You Are Not Alone

Note:  July 2019 is the month for discussion. This is the first article of four in a month-long series 
emphasizing the value of community where teachers of English Learners can give and receive support.

An important part of Dear Dr. Mooney is our online community where you can give and get support from others through the Discussion Forums. Often, teachers of English Learners feel isolated or alone because help isn’t always accessible. They may have received little training, but are expected to know how to meet the linguistic and academic needs of their students. 

Does this sound familiar? If so, the Dear Dr. Mooney community is here to help! 

In the Discussion Forums, you will find colleagues who have faced similar challenges, and they all have ideas to share. By reading and responding to questions, or asking your own, you will learn new ways to teach your English Learners effectively.

Getting started is easy…

Register for a free user account.

Shown below are lists of Discussion Forums where you can interact with your colleagues. There are separate Forums for different categories of discussions. This way, it’s easy to find a discussion that addresses your current question.

How to participate in Discussion Forums

There are three primary ways you can participate in the Discussion Forums with your colleagues.

1. Read

Click on a Discussion Forum title that sounds interesting. Then, you’ll see a list of discussions. These are called “Topics”. Each topic is a separate discussion, but all should be related to the overall Discussion Forum category that you clicked on. In the example below, they’re about Native Language Use. Feel free to read through and learn from all of the information that has been shared in these discussions.

2. Respond

Your Dear Dr. Mooney colleagues want to hear your ideas, too. What have your experiences taught you about teaching English Learners? Have you read a good book lately that gave you some insight into a current teaching challenge? Explore the forums and topic questions that others have posed. When you find questions that you can contribute to, click Reply to and submit your response. We want to learn from you!

3. Ask your questions

Do you have questions that you would like to talk with colleagues about? It’s easy to ask!

• Find the forum to which your question most closely aligns.
• In that forum, click Create New Topic.
• Include a title that clearly summarizes what your question is about.
• Pose your question with as much background information or detail as you’d like.
• Click Submit.

The Dear Dr. Mooney online community was designed to provide real-time advice, support, and resources for teachers like you! The Discussion Forums are a place where you can interact with colleagues, share your ideas, and discover that you are not alone in this adventure of teaching English learners. Take advantage of all this space has to offer.

Get started today!