Professional Development Workshops for Teachers of Arabic

Through a generous grant from the Qatar Foundation International, Concordia Language Villages is pleased to offer two Professional Development Workshops for Teachers of Arabic, at our beautiful Language Villages facilities near Bemidji, Minn. This project will bring together K-16 Arabic language teachers from across the United States in two exciting opportunities to participate in professional development programs this year. The 2022-2023 workshop series theme is How Brain Research Influences Instruction and Assessment Practices in the Arabic Language Classroom. Preference will be given to K-16 teachers of Arabic from the U.S. Midwest, but all teachers of Arabic language and culture are welcome to apply.

What do past participants say about the program?

• “It was a very informative workshop and memorable experience. Thanks for all the good stuff we learned!”
• “You people rock! Thank you very much for the great program.”
• “Amazing food. Great job!”
• “I enjoyed sharing ideas. This was a very helpful and great workshop.”

Learner Engagement through Intercultural Citizenship Workshop

2022-2023 Workshop series dates & locations:

• October 6-9 (in person, near Bemidji, Minn.):  How the Brain Learns Best and a Growth Mindset
• November 30 | 7-8:30 p.m. Central (webinar):  Understanding by Design
• February 1 | 7-8:30 p.m. Central (webinar):  Goals and Assessment Practices
• March 1 | 7-8:30 p.m. Central (webinar):  AMT and Whereto
• March 9-12 (in person, near Bemidji, Minn.):  Brain-friendly Assessment Practices

Engaging Learners Within and Beyond the Classroom Workshop Series

Exploring topics of personal relevance to the learners is at the heart of engaging learners and maintaining their interest. When learners believe that what they are learning is useful to them now or in their futures, extrinsic motivation moves to intrinsic motivation, promoting deeper and more sustained learning.  

Deeper learning promotes stronger and longer memory of what is learned, contributing to greater proficiency in the Arabic language. Throughout the Arabic teacher workshop series, participants explore the attributes of engagement, learn strategies to maintain learner engagement in the classroom, and how the application of learning beyond the classroom for intercultural citizenship sustains engagement.

Each participant will receive a copy of Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience, Jay McTighe and Judy Willis.

Please note the following details concerning the workshops:

• Check your personal and professional calendars to ensure that you can attend both the October and March workshops. Participants who do not attend all workshops (in-person and online) in the series forfeit the refund of the $200 deposit.
• Participants should plan to arrive on Thursday evening for each workshop in order to provide two full days to work on curriculum and assessment documents.  Departure can be scheduled for Sunday morning.
• Reimbursement of up to $700 for each workshop is provided to defray the cost of travel to/from BJI (Bemidji, Minn.) airport. To qualify for reimbursement, participants must provide original, itemized receipts within 30 days of the end of each workshop.
• Due to program requirements, a minimum of 15 slots will be reserved for first-time participants. Due to this, enrollment of all interested past participants cannot be guaranteed. We ask that all apply by September 15. We will notify confirmed registrations and waitlist candidates by September 19.