John Beaumont
Professor
Deputy Chairperson
Academic Literacy and Linguistics
EMAIL: jbeaumont@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: N-499G
Office Hours: E-mail for for days and times
Phone: +1 (212) 220-1417
John Beaumont is a professor in the Academic Literacy and Linguistics Department. He is also the faculty director of the BMCC Teaching Collaboratory (CoLab), a faculty development program that supports cross-disciplinary peer observation and the development of SoTL research. He also co-designs and facilitates the Resilient Teaching program at BMCC. His professional interests include faculty development, classroom materials development, and co-requisite models of ESL instruction. He is the author of articles focused on faculty development and pedagogy and is the author of several ESL classroom texts.
Expertise
Faculty development, resilient teaching, SoLT research, teacher observation, non-judgmental feedback on teaching
Pedagogy, language teaching, classroom materials development, co-requisite models of ESL instruction
Degrees
B.A., The College of the Holy Cross, English
M.A., Ed.M., Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Courses Taught
- This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the grammatical structures of standard American English, allowing them to read, write, and interpret written texts critically and efficiently Through analysis and discovery, students will learn to evaluate the grammaticality of the written work they produce in their academic coursework. In addition, students will explore a variety of writing genres and styles, and learn to manipulate language more effectively, enriching both their production and understanding of written texts.
- This course will provide students with an understanding of the theoretical foundations and principles of language instruction and language learning. Special emphasis will be on studying pedagogical approaches to TESOL that address the learning needs of diverse language learners in multiple settings (e.g. one-on-one or small group tutoring vs. classroom). Topics will include relationships between and identities of practitioners and learners (e.g. racial, ethnic, linguistic, typical and atypical), research-based methodologies, teaching for productive and receptive language skills, and the relationship between curriculum planning, assessment, and feedback. Prerequisites: [ENG 100.5 or ENG 101] and LIN 120 or Departmental Approval
- This advanced level course emphasizes writing and reading skills; however, oral skills are not neglected. In writing, students focus on introducing, developing, supporting, and organizing their ideas in expository essays as well as in narrative and descriptive writing.
- This intensive writing course for ESL students focuses on basic components of effective writing, including paragraph development and structure, sentence structure, word choice, and content. Students read and respond to a variety of texts and use argumentation, narrative, and description as modes of developing ideas in writing.
Research and Projects
Resilient Teaching: Preparation for Remote and online Instruction
Resilient Teaching is a training program designed by BMCC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching Learning and Scholarship, the A. Philip Randolph Library, and the BMCC Teaching Collaboratory in conjunction the E-Learning department. Resilient teaching has been described as the ability to facilitate learning experiences that are designed to be adaptable to fluctuating conditions and disruptions. This teaching ability can be seen as an outcome of a design approach that attends to the relationship between learning goals and activities, and the environments they are situated in. Resilient teaching approaches take into account how a dynamic learning context may require new forms of interactions between teachers, students, content, and tools. Additionally, they necessitate the capacity to rethink the design of learning experiences based on a nuanced understanding of context. (Inside Higher Ed)
BMCC Teaching Collaboratory (CoLab), Faculty Director
The BMCC Teaching Collaboratory is a cross-disciplinary faculty development program for instructors new to BMCC and/or early in their teaching careers. In the Teaching Academy, teaching communities of four instructors from across the College and one tenured mentor teacher engage in group peer observation and non-judgmental feedback. The program culminates in participants’ learning about SoTL research and conducting a study of their teaching.
Current Inquiry
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CUNY Collaborative Research Grant: Who Is Teaching It and How Is It Being Done?: Developing Academic Writing at Community Colleges in the Age of Developmental Education Reform (proposal submitted)
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Students’ perceptions and experience of Standard American English (pilot study stage)
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The practice of non-judgmental observation and feedback (draft stage)
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journals and Chapters in Edited Volumes
Beaumont, J., & Baecher, L. (2020, forthcoming) Passing as a teacher and the dance of supervision. Burns, R.W., Baecher, L., & McCorvey, J. Eds. Supervision in Clinically Based Teacher Education: Advances, Opportunities, and Explorations. Information Age Publishing.
Beaumont, J. (2018). Cross-Disciplinary professional development at community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice. DOI: 10.1080/10668926.2018.1558134
Baecher, L., & Beaumont, J. (2017). Supervisor reflection for teacher education: Video-based inquiry as model. European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 6(2), 65-78.
Beaumont, J. (2017). Indicating a shift in college culture: Author response to Whitestone’s and McPherson’s Reader’s Comments and Views on my Brief Report, “Toward a holistic approach to supporting English learners in universities” (Vol. 3, No. 1, 2016). NYS TESOL Journal, 4(1), 1-2.
Beaumont, J. (2015). ENG 101 instructors’ perspectives on the ESL experience. NYS TESOL Journal, 2(1), 89-97.
Beaumont, J. (2010). A sequence of critical thinking tasks. TESOL Journal, 1(4), 1-22.
Textbooks
Beaumont, J. & Yancey, A. J. (2019). NorthStar 1 Reading and Writing, 4th Ed. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson ELT.
Beaumont, J. & Yancey, A. J. (2014). NorthStar 1 Reading and Writing, 3rd Ed. White Plains, NY: Pearson.
Beaumont, J. (2012). Focus on Writing 4. White Plains, NY: Pearson.
Beaumont, J. (Series Ed.). (2012). Focus on Writing, Books 1-5. White Plains, NY: Pearson. (Lead author and pedagogical designer.)
Beaumont, J. (2009). NorthStar 1 Reading and Writing, 2nd Ed. White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
Beaumont, J. (2005). NorthStar Building Skills for the TOEFL-iBT, Intermediate. White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
Beaumont, J. (2002). NorthStar Focus on Reading and Writing, Introductory. White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
Other Publications
Beaumont, J. (2017). Labeling student success: “That was really __.” BMCC Inquirer, 24, 48-50.
Baiada, C., Beaumont, J., Derbyshire, N., & Gonzalez, J. (2016). Building a teaching college one cohort at a time: The BMCC Teaching Academy. BMCC Inquirer, 23, 6-15.
Beaumont, J. (2013). ESL 101: Bridging the ESL-college composition divide. BMCC Inquirer, 20, 56-67.
Beaumont, J. (2013). Teachable moment symposium: ESL across the curriculum: Instructor practices and reflections (Introduction). BMCC Inquirer, 20, 69. With J. Yancey.
Beaumont, J. & Sanabria, K. (2012). A joint investigation of teaching and learning in upper-level community college English as a second language courses. Paper published in the proceedings of the 5th International Conference of Education Research and Innovation, Madrid, Spain.
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
2016 BMCC Distinguished Teaching Award
2016 Diana Hacker Award for Outstanding Programs (Fostering Student Success)
This award from the Two Year College Association recognizes the work of the BMCC Teaching Academy and four of its participants: C. Baiada, J. Beaumont, N. Derbyshire, and J. Gonzalez
2014-2015 Faculty Development Grant, “Elective Formative Peer Observation,” a study of two instructors exploring their teaching practice through cross-disciplinary peer observation
2012-2013 Faculty Fellowship Publications Program“Passing as a Teacher: An Ethnographic Account of Entering the TESOL Profession”
Additional Information
Membership
- POD Network
- ISSoTL
- Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
- New York State TESOL
