I think that most world language teachers will agree with me that interpersonal assessments (assessments on which two or more students interact with each other) are very hard to get right, but they are arguably the most important. Most of us have learned that there has to be some type of problem for the students …
Continue reading “Interpersonal: are they talking with each other or at each other?”
How do we convince students to stretch beyond their comfort zone when writing and speaking in the target language? I believe that teachers have to educate students about proficiency, both on a course level and the task level, so that they are invested in our collective work. Truly, we have a mighty task before us as we …
In my education program, my professor would tell us a great analogy about grades and retakes. She said that as teachers we should allow students to retake assessments, so they can continue to practice and improve with the language. We want students to practice so well that they can attain a proficiency with the language. …
Continue reading “Allowing retakes: how well is your parachute packed?”
The character Leslie Knope from the show Parks and Recreation is known for her love of organizational binders, waffles, and geeking out over giants in her field that other people might not recognize. I do the last thing on this list, which I call “Knope-ing out” from the infinitive “to Knope out.” A couple of …
Through my posts on this blog, I’m tracking my experiences, as both a novice teacher (in regards to proficiency) and as a more veteran teacher, with ten years of public high school teaching in my past. This first two months of being back in the classroom, after five years outside of public schools, have been …
Continue reading “Fresh Eyes: Seeing Work Through the Lens of Proficiency”
