On today’s episode: Maria Vidas is a High Desert Middle School Spanish Language Arts Teacher and Dual Immersion Secondary Program Coordinator at Bend La Pine Schools in Bend, OR. Last year, she implemented our Effective Communicators Course in her classroom. Today, we talked with Maria about her experience as a dual immersion teacher and how programs like Effective Communicators benefit students of all backgrounds.

Topics:

02:00 Vida’s journey to becoming an educator

09:50 Bend’s community and student population

11:45 Effective Communicators in Maria’s classrooms

14:30 Issues of interest for Bend students

24:35 Sniffing out sensationalism in the media with students

Effective Communicators in a Dual Immersion Class with Maria Vidas

The Journalistic Learning Podcast explores the question: What if we infused journalist strategies into English Language Arts courses to teach students media literacy, critical thinking, and effective communication skills? 

Join hosts Ed Madison and Bo Brusco as they chat with ELA teachers who are leading or have led journalistic learning projects in their classrooms. Hear their stories of trial and triumph, as well as their tips and advice. Along the way, Bo will keep you up-to-date on relevant education news, and Ed will share quarterly Journalistic Learning Initiative updates. 

Ed is a professor and researcher at the University of Oregon and serves as Executive Director of the Journalistic Learning Initiative (JLI), a non-profit organization that pioneers and promotes journalistic learning as a way of empowering students to discover their voice, improve academic outcomes, and engage in self-directed learning through project-based storytelling. 

Bo is the Communications Manager of JLI, a former high school ELA teacher, and an award-winning multimedia journalist. 

Many of the teachers you'll hear from have taken part in JLI's Effective Communicators Program, a 10-week, standards-aligned instructional plan that guides students through a journalistic learning project.

If you'd like to learn more about JLI, journalistic learning, or our Effective Communicators Program, visit journalisticlearning.org [https://journalisticlearning.org/]!