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faculty
Nicholas Santavicca, PhD
Associate Professor / Director, American Language and Cultural Institute
English & Communication
Education
| 2014 | Texas Tech University | PhD |
| 2007 | University of Cincinnati | MEd |
| 2001 | University of Kentucky | BA |
Teaching
- ESL/Multilingual Education
- Bilingual/Dual Education
- International Student Education
- Queer/Diversity Studies
Courses
This course introduces and assesses the Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Standards required for by the SEI Endorsement for teacher licensure in Massachusetts. The course provides prospective teachers with theoretical, cultural, political, linguistic, and instructional tools to promote the academic and language development of English language learners. Topics will include federal and state laws/regulations related to ELL students; cultural considerations in the classroom; student and family diversity; theories about second language acquisition; basic structures and functions of language, SEI program principles and typologies, oral and written academic language development; instructional practices for different levels of learners across the content areas; differentiating for learning needs, collaboration with other professionals, families, and communities. To help you see SEI strategies in practice, you will complete a Prepracticum experience in an ELL classroom. Twenty (20) ESE mandated, pre-practicum hours are required for this course; observations sites will be arranged by CVPA faculty with discussion prompts provided by course instructor.
Integrated approaches to classroom curriculum and pedagogy taking into account human development theories. Particular attention is paid to learning plans that respond to diversity, learning needs, and learning preferences of all students. The course provides an opportunity for students to develop lesson plans and curriculum units that reflect learning strategies aligned with cultural responsive pedagogy.
Practicum-based course for students to teach English as a second language. Engaged with approaches aligned with the Professional Standards for Teaching and the Subject Matter Knowledge outlined by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, students plan state-of-the-art curriculum, instruction, and assessment by using methods, strategies, and techniques appropriate for children in PreK-12 contexts.
An introduction to the art of public speaking through the study of effective principles combined with practice in speaking before a group.
Online and Continuing Education Courses
Practicum-based course for students to teach English as a second language. Engaged with approaches aligned with the Professional Standards for Teaching and the Subject Matter Knowledge outlined by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, students plan state-of-the-art curriculum, instruction, and assessment by using methods, strategies, and techniques appropriate for children in PreK-12 contexts.
Inservice teacher pathway. Building on teaching experience, this course will ask students to demonstrate and evaluate instructional pedagogical practices. In this experience, students will plan, teach, and reflect on multiple classroom experiences. The focus of the course is to improve instructional strategies and connect best teaching practices as presented in research literature.
Theory and practice of teaching secondary English in its three dominant areas of reading, writing, and rhetorical analysis of literary works. Special focus will be upon how students acquire language and theoretical skills within the complex milieu of classrooms and how teachers can enhance that learning by translating sound theory into a broad range of learning activities and classroom strategies. This course is required for certification in secondary English teaching in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
An introduction to issues of language development, the role of culture, and linguistic repertoires pertinent to teaching and learning. Includes theories of second language development and culturally relevant pedagogy and their role in the development of various literacies.
Register for this course.
Integrated approaches to classroom curriculum and pedagogy taking into account human development theories. Particular attention is paid to learning plans that respond to diversity, learning needs, and learning preferences of all students. The course provides an opportunity for students to develop lesson plans and curriculum units that reflect learning strategies aligned with cultural responsive pedagogy.
Register for this course.
Lecture based course through the application of theory. This course prepares candidates to integrate literacy and sociolinguistics across instructional contexts to support understandings, construction, and development of the English language. This course highlights facilitation, mediation and intervention in the development of English as a second, foreign or other language through instruction across myriad educational contexts including, but not limited to: very young learners, K-12, adult, mixed level, nationally and abroad, in formal and informal, and private and public schools. The course foregrounds the connection between language, literacy, and sociolinguistics as a vehicle for developing and articulating one's personal praxis in TESOL.
Register for this course.
Research
Research interests
- Language & culture acquisition and methods
- Language assessment/curriculum design
- Diversity issues in education & communication
Nicholas Santavicca (PhD in ESL/Bilingual Education, Texas Tech University) is an Associate Professor of English & Communication at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA, and the founding Director of the American Language & Cultures Institute at UMassD. He has taught language education courses for more than 15 years. He has held teaching and administrative positions in both K-12 and higher educational settings in the United States and abroad (from China to Spain). His current research reimagines assessment practices, curriculum design, and school policy(s) for multilingual/multicultural students, and international students from k-12 through higher education.