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1. What are the most significant lessons you have learned during Phase 2 training? How do you plan to apply them in your future teaching practice?
The most important thing I gained was to do the synchronous and asynchronous teaching. It was a good refreshing experience as I am preparing to teach online for about a month and a half this coming academic year.2. What are your plans for continued professional growth and development? How will you stay updated on best practices, educational research, and advancements in your subject area?
My plan is to try to publish articles/papers/insights about language learning and teaching. I believe I will keep checking on Language learning journals to see the new updates in the field and blogposts.3. How did you navigate challenges and setbacks during Phase 2 training? What strategies did you find effective in overcoming difficulties?
My biggest challenge was the lack of time. I needed to plan more carefully in advance what I should or should not commit to. From the program side, I believe the administrators showed flexibility to help everyone succeeds and pass the course.4. Finally, take a moment to acknowledge your growth and achievements during your training. What are you most proud of? How will you celebrate your accomplishments?
I think I gained more understanding of a lot concepts and practices that I was introduced to before. I am not really sure how I will celebrate, but I might plan on spending one day where I do not get involved with any assignments, maybe not opening my laptop or apps on my phone.I agree with your observation about how having a specific learning target and assessment can build the students confidence especially if appropriate guidance is given.
I like your thoughtful analysis of the different aspects related to assessment performance. Having clear learning expectations is one of the most important benefits of assessment. However, it means that they should definitely align with the learning targets.
The purpose of the assessment is to find evidence that students learned what they should have learned through the learning experiences. It should also show both the teacher and the student if there are some aspects that one or more students still need to improve. To design assessment that measure what they intend to measure, the learning objectives and experiences should be considered when designing the assessment. For example, f the target was “I can describe what I do everyday”, then the assessment should show evidence that the learner can do this.
I like the activity you selected. I think it helps students firstly learn about themselves, and through sharing, learn about each other as well. I also like your addition of requesting the students to ask each other about their objects. This will definitely foster the outcome of this activity.
I like the sequence of the activity as it prepares and engages the students gradually. I also like the cultural topics it covers. I think I will give it a try.
1) Write an activity summary and include the following:
– Name of the activity
– Activity steps
– What modifications or changes do you want to make, and why?Name of the Activity: Bafa Bafa (No. 7)
Activity Steps:
1. There will be two groups of students: Alphas and Betas. Each group roleplays some cultural norms: like how to greet and what currency they will use.
2. Alpha group will greet with a handshake with the left hand, while Beta group will greet by grabbing the right hand.
3. Groups will apply their roles amongst themselves, but they will change to the norms of the other group if they meet one of them.
4. I like this activity a lot for many reasons, but one reason is putting themselves in the shoes of another group who might follow different cultural norms. Another reason is that it is played safe as both cultures are not known (mostly) to the students so there is no threat as this point to their own culture. Thirdly and most importantly, this is for sure one strong way to reflect on how we can respect cultures that are different from our own.I am not sure that I would change anything, as I believe the activity is well-planned and organized. But I might think of other ways that include the target language and keep the core idea as it is.
I agree with you. AAPPL as far as I know has a version for elementary school students. If might help if the district realizes that using this assessment is good for a better achievement: (Seal of Biliteracy) in your state for example. Good luck!
To my organization (ST. Louis University High School), I would recommend AAPPL test to assess our students proficiency in different languages.
The AAPPL Teat evaluates four skills: interpersonal communication, presentational writing, interpretive reading, and interpretive listening.
It is also one of the assessments recognized by the State of Missouri that could qualify its takers to receive the Seal of Biliteracy if they achieve Intermediate-mid level and The Distinguished Seal of Biliteracy if they achieve advanced low (which is covered by this assessment).
The NEWL assessment could have served the same purpose for Arabic, but AAPPL has two advantages over NEWL: 1. AAPPL covers more languages (11 languages) than NEWL (4 languages), which means it covers all the languages offered in my school. 2. AAPPL could qualify the students to receive the “Distinguished” Seal of Biliteracy as covers Advanced Low, while NEWL covers only until Intermediate High.
At the same, AAPPL is convenient to administer at our school with some simple basic training.
