Content and language integrated learning in Latin America 2008-2018: Ten years of research and practice

Bilingual education, usually a community’s L1 and English continues spreading geographically and across educational systems worldwide. With this expansion, the development of bilingual education approaches is under constant scrutiny. One recent approach is content and language integrated learning (CLIL). European in origin, CLIL can be viewed as an educational or language teaching approach and it refers to the teaching of curricular content and L2 in an integrated manner. This approach has received international attention, yet, how CLIL unfolds in settings outside Europe appears underrepresented in international publications. The aim of this article is to provide a critical review of CLIL in Latin America between 2008 and 2018. We surveyed 64 items (articles, book chapters, and dissertations) published in regional and international outlets: 41 empirical studies, 19 practice-oriented publications, and four reviews. It begins by summarizing the CLIL continuum with a focus on content- and language-driven CLIL and CLIL frameworks. It then provides a synthesis of empirical studies and practice-oriented publications about CLIL in different Latin American settings. The corpus is analyzed following these unifying themes: pedagogy, perceptions and beliefs, teacher education, global citizenship, and language development. From this review, it transpires that Latin American CLIL is mostly implemented and examined from a language-driven perspective in private primary, secondary and higher education. Suggestions and implications for further research and practice are included

Can engaging L2 teachers as material designers contribute to their professional development? Findings from Colombia

There is a lack of research around the professional development of English (L2) teachers in Colombia. As in other Latin American countries, higher education institutions have started offering general English as a foreign language (EFL) courses as well as content courses taught in English. In both types of course, EFL teachers are expected to integrate content and English language learning with the aim of providing learners with meaningful and authentic learning opportunities. However, such teachers often face the challenge of not having appropriate materials to deliver such courses. The aim of this case study, which employed mixed methods, is to describe the extent to which university EFL teachers from a Colombian university developed professionally as they engaged in developing materials for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) courses. The study consisted of two parts: (1) a CLIL workshop attended by 16 participants, followed by (2) interviews with four of those participants. Drawing on data from a survey, group discussions, and individual interviews, the findings show that engaging the university EFL teachers as materials developers boosted their professional knowledge (linguistic, content, and pedagogical knowledge), motivation, identity, and agency as CLIL teachers and material designers

The importance of component-wise stochasticity in particle swarm optimization

This paper illustrates the importance of independent, component-wise stochastic scaling values, from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. It is shown that a swarm employing scalar stochasticity is unable to express every point in the search space if the problem dimensionality is sufficiently large in comparison to the swarm size. The theoretical result is emphasized by an empirical experiment, comparing the performance of a scalar swarm on benchmarks with reachable and unreachable optima. It is shown that a swarm using scalar stochasticity performs significantly worse when the optimum is not in the span of its initial positions. Lastly, it is demonstrated that a scalar swarm performs significantly worse than a swarm with component-wise stochasticity on a large range of benchmark functions, even when the problem dimensionality allows the scalar swarm to reach the optima.The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (Grant Number 46712).http://link.springer.combookseries/5582019-10-03hj2018Computer Scienc

City of Hitchcock Comprehensive Plan 2020-2040

Hitchcock is a small town located in Galveston County (Figure 1.1), nestled up on the Texas Gulf Coast. It lies about 40 miles south-east of Houston. The boundaries of the city encloses an area of land of 60.46 sq. miles, an area of water of 31.64 sq. miles at an elevation just 16 feet above sea level. Hitchcock has more undeveloped land (~90% of total area) than the county combined. Its strategic location gives it a driving force of opportunities in the Houston-Galveston Region.The guiding principles for this planning process were Hitchcock’s vision statement and its corresponding goals, which were crafted by the task force. The goals focus on factors of growth and development including public participation, development considerations, transportation, community facilities, economic development, parks, and housing and social vulnerabilityTexas Target Communitie

Correction to: Cluster identification, selection, and description in Cluster randomized crossover trials: the PREP-IT trials

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article

Illuminate Academy Interoception Curriculum & Resources

The main focus of my project is on implementing and expanding upon the Interoception curriculum at Illuminate Academy. My project goals included researching best practice for the Interoception curriculum, implementing and expanding upon the Interoception curriculum, building rapport and collaborating with staff and students at Illuminate Academy, collecting data to measure occupational engagement and completing management tasks, and researching best practice to develop sensory strategies to facilitate participation and success of learners

Buscando la voz 4

Esta obra es un oportuno homenaje a la empatía. Para darle voz a la iguana, a los pájaros, al roble y a las hormigas, es necesario detenerse un rato y hacer un esfuerzo por entenderlos, por compartir sus sentimientos. Que nuestros jóvenes encuentren tiempo y motivación para hacerlo nos da señales de esperanza en un futuro que tendrá en cuenta mucho más que los intereses propios e inmediatos.Buscando a voz nos pone a escuchar a nuestra fauna y flora cercana, a esos seres vivos que nos acompañan en nuestro día a día, en un ejercicio de modestia y comprensión construido colectivamente desde el seno de nuestra comunidad académica. Seguramente tendríamos mucho que aprender de quienes no solo comparten el campus con nosotros, sino que con preocupante frecuencia también son objeto de nuestras agreciones

Creating a Teacher Development Program Linked to Curriculum Renewal

This paper presents one Colombian university English as a foreign language program’s in-house teacher development program for curriculum renewal. This program is an innovative attempt to prepare teachers for implementing a new curriculum and, simultaneously, engages them in professional development activities. The program is a response to the lack of existing teacher and professional development models that fit certain specific contextual needs, including preparation for implementing new curriculum as well as emphases in the updating of particular teaching practices. In addition to presenting the program, the article also describes the integration of key aspects of various existing models of teacher and professional development into one program that meets contextual needs while encouraging positive change among faculty and students.Este artículo presenta un programa de desarrollo profesoral de una universidad colombiana para acompañar una renovación curricular. Este modelo se presenta como una iniciativa innovadora para preparar profesores en implementar un nuevo currículo y, simultáneamente, involucrarlos en actividades de desarrollo profesional. El modelo se da en respuesta a la carencia de modelos existentes de desarrollo profesoral que respondan a las necesidades particulares de un contexto, que incluyan preparación para la implementación de un nuevo currículo, así como un énfasis en la actualización de las prácticas de enseñanza. Adicionalmente, el artículo describe la integración de aspectos clave de modelos existentes en un solo modelo que responda a las necesidades contextuales y al mismo tiempo promueva cambios positivos en los docentes, estudiantes y programas

Creating a Teacher Development Program Linked to Curriculum Renewal

This paper presents one Colombian university English as a foreign language program’s in-house teacher development program for curriculum renewal. This program is an innovative attempt to prepare teachers for implementing a new curriculum and, simultaneously, engages them in professional development activities. The program is a response to the lack of existing teacher and professional development models that fit certain specific contextual needs, including preparation for implementing new curriculum as well as emphases in the updating of particular teaching practices. In addition to presenting the program, the article also describes the integration of key aspects of various existing models of teacher and professional development into one program that meets contextual needs while encouraging positive change among faculty and students.Este artículo presenta un programa de desarrollo profesoral de una universidad colombiana para acompañar una renovación curricular. Este modelo se presenta como una iniciativa innovadora para preparar profesores en implementar un nuevo currículo y, simultáneamente, involucrarlos en actividades de desarrollo profesional. El modelo se da en respuesta a la carencia de modelos existentes de desarrollo profesoral que respondan a las necesidades particulares de un contexto, que incluyan preparación para la implementación de un nuevo currículo, así como un énfasis en la actualización de las prácticas de enseñanza. Adicionalmente, el artículo describe la integración de aspectos clave de modelos existentes en un solo modelo que responda a las necesidades contextuales y al mismo tiempo promueva cambios positivos en los docentes, estudiantes y programas