What are some of the affordances we can leverage to engage English learners in STEM classes in remote and hybrid learning environments? How might we make synchronous meetings more engaging to promote growth in content area knowledge, language skills and collaborative work? What are some tools and strategies we can use to incorporate effective visuals, manipulatives and other supports in remote environments? We discuss these questions and much more in our conversation with Dr. Stephen Fleenor.

Stephen is a scientist-turned-educator who is inspired by the principles of sheltered instruction and growth mindset, particularly in the service of English learners. In 2014, Stephen earned his PhD in Developmental Neurobiology and sought to empower the next generation of thinkers as a high school science teacher at a Title I school in San Antonio. He has developed innovative approaches to working with ELs and economically disadvantaged students, and has presented his ideas across various districts, as well as at regional conferences. A central component of Stephen’s pedagogy is student ownership of personal growth throughout the school year. This approach has been particularly effective in promoting language and content acquisition for ELLs, and under his leadership his department closed the gap in EL performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in Science.

In 2017, Stephen was awarded the Edgewood ISD District Teacher of the Year Award and the KENS5 ExCEL Award, and went on to serve as a science instructional coach for Edgewood ISD.  In addition to his PhD from Oxford, Stephen holds an M.Ed. in School Leadership from the University of the Incarnate Word and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.  Stephen lives in San Antonio with his wife, a fellow educator.

You can learn more about the work Stephen is doing by visiting Seidlitz Education's Upcoming Events page.  Also, check out his new Visual Non-Glossary website here.

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