Content Assessment

Both these readings really helped me to see the full view of what content area assessment really is.

Although both readings focused on content area assessment, the Butler article focused much more on standardized assessments.

One thing that frustrates me when it comes to math, social studies and science instruction is that teachers often times don’t spend the time they should be on teaching the language associated with each of those content areas. It seems that many teachers have the attitudes that because those classes aren’t traditional reading or writing classes that it they shouldn’t be focusing on teaching the language of those classes. I feel that since the language for each class is so specific it is vital to the students' academic success to focus on the teaching language in each of these classes.

I feel that even more so than any other content area, math has really become disconnected with language teaching. It seems as if many people consider math a subject in which language play a little or no role at all. What I have discovered since teaching math is that the teaching of math language is extremely important. What I have noticed about many of my students is that they can perform the necessary math operations to pass the tests, what they are lacking in is the ability to explain their thinking, the ability to explain and reflect on the concept is important as is being able to convey what they already know about a subject or concept before I even begin teaching. Since teaching math one of my goals has been to reinforce this idea that knowing how to do the operations isn’t enough, that the students have to be able to explain their thinking and how they arrived at their final answer. When students are explaining their thinking I also require them to use the math vocabulary we have been learning for that concept in their explanation.

When it comes to teaching vocabulary I think I’m doing pretty good in my math class. I have the students create semantic maps and various graphic organizers of the vocabulary we are learning. I also have a Math Word Wall in my classroom. I would really like to improve on the amount of writing my students are doing in math class. There is just this disparity between the amount of time I can spend on one subject and the amount of time I often want to spend on one subject. Vocabulary development and language activities take time and unfortunately, I feel that the curriculum the district has set up for us doesn’t allow for lingering on one subject too long.

This past year our district adopted a new social studies curriculum and I LOVE it. The way the curriculum is set up focuses a lot on language development. It also does a great job of activating prior knowledge, having students make predictions, having students take notes in a variety of ways, and then doing various writing activities as a way of processing the information. In addition, students are also asked to analyze various graphic organizers and draw conclusions from that.

As I was reading these two articles a very vicious cycle started presenting itself. Teachers who don’t focus on teaching language in the content areas have students who, even with accommodations, don’t perform well on the standardized assessments. Students who don’t do well on standardized assessments are then sometimes put into classes that do not provide them with the instruction or support hey need and as a result continue to do poorly on the standardized assessments.

There are some teachers in our district who do a school wide test prep every Friday. Although I’m not sure exactly how this test prep goes or what the outcomes are I think about how should we preparing our children for these tests? I am a huge advocate of incorporating test prep into daily normal class activities. I feel that teaching and test taking should not be viewed as two totally different areas, but as two very closely linked areas. Test taking skills and critical thinking skills need to be taught in every content area as well as focusing closely on language teaching.

Again, I also feel that there should be guidelines developed and used by states to designate English Language Learners. Perhaps the government should develop a rubric for designating English Language Learners.

Assessment of Writing

After reading this chapter I really feel like I am on the right track in terms of writing assessment. Right now I use a writing workshop that seems to incorporate many things that this chapter deemed as important in terms of writing.

First, the writing workshop I currently use is very student centered. Students are instructed about the genre of writing and work together to formulate numerous prompts that they can turn into a written piece. During our writing workshops students spend a lot of time in peer response groups and in teacher conferences. After a student has written a first draft they bring it to the initial peer response group. Before this response group the writer formulates questions about their piece. Before the writer reads the piece they read their questions to the group. In this way, the people who are responding know what to watch out for and what the writer is looking for. After the peer response group the writer goes back and continues to revise and edit their various drafts. After each draft the writer can approach the teacher for a conference about their piece. Finally, after the writer has sufficient drafts, they come for their final conference and it is during this conference that the writer and teacher use the LKSD 6 Trait Analytical Scoring Guide to score the piece. I make it a point NEVER to write on the students’ pieces and to never tell them what to write but to offer suggestions for improvement. Most importantly, before the student comes to a teacher conference they formulate questions about their piece and what they would like me to watch out for.

One thing I feel like is improving in our district is writing across the curriculum. One of the math specialists in our district is very, very supportive of the integration of writing into the math classroom. As I know plan my math lessons I try to think of ways in which I can have students write about what they are learning. I am currently teaching about various estimation strategies in my math class and I am planning on having the students complete poems that help us to understand more about the estimation strategies. I also try to have students write weekly learning logs on our Math Wiki, but unfortunately, I often forget to have them do this and I need to get in the habit of modeling how to do this better.

I also would like students to write more in my World History class. Again, I often feel tied to the curriculum and feel that I don’t have enough time for extensive writing projects in that class. However, I do feel that writing needs to happen in every class and that the old complaint that “this isn’t writing class” is even more invalid in today’s classroom than ever before.

Chapta 10

I do have to say, this chapter was actually one of my favorites so far this year. I thought it was insightful and full of useful information that I can apply in my classroom.

In LKSD our students are required to pass or be proficient in an informal reading inventory (RPA or DRA) in order to progress to the next phase. I have never really thought that these reading assessments were valuable. First, I have found that they take forever to teach students how to respond to the questions that are asked and how to write a summary of the text. Also, during the miscue analysis I was never really sure how to mark the mistakes that students made. I always dreaded giving the DRA to my students simply because it was almost painful to watch them pore over the text and try to decipher it.

After reading this chapter I really have found new value for the informal reading inventories that we give our students. I finally see and feel that I now understand why we give them and how they can reflect our students’ reading levels. One thing that I now have on my mind is why the reading inventories are only given up until 8th grade. In a school where all but three students are LEP I would think that we would want to keep records on students as long as possible to see their continued successes in reading. Also, just because a student has made it to the high school reading phases does not necessarily mean that they have achieved and gained all the reading skills that will help them to be successful.

Again, another Ah!Ha! moment for me was when the author mentioned the advantages of independent reading. I have really have had an internal struggle going on all year as to whether to give half my class time daily so students can read independently. As much as I would like to get through all our big units and keep my students passing phases I really do realize that students need opportunities to read things that are of interest to them and that they need to read independently.

More so, students also need guided reading instruction. One issue I agree quite strongly with from this chapter was the idea that the teachers should be addressing reading issues during mini-lessons in the classroom. I’ve had to really, really watch the amount of time I spend in front of students and I always laugh at the fact that spending 55 minutes in front of students lecturing is easier than teaching something in 15 minutes. After working with the same students for the past 4 years I now realize that there is a danger to too much teaching and “over-teaching” something. Direct instruction needs to happen, but teachers have to be careful about how much time they are spending in front of their students. Too much could be just as harmful as too little.

One thing that my students struggle on is giving textual evidence to back up their thinking. One section in our Literature Circles ask students to make and write predictions about what they think will happen in a text. I have really had to go back and help students to identify lines of actual text that led them to construct that prediction. Finding and using textual evidence to back up one’s opinion has proven quite difficult to my students and if anyone has any activities or ideas for a mini-lesson on this I would love to hear it.

Something else that spoke to me as I was reading this article was when the author said that an informal reading inventory could be used to identify errors in the students’ understanding of syntax and various word structures. What the teacher decided to do though, once she identified the errors the student was making, was to address those errors in the writing class! I think that this proves once again that there is a clear and definite relationship between reading and writing. They are not two isolated academic areas but they are deeply connected. When one becomes a better reader they become a better writer.

Again, this chapter was insightful and, I felt, deeply valuable. As I was reading this chapter, I kept thinking of various things I have already done and would like to do that I can use as artifacts for my portfolio.

Chapter 5: Reading Assessment

After reading this chapter I really felt like there were vast improvements I can make in terms of reading instruction and assessment in my classroom.

When I first began teaching I felt this huge conflict between giving time in class to read independently and teaching the curriculum. I tried everything to get kids to take books home and read independently. It just seemed like none of my students were really readers and it killed me. I eventually gave up having students read independently in class because I felt that I needed to provide more of the required curriculum.

I think what I have taken from this chapter more than anything is that reading is ANY form is hugely important for second language learners. However, not all books and text are appropriate to second language learners.

When I was in college I was assigned to tutor a young man who had recently come to Wisconsin from Rwanda. He had arrived about a month before I began working with him and his story was unbelievable. He was 15 and had spent years separated from his family and moving from refugee camp to refugee camp. His family, believing he was dead, had been sponsored to come to Wisconsin and left Rwanda immediately. About a year after their arrival in Wisconsin they received a phone call telling them that their son had been found and that they wanted to send him to join his family as soon as possible.

The young boy landed in Platteville, Wisconsin of all places. My job was to tutor him three times a week and to help him get through his English classes. I was very surprised and dismayed after our first meeting. The school had decided to put him in English classes based solely on his age and not his ability level. The book that the students in that classes were reading was To Kill a Mockingbird. I really was surprised that this student was reading the book to begin with and even more surprised when the teacher saw nothing wrong with a students, with little or no English base reading a book steeped in Southern culture and language. The student’s task was to read the chapter and then answer comprehension questions about what he read.

I wished I could transport myself back to that moment. I knew that this book was not the best book for this student but didn’t feel that I had the authority to tell the teacher how they should be handling this student or what it is they should be doing with him. The student and I struggle through an entire quarter of this book and tried quite hard to get through it.

One thing I also took from this chapter is that it is okay to change up the reading activities in a class. Right now I do Literature Circles in my class and the response has ranged from positive to negative. I do feel that the Literature Circles are extremely valuable in my classroom. The required journal entries ask for a personal reaction, prediction and reflection on the discussion. In addition to the journal responses, students are asked to complete a job that focuses on one particular aspect of reading. Although I really like Literature Circles I realize now that there are a many more ways I can approach reading in my classroom and provide students with an opportunity to discover books more.

I really want to take a couple of steps back in my reading classroom and begin by giving students a self-assessment. I never really have done this and I’m kind of kicking myself right now that I have no idea what types of books some of my students like. I have one student, in particular, who never really seems to like ANYTHING we read in class. A self-assessment seems to be such an easy way to find this out about him.

I also have gotten so many other ideas for integrating independent reading into my classroom. Students need to have an opportunity to talk, in some fashion, about what they are reading. Literature Circles accomplish that but I also see the importance of personal choice in reading material. Since we have just finished up our first whole Literature Circle book I am going to allow students the time and space to read more independently.

I realize now that when my students lay around on the floor reading that there is something important happening. What we need to do as teachers is to find ways and opportunities for students to talk about what they are reading and to respond to the text.

I also really like the idea of reading portfolios in my classroom. I would love students to have a way to showcase what it is they are reading and to give them an opportunity to showcase their reading for others.

ePortfolios

Hey Everyone! In my search for a way to create ePortfolios to use in my classroom I came across this information. I thought it would be helpful for anyone interested in creating an ePortfolio for this class. Although I haven't had time to read it in depth yet it looked promising.

http://eportfolios.googlepages.com/howto

I'm going to play around with this a bit and let everyone know how it goes.

Portfolios

My first encounter with portfolios happened in my sixth grade Language Arts class. Mrs. Marsh was my teacher. What I remember about our portfolios then was that we did not have access to them. Mrs. Marsh was afraid we would lose the pieces. Portfolios were these coveted manila folders that each of our Language Arts teachers seemed to get year after year. I hated writing with a passion in middle school. I never felt like I was a good writer and I was that student in the class doodling or staring at the paper not knowing what to write. Mrs. Marsh would come over at the end of the hour and would look at my blank paper and me and just sigh. Sometimes I think back to myself in Mrs. Marsh’s class when I have a bad day with students and I hear the old adage “what goes around come around”. Sometimes I think God has pointed me on the teacher path just because He knew it was the only way to get back at me and make me pay.

Back to portfolios. So, we would write in Mrs. Marsh’s class and then every once in a while she would hand out “reflection” sheets. She would then pass out the manila folders with our work for that quarter or grading period and our job was to reflect on which one we liked the best and why and which one we liked the least and why. I remember hating these activities. I knew I had to pick one to be the “best” and another to be the “worst” when I knew that all of them were fairly atrocious. I knew the quality of my work was poor and yet I felt like I was phoning it in just to be done with the activity.

My next big encounter with portfolios was in college. We had to create a portfolio that would be reviewed by the School of Ed people. If they deemed it quality enough they would admit us to the School of Ed. If it wasn’t good enough they would ask you to revise it and set up another interview. For weeks before the interviews and the portfolio presentations every student hoping to get in the School of Ed. was in a flurry. People were printing, cutting, pasting, drawing and printing. Advisors were booked solid and the library was in tatters as the students hoping to get into the School of Ed. prepared their portfolios. The day of the interviews came. We all dressed up. I probably even wore a skirt. We were armed with the portfolios that would show the evaluators that were READY to be teachers. One by one people were called in and a few minutes later they would come back out. Those of us standing in line were starting to feel a bit nervous. Why was the line moving so fast? Soon it was my turn and I walked into the room and sat down. I then noticed something strange about my evaluators. They were all professors, but only one was a professor from the School of Ed. They took my portfolio that I had so laboriously prepared, flipped through it quickly to make sure it had all the required items. Asked me a few questions about why I should be admitted to the School of Ed. and then said “congratulations”. I felt cheated. I was angry. I walked out of there with this huge portfolio that I had really worked to showcase my worth as a future teacher and all I got was a 5 minute audience with the basketball coach. I didn’t have the heart to throw my portfolio away. I still have it in the back of a closet at my mom’s house.

The point I’m trying to make is that just because we use portfolios doesn’t mean that they are effective. In the first instance, I was unmotivated to write and the reflection aspect of the portfolio felt forced and fake. I did not see an improvement in my writing. It had all seemed the same to me. I did the reflection activity, the “biggest” activity associated with the portfolio not because I really wanted to explore the areas I had improved on but because Mrs. Marsh was requiring it for the class and if I came home with any more bad grades my dad would be M-A-D! In the second instance I had put a lot of time and effort into creating the portfolio only to find that the evaluators weren’t even interested in examining the portfolio or asking me any questions related to the portfolio. I felt I had invested a lot of time and the final evaluation was a let down.

As I was reading this chapter I kept envisioning myself implementing portfolios in my classroom. They are a great idea but in all honesty, seems like it will take a lot of work and dedication to put into effect into my classroom. The benefits of portfolios greatly outweigh the work and I am convinced that I need to focus more effort on developing portfolios in my classroom.

I currently use a writing workshop that I found randomly online. I chose that particular format because it was designed to be a 10 day workshop. I know, I know, I know. I should have researched more formats and given more time to choosing the one that I thought would work the best with my learners. The “10-day” portion of the title flashed before me like a neon sign and since the greatest need at that time was to get students through writing pieces as quickly as possible. After using the writing workshop though I really, really found out how much I had lucked out.

This particular writing workshop sets up guidelines and criteria for each piece the student writes, has students set goals, asks students to respond to each other in a peer group and uses mini-lessons to help students achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. The whole purpose of the writing workshop is that students were taking ownership for their writing and moving themselves through the writing process.

As I continued to read this chapter it became evident to me that I already have the structure for using portfolios in place in my classroom. The students have already become accustomed to the format of the writing workshop and at this point I could introduce portfolios into the mix without it being too much.

There are so many different ways that teachers can implement portfolios in their class. I love that this chapter highlighted ways to use the portfolios in math and science classes as well. As a math teacher I often struggle to show my students of the progress they have made. A portfolio would be a perfect way to do this.

I am particularly interested in creating ePortfolios. I have done some research on this subject and would like to begin using them. Since most of my students’ parents have internet access I think this would be a perfect way to showcase what we are doing in school and get parents involved more. It would also allow students an opportunity to readily go back through their pieces and reflect on their writing. If anyone has any ideas or websites they would like to share for ePortfolios I would be happy to have them!

A Big Blog About Both Readings

I have a ton of thoughts about the two readings for today. I decided to try to write one big blog instead of two shorter ones.

First though...some news from Oscarville.

The river has officially been deemed frozen enough for travel and we received mail yesterday. It was the first time in almost a month.

My mom sent four packages and inside one was this...which I put on Macy as soon as possible. Here she is in all her misery.


After the thrill of dressing my dog up wore off I decided it was time to complete my homework for the day.

I began with the Solon-Flores article.

Sigh.

There are so many issues with testing of English Language Learners. Just within the "who" section I realized how deep that idea of "who" goes. We are so accustomed to throwing and group students in neat little categories that we overlook all those things that differentiate our learners. The idea that ELLs are overrepresented in Special Education programs and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs really hit me hard. I get so frustrated with the teachers who constantly bag on their students in terms of what they "can't do" and totally ignore their areas of strength. I think educators really need to support and encourage each other not to look at what ELLs "can't do" but how they "can do it" and differentiate their programs to fit their learner's strengths.

According to Solano-Flores ELLs don't fit nicely into a one size fits all category. There are many different cultural nuances and specifics that are gravely overlooked in tests. Solano-Flores continues to say that language carries many social connotations in it and that the tests we give many ELLs don't address the social aspects or cultural aspects of language.

Also of concern are the accommodations we give ELLs. Again it is dangerous to lump ELLs into the same category and to just say that they all have the same needs. What test givers often don't realize is that not all our students benefit from the same accommodations. It also infuriates me that many ELLs are simply given SpEd accommodations.

So, I felt a little...well, I don't know...pessimistic about the whole idea of testing and kept thinking of my students and having to watch them take those horrible tests. I think of the kids who fulfill graduation requirements but don't receive a diploma because they cannot pass a high-stakes tests and I get emotional when I think of that. What kind of life are we leaving our students with if at the age of 18 or 19 they already have "failed". What kind of message is that sending this generation of youth?

Then I read the next article and got a little more pumped up. Yeah! I was so happy to see that research had been done in this area in rural Alaska! Finally something that hits home and makes me feel like the students up here aren't being ignored and that this population is being taken in to consideration.

It seems that the there are so many hypocrisies in regards to education. When I first began teaching here I was given advice on how to make my lessons more culturally based and how to integrate culture more into the classroom. Then we give our students high stakes tests that totally disregard culture and the students cultural beliefs and backgrounds. Sometimes I feel teachers are torn between culturally appropriate lessons and lessons that will help them to achieve on the tests and meet AYP. As stated in the article, what usually happens is that culturally appropriate curriculum gets abandoned in favor of test prep. This seems to start a downward cycle of students more and more separated from their culture and given a curriculum they feel more and more unsuccessful with.

Another thing that I connected with in this article was the idea of silence. When I first arrived in my village I was stunned by how quiet my students were. It took me a long time to be able to change my way of thinking and to be okay with walking into a classroom that wasn't overflowing with loud noises and conversations. Also, I've learned to listen more in other ways...that sometimes responses don't have to be verbal to be accurate.

The picture of elders coming into the classroom and working with students is something that I believe should be happening in all cultures but especially with our students.

Testing the Test

Every time I design a test or project I have this underlying sense of dread. What if everyone fails? What if I haven’t prepared students correctly? What if everyone bombs it and I have to make a new test?

I really hate the reading curriculum in our school district. The tests at the end of each unit are constructed mainly of fixed response format items in the form of multiple-choice items, fill in the blank, matching, true/false, short answer and essay. It takes me almost as long to prepare my students for the tests as it does for them to read one or two of the stories in the book and to go through the entire comprehension process. There are many times I hand student a test and I still get incorrect answers to questions I went over in class only a day before and I feel frustrated. As a lover of reading I felt that some of my most wonderful reading moments in school happened when I was allowed to draw my own conclusions and create projects and assignments that showed the rest of the class how I felt about the book and how I related to it. I hated the reading tests that I would get in high school and college where I was supposed to match definitions and talk about the literary elements. Sure, students need to know that stuff, but I think there is a lot to be said in giving them the tools for discovering those things and then allowing them room to discover them. Students are supposed to know about theme and literary elements but I feel that what we are doing is forcing them to regurgitate information instead of discovering it for themselves in a meaningful way.

Another beef I have with our district are the proficiency tests that we give our students. The problem that I have seen so far with tests and giving tests is that most of the time the examiners vary in terms of how they judge the test. Quite often, the way the teacher grades or determines if a student is proficient may not be how the next teacher sees it. This causes a lot of frustration in our district.

One thing I reacted strongly to in this chapter was the idea that tests are validated enough to satisfy the politicians and other stake holders. After watching two students struggle through the HSGQE this past week I can’t help but feel angry that the people who decide if the test is good aren’t the ones sitting in a room for 5 or more hours trying to pass it so they can get a high school diploma. Yet, these students don’t have a say. They aren’t being asked how they felt about the test or given alternative opportunities to show that they are proficient in a content area. I also reacted to the fact that many tests aren’t validated because validation is hard and technical and expensive. I’m glad that all those people were able to get high school diplomas before this silly idea of high stakes testing came into play. Do you think they would still feel it too much of a burden if they had to begin more high stakes tests in their lives. Perhaps every time they wanted a raise or were up for a promotion they had to sit in a little room taking a test that they may or may not be prepared for and have that feeling in the pit of their stomach that they are running out of opportunities to pass the test. Perhaps if they sat in a student’s chair sweating it out they would think differently about the expense of making sure the test is valid.

Multiplicity

Here is a picture of me and Macy reading this article. If you can notice, she's lost a little bit of weight. She loves carrots. She also really loves the concept of "multiplism".

As we were reading this Macy and I were discussing some of the assessments I use in my classes. One class I really would love to develop stronger assessment methods for is my writing class. I often feel that I need to constantly edit and help the students revise everything they write. I often forget that every once in awhile I need to give them an assessment to see what they can do on-demand without my help. There is just as much value in allowing them to make mistakes and not talking about them as are there are in discussing key issues in their papers.

Again, the ideas of portfolios came up and again, lol, if anyone has some advice or websites I can visit to get some help in starting the implemetation of portfolios in my own clasroom I would greatly appreciate it.

One thing that I seem to tend to forget as a teacher sometimes is that we are constantly assessing the language use of our students. Today I had studnets define "apartheid" and they all looked in their books and copied down the definition the book gave. I then had them create a concept map on the board of all their different definitions. The final step was to have them partner up and pretend that I was a 10 year old and they had to explain the "book" definition in simpler terms. Many of my students struggled the activity and it really made me understand that this concept of apartheid was still new and unfamiliar to them. Although it was a quick and relatively unintrusive assessment I still was assessing where my students were in terms of understanding and defining this concept.

Top Design

In the past few years LKSD has attempted to include more authentic assessment in our curriculum. The theory and ideal behind the phase system was to create more authentic assessments for students that aligned with the state and district standards. However, the implementation of the phase system has had quite a few...hiccups (I'm being nice) .

However, I applaud the LKSD's District Office staff for one very valuable experience that I really wish they would continue. Every fall, the DO would ask students to participate in a district wide writing assessment. The students would respond, on demand to a writing prompt at their phase level. We would then send the writing samples in to the DO to be assessed at the Writing Assessment Training.

I was unable to attend the writing assessment training for two years due to the fact that the river was freezing up and we were stuck in Oscarville. Last year I was fortunate to hitchhike a helicopter ride to the assessment and found it one of the most valuable trainings I have participated in since coming to work in LKSD.

For three days teachers from all over the district joined together to grade all assessments. We were trained how to assess the papers using the same analytical scoring guide we used in our classrooms. For three days we debated, argued and reasoned with each other about how to score and why we chose to score the way we did. When I was reading this chapter I kept seeing myself at the training and although I did feel that the training was valuable while I was there I now see the value of it even more so and really wish that it was something that the district chose to keep going.

I'm kind of saddened that LKSD chose to not participate in this type of training any longer because it cost too much to fly in and house teachers for the three days. However, a few teachers from neighboring villages to Oscarville have expressed interest in doing our own little writing assessment and continuing the tradition on a much smaller scale.

One idea from this reading that I thought was so important was the idea that we need to take the assessments ourselves and score our own papers. It seems like such a no brainer that we put ourselves in our students' positions to try to understand what it is we are asking them to do.

One more idea that struck home with me is the idea that not all problems with assessments are going to be solved simply by switching to authentic assessments. I find that many of the assessments created with the phase system are much harder than some of the multiple choice tests at the end of a chapter. One example is that many of the reading assessments are very highly-language dependent. I spend much of my time showing students how to construct answers to certain questions just so they know how to answer them on the test and have a model of how to answer those questions. Although I do feel that it is necessary to show students how to answer questions on a test I feel that I spend more time showing them how to answer the test questions sometimes than I do on talking about the literature or having them create a project or participate in other meaningful activities.

Grades...I feel pretty strongly about grades. I often get frustrated at the fact that I have to sit down and do so many grade calculation for each of the classes I teach but the students seem to care very little about their grades. Grades really do not motivate me as a learner and in high school and even college grades meant very little to me. I don't get motivated by seeing A's on a report card. When I was in college I often felt like I did some mediocre work that received good grades and some pretty good work that got some hard criticism from my professors.

As a teacher I find that many of my students are not really all that motivated by grades. Most of them don't come in with their parents to conferences and when I do sit down and talk to them they nod their head and tell me what I want to hear and then walk away to do something else but their homework. It's frustrating. I want students to care about their grades but more importantly I want them to be motivated to do homework and to set goals for themselves.

What I would really like to be a part of in my school and district is to design more authentic assessments for our learners. I really wish that the district would lead unserviced in how we can guide and coach students to set their own goals and to become motivated learners and how we can create better authentic assessments.

Also, after reading this article I really, really, really, want to use portfolios and have the students present their portfolios to the community at the end of the year. If anyone uses electronic portfolios I would love to pick your brain!

State of Alaska LEP Accommodations

Here is a Power Point I found outlining the LEP Accommodations for the State of Alaska. It's kind of distorted but you can get the gist of it.

If you want to see it in its full glory go to: http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:0-KPdeieDGYJ:www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/presentations/Fall%252006/AlaskaLEPAccommodations.ppt+state+of+alaska+LEP&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

You could also Google "State of Alaska LEP Accommodations" to find the PowerPoint

What's going to happen?

Here is a list of discussion activities I am planning for class today. Everything should be ready to go.



So, here is a bulleted list of everything we are going to be doing in class today (at least during this discussion).


• Check-In

• Check out the synopsis on my blog

• Note activity/Discussion of Abedi's Six Issues with Assessment of English
* Each person will be assigned one issue
* They will then post at least 2-3 key ideas Abedi mentioned about that issues (please post
these in the comment section of the original post)
* As you post please be reading other people’s comments and add to them or comment
on what they wrote
* When everyone is done we will go back through and quickly discuss the main ideas of each
issue

• Lingering Questions/ Questions I still want to ask that may not have been covered in the activity

Abara Cad-abedi

Hey folks! I'm the discussion facilitator tomorrow and I was asked to provide a brief synopsis of the article. Here it is for all to see! I will be directing you back to this entry for one class activity tomorrow!

Synopsis of Article:

Within this article Abedi identifies and discusses six major LEP assessment issues as they relate to AYP reporting. The six major issues are as follows:


1. Inconsistency in LEP classification across and within states




2. Sparse LEP population




3. Lack of LEP subgroup stability




4. Measurement quality of AYP instruments of LEP students





5. LEP baseline scores





6. LEP cutoff points





(We’ll look at these more in depth in the activity!)

Abedi also identified other factors that can affect AYP. One major factor that can affect an LEP students’ ability to become proficient in the content is their ability to understand the instruction that is given. This lack of understanding may result in LEP students to participate less in class and even when LEP students did raise their hand the teacher was apt to call on them less.

Abedi goes on to discuss that LEP student don’t necessarily lag behind non-LEP students in terms of content knowledge but the biggest limiting factor on tests are the linguistic structures of the test. Also, because LEP students at such a lower baseline than native English speakers and lag farther behind native English speakers it will be near impossible for them to move at the same rate towards proficiency as native English speakers.

Abedi also discusses that the classification LEP students as well as the number of LEP students in each state also leads to inconsistent AYP reporting. Many districts and states have smaller numbers of LEP students and these small numbers make it difficult to reach reliable AYP reporting.

NCLB does not completely ignore LEP populations. Title III of NCLB does address students with Limited English Proficiency, however, Abedi believes that this wording is not enough to support and provide adequate testing for all LEP students in the entire nation. He goes on to state that the test developers should take into account recommendations to ensure that the mistakes that were made in the first tests do not happen again. Abedi discusses that many of the tests are questionable in terms of reliability and validity.

Abedi ends his article by giving ideas for improving the AYP outcome for LEP students. He says that there are four critical needs to help LEP students reach proficiency. They are 1) improve current LEP classification an assessment, 2) improve monitoring of progress, 3) improve teacher capacity and 4) consider redesignated LEP students as part of LEP subgroup that established the baseline score.

More importantly, Abedi concludes his article by discussing his purpose, to raise awareness of this issues and that it is his hope that policymakers, lawmakers, and decision makers to consider the struggles of the LEP student population when making decisions.

McNamara

One thing I liked about this chapter was that it laid out the history of language tests so that we could clearly understand how the tests and test construction has changed within the last 50 years or so.

When I read about the discrete point tests I could not help but think about the grammar drill exercises I used to receive in grade school. Then, suddenly, when I entered Junior High School the grammar exercises dropped off and I didn't get another grammar lesson until college. We then had to create sentence diagrams to "show" that we knew the parts of speech and where they all belonged on our neat little diagram. I actually liked diagramming (until it got hard) because it helped me to understand sentence structure and patterns.

So, the whole point of this ramble, is that as I was reading this chapter I really didn't feel like I had any gigantic insights or ah!ha! moments. What I did find myself doing as I read this chapter was that I was thinking more and more about all those tests we have to give and what kind of tests they are. Tests kept flashing in my head and I kept thinking about the construct and what type of tests they were.

Another thing that I kept thinking of as I read this chapter is that it has taken quite awhile for tests to change and for people to embrace these changes. I mean, it is 2008 and I'm still required to give students discrete point tests to see if they know what they need to know in terms of English grammar. The horribly sad and frustrating part is that I don't think (even about earning all those credit hours studying English) I could even pass those tests...yet I'm required to give them and have a second language learner pass them. Sigh. I cringe when I see those tests.

Authentic Assessment for Language Learners: Chapter 1

I felt that much of this chapter touched on the same issues that the McNamara chapter focused on. Once again, we see how useless standardized tests are when trying to assess language learners. Not only are they written in a language that may be ambiguous and unfamiliar to many language but they don’t provide enough information for teachers to accurately know how to adjust their instruction to help their students improve.

One of my biggest issues when looking at standardized test score is that I just get to see some mark on a page. We look at the high marks and identify the areas that the student is strong in and then look at the low areas and talk about what we are going to help our students improve in. However, what frustrates me is that I can never know what specific questions the students got wrong. I just see a black dot in the areas they are weak in and really, it tells me very little.

I was pretty pumped to learn that we will be learning more about the creation and implementation of portfolios in the classroom. I’ve tried to keep portfolios for my students before and I haven’t done such a good job. My students’ portfolios are a manila folder with their names on it with a bunch of their work inside. I don’t think that any of them have gone back to look at what they have written over time and reflected on whether they felt they improved or not.

As I was reading this chapter I kept thinking of what I already do in my classroom to assess my students. I try to focus very much on what my students’ strengths are and use their strengths to help them feel more confident in overcoming their weaknesses. I am very lucky that I have the same students for six hours a day. I have a chance to observe them in many different content areas and to determine what it is that they are really good at doing.

On page 7 the author states “authentic assessments take time and careful planning to be used effectively”. I agree with this…so much in fact that I often find myself giving out those multiple choice tests because they are just kind of a “wham bam, take the test and let’s move on to the next chapter” sort of assessment. I don’t have to spend a whole bunch of time coming up with a rubric and figuring out projects. This past summer I spent the greater part of the day just trying to figure out how to create ePortfolios to use in my classroom and still felt like I had gotten nowhere by the end of the day. I know assessment is my weak point as a teacher and although I have been making efforts there are many times I find the end of unit approaching and feel I need to give some sort of test at the end to see if the kids learned anything. It’s like I got programmed to give a test at the end of each unit in teacher college and it’s hard to rid myself of that undesirable habit. However, I am making changes in my classroom and I am trying quite hard to make assessment more of my focus. I will conquer ePortfolios even if I exhaust myself in the process. Authentic assessment, here I come!

Language Testing: Chapter 1

As I was reading the introduction to this book I couldn’t help but think of all the different tests I have been a part of in my 28 years of life. I remember being in elementary school and middle school and taking the good old standardized tests that were so widely mentioned in this chapter. I remember hating them and not really caring about what my score was but never having the guts to just fill in any old bubble like my brothers all claimed to do. I also remember feeling that sense of elation when, at conferences, my teachers would pull a sheet of paper out with tests scores on it and say I did well. Yay!! Then I took my driving test when I was 16 (I passed on the third time), my Praxis tests, essay exams, and every single college exam (just to name a few). Our society does focus around tests quite a bit.

One thing that kind of stood out for me in this chapter as I read it was that “language testing is relevant both for those actually involved in creating language tests, and also...for those involved in using tests or the information they provide, in practical and research contexts.” I ashamedly admit, that when we give our annual language test I really have no idea what that information does. We test the students, we tell them to do their best and I never see a report of any kind and the only feedback I get is whether the students are still LEP status or not. I have also given part of the language test and I have to say, that I think it is pretty silly. I also feel kind of bad for some students when they are listening to the professor or teacher talk and then they have to answer questions. About a quarter of the way through these students look at me, all panicky and I can see that they are just lost. I can’t do anything to help them out and all I can do is smile and try to convince them that this test (which we’ve made a big deal) really isn’t such a huge deal and to just do the best they can on it.

After reading this chapter I hate multiple-choice tests even more. However, I use them as a teacher. I use multiple-choice and fixed response tests in my classroom more as a way for students to practice for their standardized tests and to teach test taking skills to my students. I hate typing that. I feel like I’m letting a horrible secret out by saying I give multiple-choice tests. “Hello, my name is Erin and I’m a multiple-choice test giver.”

I do believe strongly that students should be able to self-assess themselves and to evaluate themselves as learners. I have students design their own rubrics in the classroom and the writing workshop I use focuses heavily on self-reflection at the end of each workshop. I really feel encouraged by what my students have already shown me in the classroom and I do want to continue encouraging them to reflect upon their learning and to determine their own capabilities as students.

One important aspect of this chapter is that performance tests can somewhat recreate a certain situation or tasks but that it can never be real. Although we can work to make testing seem as painless and as normal as possible the people being tested still know it is a test and therefore a whole host of behaviors could potentially influence the results and the validity of the tests.

Tests are all about inferences. Test takers are constantly making inferences about how they should answer and the raters are making inferences about how the test takers, based on their performance will act or behave in a certain situation.

The Maori

Maori Approaches to Assessment

The Moari approach to assessment is everything that NCLB lacks. The most significant lines (and there were many) in this article was “It is not about creating a one-size-fits-all approach to assessment, but more about authentic assessments”. This idea seems to be something that George W. has overlooked in the last 8 years. When I have parents in and go over their child’s tests we always focus on their weaknesses. I have to point to those sections where the bar falls under the vertical black line that deems proficiency and tell the parent that the child was low in this area and we will be working on it during the school year. Even as I’m saying it I can’t help but think of those 4 questions on the test that dealt with that concept and that if the student got two of those wrong it would drastically alter their grade. That little black line and the bars that measure “proficiency” can be quire misleading at times.

I think what the Maori people are doing is wonderful. I fully believe that if we want students to succeed we need to focus on their strengths and not so much on weaknesses. As teachers we need to be able to feel comfortable with students not excelling in everything. If a student is better at one area we should celebrate that with them.

Perhaps the most important idea that came from this article is that education does not just take place at the school. It should be a school and community partnership and in order for the Maori to instill traditional values and ways of life they have to work closely with the school. To be sure that the school is assessing the Maori students accurately they have to work closely with the community.

One idea I loved from this article that I am going to try to implement in my classroom is the idea of Learning Stories. As a teacher, I keep notes on students when they are having a bad day or are displaying unusual behavior. I keep thinking of a student of mine who has much difficulty composing and writing answers to reading questions and hates writing essays and just writing in general with a passion. However, he is a wonderful oral speaker. If I ask him to summarize what we just read he can spew off the main characters and plot points of a text. His answers in class are usually quite exemplary and he will often physically react to text. If we are reading a scary part he will look up and kind of shiver as if chilled. If it’s a sad part he might be shaking his head. I have all these great, specific stories that show his is learning and show he is internalizing and yet I talk about that black line at conferences. I really want to start keeping track and using learning stories in my classroom.

In all, the article was a little hard to get through but I eventually got through it. I think that what is happening in New Zealand is an inspiration to all.

Teacher Refuses to Give Test

Teacher Refuses to Give Test

I applaud this teacher for standing up for his beliefs. Last year I watched a student with a reading disability and who is LEP status pore over the Reading and Writing portion of his HSGQE. The poor kid not only spent the entire day reading and rereading and trying to finish this test, but he even stayed after school and worked on it. By the end of the second day the student was exhausted, so exhausted in fact that he couldn’t even finish his writing test. He was simply burned out. Imagine his frustration when he received his scores and to find out that he had not passed after all that work.

I also have another student who has learning disabilities and is currently at a fourth grade level in math, reading and writing. He also spent the entire day and part of his afternoon trying to finish his tests. As with the other student he did not pass the test.

I often reflect on the absurdity of the state tests, especially the HSGQE. However, I don’t know if I would have the guts to refuse to give the test. I think that Chew did prove a point but that he got off quite lightly. I’m not sure if that would happen in other school districts. There may be many reasons why he didn’t get more severely punished, perhaps it was the way he conducted his insubordination or perhaps it was his numerous years in the school district.

Whatever it was that kept Chew from getting more severely punished there would be no guarantee that other teachers would get off as lightly.

As much as we don’t like the idea of high stakes testing and as much as we are against it, it is going to take much more than one or two insubordinate teachers to change things.

I think the best thing we can hope for is that the next administration will make positive changes in the field of education.

Pierce Article

Many emotions and thoughts ran through me as I read this article. First, just the term NCLB causes my stomach to wretch and a grimace to appear on my face. I appreciate the fact that the government wants our students to attain a level of education that is on par with the rest of the world, but giving one test a year and deciding if the students has improved or not is not the answer, especially for students who are English Language Learners. When I first arrived at my school I encountered two young women who had taken the HSGQE four times. They were to take it two more times each before they had passed all their sections.

As a teacher I have felt intense frustration and pressure as a result of federal, state and local mandates for testing. As this article points out, often times the three agencies load teachers down with mandates and requirements for testing. These mandates and requirements load teachers down and make them feel boxed in as to what they can teach and how far they may be able to adapt and be creative with the material.

As I was reading this article I kept thinking of that dreaded time that occurs about a week or two before actual testing. During this week, teachers print off practice tests and require that the students take the practice tests. The teachers then spend the days before actual testing going over the practice tests with their students and “teaching” them test taking skills. In LKSD there is a week set aside in the writing curriculum map for Standardized Test Prep. I have always thought that this sort of cramming for tests is silly and ridiculous. Teachers should be helping students get ready for tests throughout the year and be working reading strategies into their lesson plans. What I have found throughout the last few years is that my students usually know what it is they want to say on essay or short answer questions on tests but often they don’t know how to say it. Consequently, I have spent much time modeling how to answer questions and discussing what words like “explain”, “describe”, and “tell” should look like in an answer.

I agree with the author that more Staff Development is needed to hold teachers up to the same standards we hold the students to. I can think of one school in particular whose students have not met AYP for a number of years and, according to a teacher there, “never will”. This angers me immensely. First, if staff were not only trained how to differentiate instruction and how to teach students reading strategies they can apply when taking tests but also required by the principal to who evidence of teaching these things in their lesson plans I think that teachers would be finding out that the students who will “never do it” will begin to show us that they can do it and that they can be successful, even if it is not the way that President Bush requires us to.

Also, does anyone else find it ironic that the state of Texas has lowered their passing requirements for their state tests? Considering that NCLB stems from Bush’s education plan when he was governor it seems only fitting that it hasn’t been successful there. Apparently even students in the great state of Texas aren’t too successful in passing tests that are designed to trick students so that they fail.

Computers and Language Learning

This article discussed the role of active communication in language learning. Often, ELLs arrive at school not knowing the discourse for that particular situation. That results in mistreatment from other students and teachers because the language learner appears unmotivated lazy when in fact they truly do not understand or have the language skills to understand the task at hand.

The author states that through the use of computers teachers can assist students in gaining the language skills necessary to help them become successful students and to help them become part of the social structure of school. Through the use of computers students can become more involved in their learning. They can also make choices about how to use the programs and what to do if the computer fails to work properly.

This article discussed the role of active communication in language learning. Often, ELLs arrive at school not knowing the discourse for that particular situation. That results in mistreatment from other students and teachers because the language learner appears unmotivated lazy when in fact they truly do not understand or have the language skills to understand the task at hand.

The author states that through the use of computers teachers can assist students in gaining the language skills necessary to help them become successful students and to help them become part of the social structure of school. Through the use of computers students can become more involved in their learning. They can also make choices about how to use the programs and what to do if the computer fails to work properly.

The teacher can also use computers to help students acquire the necessary language to overcome the power relationships that exists within schools. When students know the lanague they can participate int eh larger school communities effectively.

This article made me think about all the English Laguage Learners I have worked with throughout the years. Often, I hear that students can’t or won’t be able to do certain things. I think back to when I was student teaching and there was one boy in my class. Everyday he would come into English class and within seconds his head was down on his desk and it remained there for the rest of the class hour. My cooperating teacher told me that the student had a history of nonparticipatroy behavior and that his behavior was nothing new and that he wouldn’t ever participate in class. Looking back on the situation I am amazed at how unaware I was of this kid’s situation. I wonder now about what I could have done to have made school better for him and how I could have tapped into his funds of knowledge and how I could have connected to him better.

Meskill, C. (2005). Triadic Scaffolds: Tools For Teaching English Language Learners With Computers. Language Learning & Technology. 9 (1). (pp.46-59).

New Math

I thought this was funny.

Webquests

This article was all about webquests and how to set one up in your classroom. It gave some really good resrouces and if one were to find it online I would go ahead and bookmark the snot out of that website because I'm sure that you would come back to it at some point.

I've always thought that webquests for for younger children and had a vision of some cloze type activity accompanying the task and children would just peruse the internet and look for the words that fill in the blanks on each site. I have never used a webquest in my classroom. Right now I am kicking myself in the butt because I see the value of a webquest for various projects, especially research projects. I have found that my high school students need quite a bit of guidance creating reserach questions and finding answers to those questions. A webquest would be the perfect way to guide students towards the answers without really having to lecture or do all the work yourself. It would be a great way for students to hone those reserach skills and become research maniacs!

I also think that webquests are great ways for students to work on group skills as well. I'm sold. I think I like them.

Here are some links I found when I Googled "webquests"...some look pretty kewl.

http://webquest.org/index.php

http://www.spa3.k12.sc.us/WebQuests.html

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/webquest/webquest.html

http://bestwebquests.com/what_webquests_are.asp

Dodge, B. (1997). Webquests. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from San Diego State University WebQuest site: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about webquests.html

Emerging Technologies

Emerging Technologies

With the rise in online activity there are many opportunities and ways in which people can post their own personal writing. Many browsers now include text editing features which makes it easier for people to save their work and edit their work online instead of through a different software program. This makes it extremely easy for people to access their work and to edit it regardless of the operating system of the computer.

This article also discussed in depth about portfolios and how e-portfolios have grown in popularity. The growth of online portfolios has many positive implications for language learners. Language learners can track and see their progress and growth over time.

Not only do language learners have the ability to keep all their documents online, but there are also a variety of programs that can be used to assess writing as well. Not only do these programs check grammar but there are some that can also evaluate the writing sample and give a score.

The section of this article that interested me the most was the section regarding e-portfolios. I really want to use e-portfolios in my classroom and have been exploring many websites to find the best way to begin the project. I still have students keeping their work in manila folders and I keep those folders in a crate in the corner of my classroom so they don’t get lost. However, what I would love to do is to have the freedom to give the students the hard copies of all their work and to know that if they want to access their work they can just pop online and access it.

I’m glad to know that there are programs out there that can assess my students’ essays for me. It hink it would be interesting to see how the essay would differ if I were to assess it and if the computer program were to assess it. Since many of the programs just look at formulaic writing I wonder how many grammatical mistakes I would overlook due to the content or purpose of that written piece. It would also be interesting for students to run their own essays through the assessment program before they turn it in or before we meet for a teacher conference so they could identify and fix some of those errors on their own.

Godwin-Jones, R. (2008). Emerging technologies web-writing 2.0: Enabling, documenting, and assessing writing online, 12 (2), 7-13.

Thornedy, Thorne, Thorne, Thorne

This was a pretty good article. Thorne does a good job of not only stating how to use technology in the classroom but how technology fits into various language acquisition theories. Thorne also talked about how technology can fit into classroom pedagogy and described how to use wikis, blogs and gaming in the classroom to enhance SLA.

I’m glad that Thorne included the various language acquisition theories and how technology fits into those theories. This has helped me to focus more on how I can apply the various theories of SLA and technology in my own research.

The section of the article I chose to focus on the most was the section that dealt with how open internet communities can enhance SLA. I found it quite interesting that the students from various cultures responded and used the technology in completing different ways. I also found it encouraging the students were able to identify and discuss how the partnerships helped enhance SLA. I have been thinking of trying to arrange a telecollaboration with another school but have not quite organized it as of yet. In the past, I have had my students email or be keypals with other students in Japan and Italy but the students had a hard time trying to figure out what to write and often tines responses were quite slow. I would love to do a telecollaboration project using some sort of chat (iChat, Skype) that has a video chat option. I think that would help students to realize that the other students existed in some other realm instead of just on a computer screen and hopefully that would encourage students to form a more worthwhile relationship.

Many of the ideas in this article have been the same ideas that have been presented in many other articles as well. I think it is extremely important to allow students to craft their own identities and personalities. With so many students coming from such a variety of backgrounds it is so important that we incorporate these differences into our classroom and allow students to express their individuality.

Thorn, S. (2006). New technologies and additional language learning. CALPER Working Paper Series, 1-26

The Evilness of Myspace

Yea!! So happy that someone is standing up for poor Myspace. Really, what did Myspace ever do to deserve the bashing it receives? Ok, ok, ok...I know that Myspace can be a tool sexual predators can use to target children. I realize that, if used inappropriately, it can be dangerous. However, wouldn't it make more sense to talk to kids about how to use the website responsibly instead of just blocking it? Don't people realize that if you tell a teen not to do something that it only makes them want to do it more? Ahhhhh!!

Garcia rocks for using Myspace with his students. I don't even know Garcia and already I like him (not in the kissy way, in the "he's cool as hell" way). Garcia has decided to use Myspace to connect to his students He has set up a Mysapce site so that students can check their homework and check in with him about what they need to do. He rationalizes the use of Myspace by pointing out that all the students use it anyway and that as teachers we need to figure out ways to connect with our students in a way that they will respond. He also states that using websites such as Myspace helps students to socially connect with each other and that each one of their sites is a reflection of who they are as an individual.

My favorite part of this article was the point Garcia made that kids are much more techno-savvy than we give them credit for. Haven't schools realized that they can ban all the websites they want but kids are going to find a way around them? When I went to AASG in Anchorage this past fall there I noticed some students on Myspace. I approached them and asked if their school allowed them to access Myspace. They laughed and said no and then went right back to what they were doing. I just laughed and walked away. Here were students, using school computers to access a site that the school had banned and they weren't even hiding it. Since so many other teachers in my district are frequent Myspacers I have heard many of them voice their frustrations that this site is blocked. One of the funniest stories I have had a friend tell me is that he once busted a kid on Myspace and made the kids show him how to access Myspace. Instead of punishing the kid the teacher received instruction on how to use other proxy servers to access blocked websites.

Students are going to use Myspace no matter how many times we block it. I use Myspace and some of my students are my "friends" as well as many other teachers and co-workers. My students and I talk about Myspace quite a bit and we have had discussions about how to protect yourself and how to use the website responsibly. However, I have never once told them that I thought Myspace was the evil demon that it has become in the media.

This is a picture of Antero Garcia. He's cute and much younger than I thought. I wonder if he has a wife and if he talks to her on Myspace too?

Garcia, A. (2008). Rethinking myspace: Using social networking tools to connect with students. Rethinking Schools, 22, 27-29

The Laptops are Coming!

Hmmmm....where do I begin my response to this article.

Let's begin with a summary.

This article was centered around a teacher being frustrated by the misuse of technology in her school. Instead of creating a more cohesive community the technology distanced language learners. The computers allowed students to isolate themselves from the group. The author also stated her frustrations about her constant vigilance as to what content the students were looking up on the internet and felt that her classroom had gone from one of learning and cooperation to one of isolation where she had to "police" what students were doing. She ended the article by saying that if she had to do it all over again she would encourage their district to fully plan out how the computers would be implemented in the classrooms and address all aspects of the program before implementing it.

Now for my reaction.....(I have lots to say)

As a One-to-One program leader in my school I think that the integration of computers has been probably the most valuable addition to our school in the past few years. When I first heard that we were going to get fancy new laptops I was very resistant. I had very little knowledge about computers and was, yes, intimidated by the expectations of my district and of my principal. I had no idea how I was going to integrate technology into my curriculum and I looked at the program as just as something else I would have to manage.

When all the One-to-One leaders went to the district training we were still intimidated. We all left interpreting the expectations of our district and of Apple differently. I put the computers in the hands of my students and there were immediate issues that arose. Many students stayed up all night chatting with friends and were definitely not using the computers for homework. I felt frustrated. Then, four out of six computers needed repairs due to negligence. It was then that I really sat down and started thinking about whether this program was worth all the headaches and how I could change aspects of it to make it more worthwhile.

I feel bad that the author in the article felt that the computers were creating distance among her learners. In my experience, the laptops have been instrumental in creating and solidifying a more effective classroom community. I see students sharing ideas and helping each other figure stuff out. They share jump drives, talk about podcasts, tell each other about cool websites and so much more. I love watching my students interact with each other.

As far as monitoring the computers...I think it is all about how the teacher explains and present the monitoring software to the learners. I've used my monitoring program not as a way to catch them doing something bad but as a way to enhance learning. I can see what my students are doing at all times on their computers and they know it. They will often ask me to look at their screens to see if they are doing something correct or will ask me to take control of their computer to help them understand how something is done. I can also chat with my students on the program and I have used it numerous times to help students and to talk to students about what they are struggling on without ever uttering a word.

I was surprised to read that the learners themselves wanted the laptops gone. I think that if the laptop program is so unsuccessful that even kids don't want it the district really needs to take another look at it. As with any other learning tool, computer usage really needs to be monitored by the teacher. If she has a party and no one is talking and everyone is just on the computer then the teacher needs to establish more structure about when it is and is not appropriate to use the computers. Students need to be knowledgeable about social etiquette and part of having the computers is teaching them how to use it responsibly.

McFarlane, S. (2008). The laptops are coming! The laptops are coming!, Rethinking Schools, 22, 22-26

My Precious Little Nephew

My Precious Little Nephew by Cindy La Marr is a poem about a little boy realizing the inequity that exists in the world. The narrator is an auntie who loves her nephew very much and who is also hurt when her “precious little nephew” realizes the cruelty of people. It was one of many poems that I responded to quite emotionally. As an aunt I am often amazed and awed by the wonder of my niece, her boldness and her love of the world. I am envious of her unawareness of the inequity that exists in the world and how people can direct one’s feelings about themselves. When I see her I really feel that she is in a free and perfect world. Also, like the aunt in the poem I want to protect and want nothing but the best for my niece. When I see someone hurt her I am hurt. The use of repetition of the words, “my precious little nephew” in this poem made the aunt’s love for the nephew come alive and we realize the depth of the love she has for her nephew. I found these to be the most powerful words in the poem. This poem brought me back to many of my younger days as I was discovering that other people did not always think and feel the same way I did about things. I remember bringing something to school to show off only to find that others didn’t understand why this object was important to me or how proud I was of it. Discovering society’s unspoken rules and behaviors is a difficult process that, often times, hurts and wounds in ways that run much deeper than we could ever imagine.

Obama On Education

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

Week 1

First, let me just say that I am really liking this block schedule. I feel that we can really get into good discussion and that there is continuity through the days.

I've been thinking A LOT about course design throughout the last couple of days. I think I'm kind of amazed at how much planning and follow up really does go into course planning and I'm a bit ashamed to admit that often I just kind of throw things together to see if it will work. I feel I am getting a better handle on course planning and how to use the materials I have more effectively. I also am understanding more the importance of good course planning and have made promises to myself to be a better course planner.

I'm not sure if I have specific questions about the material. I think the biggest thing I have been doing is questioning myself and the reasons why I choose to do or not do something. I've been realizing slowly how much effort course planning is. Since I am going to plan new courses for this upcoming school year, I'm a little overwhelmed. There is so much thought and planning that goes into designing a new curriculum that I am kind of wondering where to start.

Chapter 1 and 2

I'm going to be a total dork right now and say that I really like this textbook.

Chapter 1 outlined the organization of the rest of the book and went into some details about what the main ideas of each of the sections was.

Chapter 2 gave the goals and rationale for integrating technology into the classroom. Chapter 2 used the key principles of second language acquisition and explained how technology can be used to boost language acquisition.

I was so glad to see so many positive remarks about the use of technology in the classroom. Over the last two years I have made many strides to include technology in the classroom and to expose my students to as many technologies as possible. I feel strongly that with all the new technologies available that educators need to become more knowledgeable about how to use them in their classes. I often hear from other teachers that they don't want their students to use computers because the teachers don't feel confident in how to use computers themselves and they are scared to just turn the kids loose. However, what I have found is that many of my students come in with so much knowledge about how to use technology and I have given them opportunities to be my teacher and to teach me a thing or two.

I also feel strongly that schools need to reassess some of the rules they have in place for electronic devices in the classroom. I often bring in my iPod and will play it during class or download podcasts to share with my class and yet, my students cannot bring their own iPod in. I often see iPod cords hanging out from their desks and they use it in secret. I've actually stopped asking them to put their iPods away. Instead, I try to direct them to podcasts that they may enjoy, I show them how to put pictures on and we often will spend time after school playing with the iPods and iTunes. I figure that the time I am spending interacting with my students and talking about iPods and iTunes is much more effective than yelling at them to put the iPods away.

Erben, T. (2008). Introduction: Calling all foreign language teachers. In T. Erben & I. Sarieva (Eds)., Calling all foreign language teachers: Computer assisted language learning in the classroom. (pp. 1-4). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education

Sarieva, I & Zoran, A. (2008). Guiding principles: Second language acquisition, instructional technology, and the constructionvist framework. In T. Erben & I. Sarieva (Eds)., Calling all foreign language teachers: Computer assisted language learning in the classroom. (pp. 1-4). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education

Chapter 9

Oh Chapter 9...

This chapter told me all about how to evaluate a curriculum to see if it is effecive or not. It told me about the different purposes and types of evaluation and when I would use that type of evaluation. It also focused on choosing an audience for the evaluation so that a more holistic evaluation can be completed. The chapter also told me all about how gather information to use in a curriculum evaluation and how to analyze that data.

One thing that stood out for me in this chapter was that when Richards was telling me all about the various audiences for the evaluation the students were the first people listed. I think that the students ideas and viewpoints are extremely important to keep in mind when evaluating the effectiveness of the course. We can crunch all the data we want but the most valuable information is going to come from the students themselves. Their ideas and opinions are the most important source of information we have in the classroom.

I also feel that according to Richards, course evaluation is very in depth and requires a lot of documentation and then examination of that documentation. In my school and my district I have never participated in such an indepth examination of the courses. From conversations I have had with other teaches I know that there are definitely many opinions and feelings about the way the courses are going. However, I also feel that we don't have many opportunities to give consistent feedback about those courses and that the curriculum stays the same for a few years until it is time to review it again.

Richards, J. (2001). Approaches to evaluation. In Curriculum development in language teaching. (286-309). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Chapter 8

This chapter focused on the role materials play in language learning. The materials that the language learners are exposed to serve as their primary exposure to the material. Therefore, the materials that the teacher chooses to use in the classroom has to add content to the course and supplement the teacher's instruction. The chapter then focused on explaining authentic materials versus created materials. Richards also provided guidelines on how to evaluate textbooks and how to adapt them to the classroom so they would be better suited to the language needs of the learners. The remainder of the chapter focused on choosing materials and monitoring the use of materials in the classroom.

One thing I connected with when reading this chapter was how some teachers use materials as the basis for their instruction when materials should be used to supplement instruction, not drive it. With so many packaged curriculums out there we really need to be careful as to how we are using materials in the classroom. Often, textbooks are not appropriate for the students in terms of readability. I have adapted many of my classroom textbooks to better suit the language needs of my students. Also, I think it is important to remember that the materials used should be meaningful to the students and should be something that is not only user-friendly but something that the students can make connections to and draw meaning from.

Another aspect of this chapter that I felt strongly about was the explanation of what "materials" are. Too often, when we talk about materials we talk about what texts or textbooks we are going to use to teach a concept. What I liked in this chapter was that the definition of what materials was much broader than the traditional sense. Too often, teachers get stuck on page numbers and "teaching" a book chronologically from page 1 to the end. However, there so many other things we can share with our students to make their language learning meaningful. The hardest part is taking the time and making the effort to go out there and find those things.

Richards, J. (2001). The role and design of instructional materials. In Curriculum development in language teaching. (pp. 251-285). New York: Cambridge University Press.

All the different syllabuses...

Grammatical (structural) syllabus

A grammatical syllabus is one that is organized solely around grammatical items. It is used most often in beginner level language courses and the items chosen for the syllabus are ones that will allow the learner to acquire beginning level communication skills.

Although many courses are not usually planned entirely around grammatical items, a grammatical syllabus can still be quite valuable in that many students expect to see grammatical items on a syllabus and will often question the absence of grammatical items. Grammatical items can also be linked fairly easily to other items on a syllabus and since grammar does serve as a basis for language proficiency and grammatical forms should be included in the syllabus.

A syllabus based entirely on grammatical items can be problematic in many ways. First, grammar constitutes only a small portion of language proficiency and a syllabus based entirely on grammar can often ignore other important aspects of language proficiency such as communicative skills. Also, according the naturalist approach, some students may not be ready linguistically to understand and use that particular form. Focusing on grammar often means that students are not given the opportunity to use and make meaning from longer units of the written and spoken word.

There is a place for the teaching of grammar in my courses. However, I do not explicitly teach grammatical units unless many of my students are struggling with mastering one particular form. If I see many students making common grammatical errors then I will take class time to present a lesson on that form. Often times I will address other grammatical issues one on one with students when we conference about their writing and ask the student to focus on correcting that particular grammatical issues. Although grammar is a course component in my writing class I do not spend much time focusing solely on grammar, instead, I spent much class time encouraging students to create writing samples and discussing those samples their peers and with their teacher.


Lexical Syllabus

A lexical syllabus is based on vocabulary and targets a certain number of vocabulary words depending on the level of the student. Vocabulary targets for an elementary student would be approximately 1,000 words whereas the target for an advanced level language student would be 2,000 or more words.

Many educators agree that including the teaching of vocabulary is important in acquiring a language. All level of textbooks and materials include target vocabulary and it is definitely needed in a language course.

A lexical syllabus, however, is not an ideal to have in isolation. IT is most effective when incorporated into a larger, more comprehensive syllabus.

Functional Syllabus

A functional syllabus is one that focuses on communicative competence. It explores how words are used to achieve meaning and encourages language learners to develop communication skills such as requesting, complaining, suggesting and agreeing.


One advantage of a functional syllabus is that it provides an opportunity for language learners to socialize and to seek answers for themselves. Language learners send much of their time expressing how they feel about something. Functional syllabi are also beneficial because they provide an opportunity for language learners to use the language and are well suited to teaching listening and speaking skills in a language.

Some drawbacks to a functional syllabus are that students may often lack grammatical knowledge that is not focused on in the syllabus. Also, students often only practice certain phrases, expressions or idioms that they may come across in certain contexts, thus the language that they learn is only a small sample of the whole language.


Situational syllabus

Situational syllabuses use language students may find accompanying certain situations, such as at a school or at a hotel. These types of syllabus identifies in which situations learners will use the language and then has students practice the typical communicative acts they may find in that situation.

The main advantage to using situational syllabuses is that the language the learner uses is very practical and has very realistic and practical use for the language learner.

The drawback to situational syllabuses is that the learners only practice the specific language for that particular situation. Students may not transfer the language use to other situations. Grammar is not explicitly taught and students, although they can use the language to achieve a purpose, lack grammatical knowledge about that language.


Topical or content-based syllabus

A topical or content-based syllabus is one where the content of the syllabus is more important than grammar, functions or situations. The content is the core of the syllabus and is often organized thematically or by topics. Content is chosen based on theme and then the presentation of language structures follow whereas with other syllabuses the teacher decides which language structures to teach the students and then content is chosen that models the appropriate use of that structure.

One advantage to a content-based syllabus is that students can make links and connections to the various contents provided. Also, teachers may choose content based on the needs and interests of their students and the presentation of this content could then motivate learners. Content-based syllabuses also aid in comprehension and may be more meaningful to the learners.

One drawback to content based syllabuses are that grammatical forms are not practiced as well as situations in which the learner may use the language. Another questions about the development of content-based courses are that of how the content is chosen and whether there is a balance between content and grammar. The issue of appropriate assessment also arises when designing content bases courses.

Competency based syllabus

A competency based syllabus is one that centers on students mastering and becoming competent in the skills, knowledge and attitudes to perform a certain task or activity. These types of syllabuses are often used in work based education and social survival programs.

One major benefit to a competency-based syllabus is that learners are often given the skills and knowledge they need to survive and be successful in everyday society. They may be used to give immigrants or refugees the necessary language skills to obtain a job or to survive in an unfamiliar environment.

One criticism that is present in competency-based programs is that the competencies that are chosen for a particular program may have hidden values and the learners are taught not to question the values. Competency based programs are sometimes formed to make refugees and immigrant passive participant in a society instead of to complain, disagree or resist the values that are impressed upon them.


Task-based syllabus

This is a syllabus that is organized around tasks that the students must complete in the target language. While carrying out tasks the learners receive comprehensible input and they modify their output accordingly. Two types of tasks that are employed with the implementation of this syllabus include pedagogical tasks and real-world tasks.

The main advantage with task-based syllabuses is that they allow students to practice tasks and activities that they encounter in real world situations.

One issue with a task-based syllabus is that it encourages fluency of language use over accuracy.

An integrated syllabus

An integrated syllabus is one the threads together different components from various other syllabus designs. Varying levels of language proficiencies may benefit from various types of syllabus designs.
The main advantage of using an integrated syllabus is that it helps the course designer decide what the focus of each level of language learning should be and to design a syllabus that has the appropriate focus for that level.

Since almost all types of syllabuses integrate other syllabus designs there really are no drawbacks to an integrated syllabus.

Text-based syllabus

A text-based syllabus is one that focuses on using various written and spoken texts in a language classroom. A variety of texts are chosen that fit the particular context of the language learner and then units of work are developed from those texts.

An advantage to a text-based syllabus is that it is highly integrated. It focuses on specific language structures and grammatical features of the texts. It provides students with guided practice as develop their language skills and glean meaning from the texts.

In many situations a text-based syllabus is impractical and does not all for a more general language proficiency to be developed.

Skills syllabus

Skills syllabuses are designed to approach language by teaching skill sets to the learners. It takes a complex activity and breaks it down into varying skills that he learner masters. A skills syllabus is broken down into macro skill sets and micro skills sets. The goal is to have the learner master micro skills on their way to mastering the macro skills. It breaks complex activities down into smaller skills and the student is assessed according to their performance of those skills.

One advantage to this syllabus is that is provides a nice, neat framework for course design and teaching materials. This type of syllabus can be implemented and be beneficial to students if students have very specific needs.

The main drawback is to this type of syllabus is that the focus is not on communicative abilities that students can apply in a wider setting.

Richards, J. (2001). Course planning and syllabus design. In Curriculum planning in language teaching. (145-197). New York: Cambridge University Press