Educational leaders (whichever role they hold) much like architects must be builders, artists, scientists, dreamers and stark realists. The goal of this session is to conceptualize how educational leaders can build Senge’s “learning organizations,” thus promoting systemic change by creating a more cooperative and collaborative, vision-driven professional environment. By the end of the session, participants will have understood the five disciplines necessary to build a “learning organization”: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning and will have gathered practical suggestions to put those ideas to work in the current social, economic, technological and educational climate.

Born and living in Montevideo, Uruguay, Silvia Laborde holds degrees in TEFL from BNC, education from Universidad Católica del Uruguay, educational management from Universidad ORT, and an MEd specializing in educational technology from UCLAEH. She is branch academic director for BNC for 20 years and currently adjunct professor at Universidad de la República.

This session empowers educators to support multilingual learners of English through effective ELD coaching. Highlighting the successes of practicing ELD coaches, it reveals the transformative impact of teacher leadership on both coaches and their colleagues. Participants will explore real-life examples demonstrating the positive outcomes of a systems approach to ELD coaching. This workshop provides valuable insights and practical strategies to enhance teaching effectiveness and student success through ELD coaching.

Jenny Leroux is an ELD Program facilitator in a large Minnesota school district and an adjunct instructor at Hamline University. With 29 years in education as a classroom and ELD teacher, she is passionate about teacher leadership and literacy instruction for multilingual learners. She holds degrees in public relations and French; teaching licenses in elementary education, ESL, and reading instruction; and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction.

This session will suit teachers interested in using research to enhance their practice and/or teacher educators wishing to facilitate this process via exploratory action research (EAR), an approach to professional development which invites teachers to explore classroom situations, rather than plunging into immediate action. EAR assists teacher-researchers to better understand their practice through the collection of evidence and then use the data originated to make more appropriate pedagogical decisions. During the session, the presenter will guide participants through the different stages of this model, using real examples and frameworks for topic identification, research questions, and data analysis.

Paula Rebolledo has taught at various levels and given workshops, seminars, and plenary talks around the world. She has expertise in professional development, teacher education, and teacher research and has led initiatives and participated as an advisor in programs that seek to empower teachers with research skills worldwide.

Reflective practice means critically reflecting on one's actions and practices to learn and adapt. We look backward to move forward. A mistake is to think that this process is static. Indeed, the process is dynamic and means questioning, analyzing, anticipating, and realigning. It acknowledges that every class of students has different needs and that teaching is not about being routinized but rather about being reactive and responsive. It requires a willingness to learn from successes and failures, humility, honesty, and a strong sense of self.

In this presentation, the presenter will examine reflective practice, explore ways to reflect, and ultimately recognize reflective practice as a dynamic practice that leads to change. It is framed by the understanding that teaching is "not about the destination, but the journey"—Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Lesley Painter-Farrell has worked as a teacher and teacher trainer in Portugal, Poland, and many countries in Asia. She currently resides in New York, USA, where she coordinates a TESOL Certificate program. Her publications include The Role Play Book, Homework, and Lessons Learned: First Steps Towards Reflective Teaching in ELT. Currently, she is working on a book for Bloomsbury Press about teaching beginner language learners.