruction. As educators, we know the value of professional learning that is relevant to our work, yet so often the opportunities presented to us are not a match with what we want ESL Web Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…
