Adam MASTANDERA, US Embassy
Adam Mastandrea is the 2019-2020 US State Department English Language Fellow in Vilnius, Lithuania. He holds degrees in Philosophy, Applied Linguistics, and Educational Psychology. Adam has taught English as a second language in Poland, Japan, Montana, and Hawai’i, and most recently served as assistant professor and director of field experience and student teaching in the Education department at the University of Montana Western. Adam enjoys working with in-service and pre-service teachers on issues related to establishing positive classroom climate, inclusion of students with exceptionalities, and implementing evidence based practices in the language classroom.
PLENARY TALK
Values education in action
This presentation will focus on the importance of designing and implementing a value guided curriculum to support an inclusive and tolerant classroom climate and student culture. We will examine approaches to teaching inclusion by looking at efforts to acknowledge marginalization and prevent further discrimination against three different groups of American students (Native Americans, LGBTQ+, and students with exceptionalities/disabilities). We will also discuss the importance of the English language classroom as a safe space for students and language teachers modeling inclusive teaching practices in Lithuania.
WORKSHOP
Facilitating values education group discussion in your classroom
Values education in the English language classroom is not only about finding and presenting engaging content to our students. Teaching methodology must also be updated to be more inclusive, democratic, and more student centered. Engaging language learners in classroom discussion activities is one way to make room for students’ perspectives and voices while also allowing students to practice listening, speaking, and deep thinking skills in English. In this workshop we will discuss strategies for scaffolding both teacher-guided and student-guided classroom group discussion activities. We will also work on crafting quality discussion questions to begin the values education discussion with your students.
