The One Thing Conference Workshops: English as a Second Language

Making Language Visible: Using SIOP to Support English Learners in Every Classroom

Date and Time

This is a one-day, four-hour, in-person workshop on Saturday May 30, 2026 from 9am-1pm.

Location

This workshop will be held in person on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. Building details will be provided following registration via email.

Description

Every student deserves access to rigorous content—and English learners are no exception. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll dive into the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model, a research-backed framework for teaching academic content to English Language Learners (ELLs) across grade levels. SIOP will help you make language visible and content accessible in your classroom. You won’t just learn about SIOP—you’ll practice it, applying the protocol directly to your own teaching context and walking away with objectives and strategies you can use immediately in the classroom.

Audience

This workshop is open to ALL Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Educators, and is designed specifically to support MSDE licensed educators to earn Professional Development Points (PDPs) for recertification professional learning hours. If you are not currently affiliated with the University of Maryland (welcome!), you will be prompted to create an affiliate account upon registration. Simply follow the prompts to create an affiliate account, then you will be able to register.

Facilitators

Dr. Nihat Polat and Dr. Laura Mahalingappa

PDP Alignment

English as a Second Language, Sheltered English, or Bilingual Education

The One Thing Conference workshops provide eligibility for 4 MSDE Professional Development Points (PDPs). You can learn more about PDPs at the MSDE website. Following each workshop or conference,  attendees will be provided with the following completed documentation via email. Attendees will be responsible for submitting the documentation to the appropriate entity to ensure points are counted toward their recertification. Learn more on our website.

Parking and Transportation 

Free parking is available on Saturdays in select lots and garages. Parking information will be provided via email following registration.

Registration Tips

If you are not currently affiliated with the University of Maryland (welcome!), you will be prompted to create an affiliate account upon registration. Please do this first by simply following the prompts to create an affiliate account, then you will be able to register. Note: Some users have reported difficulties creating an affiliate account on a Safari Browser. If you encounter issues with this process on a Safari Browser, we apologize; please switch to a Chrome, Firefox, or alternate browser of your choice. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

If you are entering a promotion code during registration, please make sure you are logged in to your UMD or UMD affiliate account before entering the code. When you are logged in, your screen will read: "Logged in as [Name]" above the promotion code box.

Bulk Registration

Interested in registering a group of educators from your school or district? This can be done in one of two ways. 

(1) If you would like to pay by Credit Card, simply select "Bulk Purchase" on this page; you will select the number of educators you want to register for this workshop. After you pay via credit card, you will be prompted to invite the individual educators to register via email. 

(2) If you would like to pay by invoice, please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt egotwalt@umd.edu for assistance. 

Questions?

Please contact Elizabeth Gotwalt, egotwalt@umd.edu