Educators need to see the value in working together, and schools need to dedicate the time to develop the tools and processes for effective collaboration. This process helps to engage all learners in the core curriculum while developing essential academic language and literacy skills.

This workshop will present practical tools and specific action steps for building a collaborative culture to improve teaching and learning: not only for multilingual learners but for all students.

Jon Nordmeyer

Jon Nordmeyer is the International Programs Director at WIDA, a research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jon believes that an asset-based approach to professional collaboration can both ignite student learning and fuel teacher growth. He has been an international educator and consultant for 25 years, teaching at international schools in Quito, The Hague, Taipei, Istanbul, Shanghai and Bangkok. He has taught graduate seminars at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Tibet University, and has been a regular presenter at regional international conferences including ACAMIS, AISA, AASSA, CEESA, EARCOS, ECIS, ELLSA, NESA and MAIS.

Jon has written articles for International Schools Journal and Journal of Staff Development, contributed chapters to Co-teaching and Other Collaborative Practices in the EFL/ESL Classroom and Breaking the Mold: Classroom Management, and, co-edited the book Integrating Language and Content (TESOL 2010).  He serves on the editorial review board of Globally Informed, a peer-reviewed journal for international educators.

Jon holds a BA in Classical Archaeology from Dartmouth College and MA in TESOL from School for International Training. He is pursuing his PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.