Colegio Interamericano invited international literacy consultant Mr. Vincent Ventura to host different workshops with the Elementary teachers throughout the week.
Vincent has served as a consultant in several Latin American countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Surinam, Colombia, among others. One of his main roles as a literacy consultant is to foster the love for reading and writing by supporting the teachers and literacy coaches.
During his visit at Interamericano, Vincent shared about the necessity to be intentional with the oral language, both listening and speaking. “In a school where they teach English as a second language, we need to give intentional and purposeful opportunities for the students to speak,” said Vincent.
Amanda Bourdon, Interamericano’s literacy coach, knows that having Vincent coming to the school was a great experience since it has many more benefits than just sending teachers to professional development. Having Vincent do an in-house professional development helped adapt the workshops to the needs of the school, it was geared specifically to our teachers.
Vincent got the opportunity to work with students and to demonstrate some of the methods he suggested. Interamericano’s teachers got the opportunity to dialogue with Vincent, put into practice what they learned, and get feedback.
One of the techniques that Vincent is promoting is to have conversations with the students so they can continue a thought process and ask questions, and then giving advice to the students. “The intention is to acknowledge kids during these conversations, encourage them to have real conversations instead of the children just repeating,” said Vincent, who also shared about the architecture of a mini-lesson.
He encouraged teachers to emphasize on the content and ideas when writing. “Most of the time, schools emphasize on the mechanics of writing… Writing is not just the mechanics, but also the ideas of writing, being an author,” he said.
Vincent enjoyed his visit to the school and was able to see the positive attitude in the students and teachers. “The campus itself is so picturesque. The students are very eager to learn and very committed to learning. The teachers are very reflective and open to ideas to improve their practice, knowing that at the end of the day is about helping the students,” Vincent stated.
Colegio Interamericano is promoting the love for books, the love for reading and writing. It is part of the school’s culture as the students learn to become independent readers and writers.
Written by: Marcel Guadrón
Communications Coordinator