One year ago this week, the Dear Dr. Mooney community was launched!
I began considering the idea of an online community about two years earlier in response to the needs of teachers I had met. Many told me how they felt unprepared to teach the English Learners in their classrooms. Others expressed feelings of isolation in their work with students.
In the fifty-two articles published this year, I answered teachers’ questions about English learners, offered advice and suggestions, shared resource recommendations, and presented opportunities to engage with others in Discussion Forums.
It has been fun to write articles to meet teachers’ needs. It’s also been challenging to share with educators from such a wide range of knowledge and skills related to teaching ELs. At other times, it was exciting to get feedback from readers when something I had written was particularly meaningful to them.
Currently, we have members of our community from eight states who subscribed to receive each weekly article directly in their inbox. If you’re not already an email subscriber, sign up today!
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Coming Up…
As I look forward to DDM’s second year, I will continue writing articles that answer teachers’ inquiries about ELs and providing reviews of helpful resources. However, I also intend to include a few new things.
Infographics
In my 2020 Reader Survey, a community member suggested infographics would be useful. At about the same time, someone I know locally asked for suggestions for working with Burmese families. These ideas seem to fit well together. After stay-at-home orders subside, I will be interviewing individuals from our Burmese community to learn about their experiences with adjusting to the U.S. school system. This insight will be invaluable for schools and teachers to better engage Burmese families. The infographic summarizing my findings and suggestions will be released first to the Dear Dr. Mooney community. Even more information about engaging families from additional cultural backgrounds will follow.
How-To Videos
Sometimes I can learn how to do something by reading about it, but at other times, I just need someone to show me. Maybe that’s you, too. For example, I plan to create videos on how to use the WIDA Can-Do Descriptors, how to differentiate a published curriculum lesson, or how to adapt an assessment to meet the needs of ELs.
If you are one of the many visual learners, the infographics and how-to videos will definitely be for you!
What Will You Do?
In addition to becoming a subscriber, there are two primary ways you can engage with the Dear Dr. Mooney community in the coming year. One is through Discussion Forums, and the other is by commenting on articles.
Join the Discussion (or lead one!)
As a registered user, you can pose questions to colleagues or respond to others’ posted questions in Discussion Forums. There are forums about many different topics, and you can always add your own if you don’t see what you need. As a teacher of ELs, you have so much to offer your colleagues. Please don’t hesitate to share your advice with others. It may be just what they need to hear!
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to join in the discussion and get started today!
Connect through Comments or Email
In March, I opened up commenting for each article published. If you have questions about article content or want to share an additional thought, please post your comment on this and other articles. I would love to hear your feedback!
And if you have feedback or a question that you would like to share directly with me, let’s connect through email. See that message button at the bottom right side of this page? You can contact me that way from any page on this site.
Or, if you’re reading this from a subscribed email, just hit reply so we can talk.
Thanks for being a part of the Dear Dr. Mooney community during our first year. I look forward to another year of making this a space that addresses your needs and interests as effective teachers of English Learners.
