How We Teach

Wayside educator authors combined leading research in neuroscience and educational pedagogy with decades of classroom-tested strategies, so teachers do not have to start from scratch in order to foster intercultural competency and align with biliteracy standards.

With the goal of learner proficiency, Wayside creates programs using backward design. Starting with defining what we want students to be able to do and know, we then develop assessments in all three modes of communication. Finally, we create lessons and activities to help learners to gain the knowledge.

With Wayside, learners have a uniquely intercultural classroom experience. Our programs help make connections to local, national, and international cultures, encourage exploration of individual and community identities, and widen understanding of other cultures as different vs. foreign.

Wayside embraces a differentiated instructional approach to meet the needs of all learners. From differentiated activities in Learning Site's^® Instructional Strategies Toolkit to formative assessments in each unit, educators can adjust the learning experience to suit the needs of individuals.

Our Comprehension-based™ readers engage learners and facilitate language acquisition through compelling, comprehensible stories. Designed to hold learners' attention in the target language and stretch their comprehension, they align with ACTFL's core practices of facilitating target language comprehensibility and teaching grammar as a concept in context.