Domain 1: Planning & preparation
Collection of Research Articles on Content & Pedagogy
Live Document Previously I was trying to curate research about Second Language Acquisition and best practice pedagogy, but I had never successfully synthesized the data into a practical document. My goals were to have a body of research to support the further development of World Language curriculum, to make the curriculum more accessible to ALL students and to develop more realistic expectations for students based on their proficiency levels.
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Assessment results
I gave a formative assessment on the making plans vocabulary and the meanings of verb endings to a 7th grade class. I used Socrative because I have had much success with it in the past, and I am able to quickly analyze students' results. While I was creating the assessment, the website was "glitchy" - which is not uncommon. When I gave this assessment every student had the same question incorrect, and panic ensued. I allayed their fears and let them know that I ALWAYS go back over the results to see errors and trends. For this section of 7th graders, I threw out the problematic question. I was able to go in to revise the quiz so I could avoid a similar issue later on.
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Can Do Statements
I saw the idea of the thumbs up Can-Do Statements on a blog from my online PLN. The visual was very appealing to me! The first time I tried this was with my 7th graders during our school lunches and snacks unit. At the beginning of the unit, I reviewed the Can-Dos with the students. We continued to revisit the Can-Dos throughout the unit, and students would check off the things that they could do. At the end of the unit, they discovered that they could do all of the skills. I asked the students if they liked the Can-Dos, and they said that it was helpful to have a visual representation instead of a bulleted list of the learning goals.
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Professional organizations ~ ACTFL
Professional development workshops ~ Michelle Kindt's 5-part workshop on Teaching with Comprehensible Input Although I was previously trained in Comprehensible Input and have been a member of ACTFL for a number of years, I chose to attend Michelle's workshop and continue to read best practice research published by ACTFL. Keeping current is important if our program is to improve.
I have used Flipboard in my personal life for 2 years. I like the way I can organize and find hashtags that I follow on Twitter, and the visuals are appealing to me. During a Spanish 2 unit on news and social media, I decided to use this app as a way to curate and share news articles in Spanish with my students. Most of the students were already familiar with the app so I could just focus on how to subscribe to my magazine and not spending time "teaching the app". So far my use of Flipboard has been very motivating to the students, and I find them reading my magazine when I least expect it. |
Variety of resources/activities
Grouping of students Differentiated activities ~ Small groups in Edmodo I had 7th grade students practice using Quizlet flashcards with the definitions of present tense verb endings. Then they filled out a modified KWL chart. I paid particular attention to their "Quiero Saber" column, i.e. What they want to know more about. In my evidence of learning notebook, I made note of what their needs were. Then I set up small groups in Edmodo with activities directed to each one's needs. Each student also had to self evaluate using the graphic organizer after having practiced.
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Summative assessment ~ Helping a new student to purchase lunch
Assessment criteria is clear ~ What is Art? Type 3 Summative Assessment
I feel that assessment has been my biggest area of growth over the past few years. I've been increasingly aware of the connection between learning goals and how students are assessed. In my assessment criteria, I have been referring to ACTFL's Can-Do Statements as well as the Performance Indicators. This communicates that I'm NOT seeking perfection but rather meaningful communication. In addition, I have set up the criteria to encourage students to take risks in their language use.
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