The project consortium met in Ghent on December 1st and 2nd 2022 in order to discuss the current state of project work and to develop new ideas for moving the project further.
3rd Transnational Project Meeting in Ghent
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Poster presentation at the DAAD Kickoff/Thematic Monitoring
At the DAAD Kickoff/Thematic Monitoring meeting in Bonn, October 11th-12th, the ELLeN project had the opportunity to share their current work and to engage in discussion with colleagues from other Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships.
Project Presentation at TU Dortmund
Carolyn Blume presented on September 23rd 2022 at the colloquium of the TU Dortmund’s Institute of Diversity Studies (Link: https://div.kuwi.tu-dortmund.de/) on behalf of the ELLeN Project Team. In keeping with the colloquium’s theme with the title “How to Research Diversity,” she gave a lecture entitled “How to Research Neurodiversity with Pre-Service Teachers.” In this brief presentation, Carolyn summarized the theoretical foundations and practical implementation of the ELLeN Project. Joining researchers from the departments of Rehabilitation Sciences, Social Studies, and the English and German Cultural Studies, Linguistics and Literature Departments, Carolyn’s brief presentation focused on the interplay between method (inquiry-based learning) and content (neurodiversity) in the ELLeN project. In discussion with colleagues, she was able to discuss the connections between this approach to inclusive teacher education and themes of linguistic decolonization, migration experiences, and intersectional narratives. Exploring issues surrounding participative philosophies, methodological challenges, and complex data types, the participants used the opportunity to learn how diversity is constructed – and examined – in various academic fields.
Award-winning teaching within the ELLeN project
On July 1st, Assistant Prof. Dr. Carolyn Blume from TU Dortmund received the „IDEAward“ teaching award for her ELLeN-based seminar „Exploring Digitally-Mediated English Usage Among Neurodivergent Learners„. In this seminar, teacher education students interviewed neurodivergent individuals, practicing their research skills while also learning more about the language-learning related needs and experiences of autistic individuals and people with dyslexia and AD(H)D.
The seminar, which was co-taught with Dr. Judith Bündgens-Kosten from Goethe University Frankfurt, drew on input by all ELLeN participants, and featured guest lectures by Aleksander Knauerhase, as well as by Prof. Dr. Michelle Proyer and Prof. Dr. Geert Van Hove. In her acceptance remarks, Carolyn Blume explicitly thanked the many neurodivergent individuals who served as interviewees and who have made this seminar possible.
Transnational Project Meeting in Vienna
On May 28th and 29th, the project team met at the University of Vienna, to discuss work progress and next steps. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, this was the first face-to-face meeting for the consortium.
Developing material for teacher education
One key element of the ELLeN project is the development material that can be used to address the topic of “Neurodiversity in the EFL classroom” in teacher education, drawing on Inquiry Based Learning methods. This winter term, material and concepts will be trialled at University of Vienna, University Dortmund and Goethe University Frankfurt. Several dozen students will work with the material, providing valuable feedback that will be used for future revisions.
