I am so frustrated right now. We are in the final stretch of the semester (final exams begin tomorrow!) I am not sure what the issue is with some of my students, but I am very upset by the overuse of Google Translate. I am not sure what the problem is.......or how to fix it. I have never had a group so reliant on GT before.
My current frustration is a student that wrote his three paragraph fairy tale for the summative assessment for the fairy tale unit. The minute I looked at it, I knew there was trouble. The writing was far superior to anything he had ever done before. As I read the three paragraphs, my eye was drawn to three misspelled words, one in each paragraph, in English. This pretty much confirmed what I had suspected all along, that he had used Google Translate to write the story.
Now, against my policy and my usual mean "teacher" self......I spoke to this student, and after he confessed to using the translator (and he broke down and cried), I decided to give him the opportunity to write the story again....IN HIS OWN WORDS!! I reassured him that I would not have given an assignment that I didn't feel that all of my students were capable of doing and that dictionaries are fine, but translators are not. Students have to use their own brain to show me what they know.
So, today was the deadline for him to give me his rewrite. (I gave him an entire week, which I thought was rather nice of me.) What did I get for all my niceness? I have a paper, that is almost word for word EXACTLY THE SAME as the original paper he turned in!!!!! He did fix the words that he misspelled in English and translated them to Spanish.....and he also added his own sentence to the end. Now to ensure that I knew exactly what had been done, he made sure he gave me back the original with the new version.
I am so upset I could spit nickels.....Now, I have to call parents and explain that I gave their kiddo a second chance and that he still chose to use the translator. I don't know how to be more clear about translator usage. Please.....please......help me!!!!
Showing posts with label spanish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spanish. Show all posts
Monday, December 16, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Reviewing the past and looking forward to the future
This week I celebrated my birthday. I have always found that birthdays are a great time to look back over the past year and reflect on what I have accomplished and look forward to the new challenges that the new year brings. (I never seem to have the time for this reflection at New Year's!) I also just wanted to take a moment to thank my family for all the love and support that they have given me over the past year. I have been so busy with teaching, blogging, presenting, interviews, and writing, and I could never get it all done without a fantastic family standing with me supporting me all the way.
Over the last year, I have done four webinars with the help of Sophia and the Flipped Learning Network. I have been interviewed for three articles as well as an interview for a podcast with Troy Cockrum with the Flipped Learning Network. I did a presentation for my school district about the flipped classroom and another presentation for my state foreign language conference (CCFLT). I have also been elected to the Board of CCFLT. I have also been fortunate enough to have great conversations with many teachers not just from across the country, but around the world about the flipped class. These teachers have provided valuable insight, suggestions, and a sounding board that enables me to keep my sanity! (My husband likes it too because I have other people to talk to about the flip besides him!) I am also very excited about the new Flipping 2.0 book which is available for pre-order now! Being able to contribute to this great book with so many Flipped Class celebrities has made me feel awesome!
Although all of that has been wonderful, for me, the best part of last year was the success that my students felt in my classroom throughout the year. So many of my students did things that they never thought they could and surpassed not only their own expectations, but mine as well. There were still some things that did not go as planned, and as always, there are changes that I am making for the next year. However, I believe that if I ever stop thinking that I need to evaluate and make changes to the curriculum, it is probably time to find something else to do!
I have been fortunate to be accepted to speak and the AATSP and the ACTFL conferences this year as well as helping to organize/present a Flipped Class PD at CU in Boulder. I am also going hoping to present again at the CCFLT state conference as well as the Flipped Class Conference in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Looking towards next year in the classroom, I am working on moving all of my thematic units to a more "Essential Question" approach. I love the idea of focusing on interpretive, interpersonal and presentational aspects for each unit. Some of my units are already using this method (unintentionally) but I want them all to be incorporating all of these elements. I am also (this was a goal from last year) working on incorporating more PBL in my classroom. I am doing a bit of this, but I struggle with how and where to have the students present the work in the "real world". I am hoping that as I present and attend AATSP next week I will have some more great ideas. Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like a good conference!
In particular I need to work on my Spanish IV curriculum. In the past I have been a little looser with this class and moved from topic to topic as the students showed interest, but since my class has grown to 17 this year, I need to have a slightly more formal structure while still allowing the students to explore their interests and continue to increase their conversational skills. My planned units are Technology, Environment, Short Stories, Superstitions, Current Events, Ancient Cultures and Art. I am adding Technology to the Spanish IV curriculum because I did not get to it last year in 3, and I think it fits better in 4. I am adding the Ancient Cultures unit because I have already had some students show some interest in the theme, and I am thinking about a unit in conjunction with Math about Mayan math and culture. After going through the new state teacher evaluation this year, I am exploring ways I can cover some Math in the class without having to actually teach tons of math. (Scary stuff!)
In Spanish III, I am doing some tweaking and moving the Environment unit down from IV. After seeing what many other teachers are doing, I think it makes more sense in the lower level. I am also working on a collaboration project with Math for this class as well. I am still working with Steve Kelly and Zach Cresswell, but so far I am thinking about a statistical comparison of US culture with a Hispanic country (student choice) culture.
Although it is only July, I have so much to do and I am so excited about the new school year. I only managed to take about a week or two off from thinking about school, but I think I am ready to jump back in and see what cool things I can come up with to make this year the best yet. Stay tuned!
PS - If you will be at AATSP in San Antonio, let me know! I am looking forward to meeting lots of you face-to-face. Contact me here, email, or via Twitter at @SraWitten. I will be posting about the sessions I attend at the conference for those who can't be there next week.
Over the last year, I have done four webinars with the help of Sophia and the Flipped Learning Network. I have been interviewed for three articles as well as an interview for a podcast with Troy Cockrum with the Flipped Learning Network. I did a presentation for my school district about the flipped classroom and another presentation for my state foreign language conference (CCFLT). I have also been elected to the Board of CCFLT. I have also been fortunate enough to have great conversations with many teachers not just from across the country, but around the world about the flipped class. These teachers have provided valuable insight, suggestions, and a sounding board that enables me to keep my sanity! (My husband likes it too because I have other people to talk to about the flip besides him!) I am also very excited about the new Flipping 2.0 book which is available for pre-order now! Being able to contribute to this great book with so many Flipped Class celebrities has made me feel awesome!
Although all of that has been wonderful, for me, the best part of last year was the success that my students felt in my classroom throughout the year. So many of my students did things that they never thought they could and surpassed not only their own expectations, but mine as well. There were still some things that did not go as planned, and as always, there are changes that I am making for the next year. However, I believe that if I ever stop thinking that I need to evaluate and make changes to the curriculum, it is probably time to find something else to do!
I have been fortunate to be accepted to speak and the AATSP and the ACTFL conferences this year as well as helping to organize/present a Flipped Class PD at CU in Boulder. I am also going hoping to present again at the CCFLT state conference as well as the Flipped Class Conference in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Looking towards next year in the classroom, I am working on moving all of my thematic units to a more "Essential Question" approach. I love the idea of focusing on interpretive, interpersonal and presentational aspects for each unit. Some of my units are already using this method (unintentionally) but I want them all to be incorporating all of these elements. I am also (this was a goal from last year) working on incorporating more PBL in my classroom. I am doing a bit of this, but I struggle with how and where to have the students present the work in the "real world". I am hoping that as I present and attend AATSP next week I will have some more great ideas. Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like a good conference!
In particular I need to work on my Spanish IV curriculum. In the past I have been a little looser with this class and moved from topic to topic as the students showed interest, but since my class has grown to 17 this year, I need to have a slightly more formal structure while still allowing the students to explore their interests and continue to increase their conversational skills. My planned units are Technology, Environment, Short Stories, Superstitions, Current Events, Ancient Cultures and Art. I am adding Technology to the Spanish IV curriculum because I did not get to it last year in 3, and I think it fits better in 4. I am adding the Ancient Cultures unit because I have already had some students show some interest in the theme, and I am thinking about a unit in conjunction with Math about Mayan math and culture. After going through the new state teacher evaluation this year, I am exploring ways I can cover some Math in the class without having to actually teach tons of math. (Scary stuff!)
In Spanish III, I am doing some tweaking and moving the Environment unit down from IV. After seeing what many other teachers are doing, I think it makes more sense in the lower level. I am also working on a collaboration project with Math for this class as well. I am still working with Steve Kelly and Zach Cresswell, but so far I am thinking about a statistical comparison of US culture with a Hispanic country (student choice) culture.
Although it is only July, I have so much to do and I am so excited about the new school year. I only managed to take about a week or two off from thinking about school, but I think I am ready to jump back in and see what cool things I can come up with to make this year the best yet. Stay tuned!
PS - If you will be at AATSP in San Antonio, let me know! I am looking forward to meeting lots of you face-to-face. Contact me here, email, or via Twitter at @SraWitten. I will be posting about the sessions I attend at the conference for those who can't be there next week.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Tapping into peer-to-peer teaching with assessments
I am constantly looking at how I am assessing students and trying out new ideas to help the students do a better job of demonstrating their knowledge. With this in mind, I tried a partner test for my new level 1 class. It started as an idea from necessity...we had three snow days in five class days, and there just wasn't enough time to get everything done that needed to be accomplished before Spring Break. When I decided upon this partner test, I had no idea that it was going to turn out to be a great idea.
So, I had the students sit two to a table and let them use notes and their partner to complete the test. They were allowed to use any notes and their partner at their table, no one else and no other resources. (I was pleasantly surprised by how some of the pairings worked out - I had some A/B students with B/C students.) I had created the test so although there would be some quick, easy answers from the notes, there was quite a bit of long answer: translate the sentence, write original sentences with specific words, and writing an original paragraph.
Amazingly, what happened was not a furious copying down of material from the notes, but great dialogues about how and why some grammatical things happened. I loved watching all of the students work together to come up with the right answers. Some worked together the whole way, some each did what they knew and then compared and discussed what was missing. Others (mostly the A students) did the test on their own and then swapped papers to peer review.
Yes, I know that this is not necessarily a true assessment of what each student knew, but to be honest, I thought the dialogue that came from doing this was well worth it. The most interesting part was that when I finished grading the assessments, the majority of students performed the way they normally do on tests. The only exception were my lower achieving students, who, for the most part, did better than normal. The best part was that in the days since we did this, I have heard more students doing peer-to-peer teaching, even the lower achieving students.
Since this went so well with level 1, I thought I would try something similar with my level 3 classes. We are studying adverbial phrases with the subjunctive, which is really some tough material. So, what I decided to do was have the students take the assessment normally. Then I gave them 10 minutes to compare and correct mistakes on their tests. Again, there were some great discussions about some tough grammatical concepts. I did have two students (out of 80) that really made out because they clearly had not studied at all, but the majority were able to tweak and refine their answers.
I guess I am just a sucker for peer-to-peer teaching. The students all have so much to offer each other and it is very difficult to tap into all of their knowledge. I don't think it is bad for students to discuss the concepts and then make decisions about what is right. I wouldn't do it all the time, but with a really tough concept, thought it was a good idea.
What do you think??
So, I had the students sit two to a table and let them use notes and their partner to complete the test. They were allowed to use any notes and their partner at their table, no one else and no other resources. (I was pleasantly surprised by how some of the pairings worked out - I had some A/B students with B/C students.) I had created the test so although there would be some quick, easy answers from the notes, there was quite a bit of long answer: translate the sentence, write original sentences with specific words, and writing an original paragraph.
Amazingly, what happened was not a furious copying down of material from the notes, but great dialogues about how and why some grammatical things happened. I loved watching all of the students work together to come up with the right answers. Some worked together the whole way, some each did what they knew and then compared and discussed what was missing. Others (mostly the A students) did the test on their own and then swapped papers to peer review.
Yes, I know that this is not necessarily a true assessment of what each student knew, but to be honest, I thought the dialogue that came from doing this was well worth it. The most interesting part was that when I finished grading the assessments, the majority of students performed the way they normally do on tests. The only exception were my lower achieving students, who, for the most part, did better than normal. The best part was that in the days since we did this, I have heard more students doing peer-to-peer teaching, even the lower achieving students.
Since this went so well with level 1, I thought I would try something similar with my level 3 classes. We are studying adverbial phrases with the subjunctive, which is really some tough material. So, what I decided to do was have the students take the assessment normally. Then I gave them 10 minutes to compare and correct mistakes on their tests. Again, there were some great discussions about some tough grammatical concepts. I did have two students (out of 80) that really made out because they clearly had not studied at all, but the majority were able to tweak and refine their answers.
I guess I am just a sucker for peer-to-peer teaching. The students all have so much to offer each other and it is very difficult to tap into all of their knowledge. I don't think it is bad for students to discuss the concepts and then make decisions about what is right. I wouldn't do it all the time, but with a really tough concept, thought it was a good idea.
What do you think??
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Conquering the challenges
The last few weeks have been busy weeks in my classroom. Here is a quick recap:
Unit 1, Challenges in Teen Life proficiency assessment (culminating project for the unit - found in important docs) was a mixed bag. In many ways it was a success because the students all worked together to create a project in the target language. They worked over the course of the unit, but the last two weeks were the most intense. It was great to see the students working together, watching other commercials in the target language and creating posters, PowerPoints and videos.
As with most big projects, I realized at the end that I need to explain a few things better. I told them to create "campaigns" for the teen problem, such as "Don't Drink and Drive". However from many I got something that more closely resembled a report on drunk driving. Clearly I need to include a "slogan" portion of the assignment and we should watch examples of these types of commercials before they begin working. Sometimes, explanation just isn't enough. Overall, they were good, and they chose great teen issues and learned tons of Spanish. Next year, I just need to help them a little more with what I am envisioning. I need to give them choices, but still show more examples of what I think it should look like.
On to Unit 2, Fairy Tales and Legends! This is always a popular unit. Again, since the Spanish 2 teacher gave overviews of some of the elements I teach in 3, I still have some students that don't want to do the video instruction, because they "know" the concepts. However, this time I changed the way I did the grammar. It is in three small parts over the course of 3 class days. So, I have had the opportunity to catch those not taking notes, fix problems with irregulars, and then the students have still had another opportunity to practice the work again.We have our first Benchmark Assessment on Monday/Tuesday, and I am hoping that this will help them to do better.
Since last week was Homecoming Week, I had given the kids short Fairy Tale skits to work on in groups, learn and then present. I make the kids memorize their lines, bring costumes, props, etc. They grumble, and some just can't do the memorization, but the skits are loads of fun, and the students really enjoy doing them and watching the other groups. It is one of the activities I never had class time to fit in, that now I can enjoy with my students.
Here are some samples of the posters I received. (Imagine them as billboards!)
Here is a link to a great video that another group of students did.
Flipped Class progress - I still feel as though this year's classes are not getting as much out of the flip as we did last year. I am adding more fun activities to help them practice, for example we did Scattegories and Speed Dating. However, I am still having trouble getting the students to open up and interact with each other and me. Too many are content to be in their own zone and try to never say a word. I have to change this....but how?? I have been thinking about it for a few weeks, and think I have finally come up with some ideas.
First, I am going move away from the word of the day for a while and give them a speaking prompt of the day. They will need to have at least five minute conversation in pairs at the beginning of every class period. I am going to make each group record their conversation on a hand held recorder. I don't know that I will listen to them all the time (or at all), but it is my experience that if the students think I am recording it they will take it more seriously. I can usually get a good feel for the conversations as I am walking around the room. As far as I am concerned, if they are in the target language and trying, that is good enough for me.
Second, in the next unit, I am moving away from the short stories and going to introduce the readers. My focus here is going to be for students not to translate every word, but to read a few lines, a paragraph, or a section, and then in their group do a quick conversation to make sure they are keeping up with the story. I want to create some type of reading log to have them keep track of this. (Not sure yet exactly what this will look like.) Last year, we began with level 2 readers, and for many of the students, they were too hard. This year, we are beginning with the level 1 readers for the majority of the students. I will start the higher level students in some of the level 2 books. (I love reading because it is so easy to differentiate!) As we have been reading the short stories, I have been talking to the students about how they felt about each of the stories, and the reading groups are almost forming themselves.
Third, we are finishing the planning of the cross-level shopping project. The upper level students will create "booths" in the plaza, and the level 1 students will "shop". One of my biggest worries for some of the upper level students is that they get so caught up in some of the more advanced vocabulary and grammar structures, that they forget how to do the simple things, like ask how much something costs. I am also hoping that these types of projects will help encourage students to continue learning the language because they will know some of the fun things that go on in the other levels and look forward to them.
Unit 1, Challenges in Teen Life proficiency assessment (culminating project for the unit - found in important docs) was a mixed bag. In many ways it was a success because the students all worked together to create a project in the target language. They worked over the course of the unit, but the last two weeks were the most intense. It was great to see the students working together, watching other commercials in the target language and creating posters, PowerPoints and videos.
As with most big projects, I realized at the end that I need to explain a few things better. I told them to create "campaigns" for the teen problem, such as "Don't Drink and Drive". However from many I got something that more closely resembled a report on drunk driving. Clearly I need to include a "slogan" portion of the assignment and we should watch examples of these types of commercials before they begin working. Sometimes, explanation just isn't enough. Overall, they were good, and they chose great teen issues and learned tons of Spanish. Next year, I just need to help them a little more with what I am envisioning. I need to give them choices, but still show more examples of what I think it should look like.
On to Unit 2, Fairy Tales and Legends! This is always a popular unit. Again, since the Spanish 2 teacher gave overviews of some of the elements I teach in 3, I still have some students that don't want to do the video instruction, because they "know" the concepts. However, this time I changed the way I did the grammar. It is in three small parts over the course of 3 class days. So, I have had the opportunity to catch those not taking notes, fix problems with irregulars, and then the students have still had another opportunity to practice the work again.We have our first Benchmark Assessment on Monday/Tuesday, and I am hoping that this will help them to do better.
Since last week was Homecoming Week, I had given the kids short Fairy Tale skits to work on in groups, learn and then present. I make the kids memorize their lines, bring costumes, props, etc. They grumble, and some just can't do the memorization, but the skits are loads of fun, and the students really enjoy doing them and watching the other groups. It is one of the activities I never had class time to fit in, that now I can enjoy with my students.
Here are some samples of the posters I received. (Imagine them as billboards!)
Here is a link to a great video that another group of students did.
Flipped Class progress - I still feel as though this year's classes are not getting as much out of the flip as we did last year. I am adding more fun activities to help them practice, for example we did Scattegories and Speed Dating. However, I am still having trouble getting the students to open up and interact with each other and me. Too many are content to be in their own zone and try to never say a word. I have to change this....but how?? I have been thinking about it for a few weeks, and think I have finally come up with some ideas.
First, I am going move away from the word of the day for a while and give them a speaking prompt of the day. They will need to have at least five minute conversation in pairs at the beginning of every class period. I am going to make each group record their conversation on a hand held recorder. I don't know that I will listen to them all the time (or at all), but it is my experience that if the students think I am recording it they will take it more seriously. I can usually get a good feel for the conversations as I am walking around the room. As far as I am concerned, if they are in the target language and trying, that is good enough for me.
Second, in the next unit, I am moving away from the short stories and going to introduce the readers. My focus here is going to be for students not to translate every word, but to read a few lines, a paragraph, or a section, and then in their group do a quick conversation to make sure they are keeping up with the story. I want to create some type of reading log to have them keep track of this. (Not sure yet exactly what this will look like.) Last year, we began with level 2 readers, and for many of the students, they were too hard. This year, we are beginning with the level 1 readers for the majority of the students. I will start the higher level students in some of the level 2 books. (I love reading because it is so easy to differentiate!) As we have been reading the short stories, I have been talking to the students about how they felt about each of the stories, and the reading groups are almost forming themselves.
Third, we are finishing the planning of the cross-level shopping project. The upper level students will create "booths" in the plaza, and the level 1 students will "shop". One of my biggest worries for some of the upper level students is that they get so caught up in some of the more advanced vocabulary and grammar structures, that they forget how to do the simple things, like ask how much something costs. I am also hoping that these types of projects will help encourage students to continue learning the language because they will know some of the fun things that go on in the other levels and look forward to them.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Mistakes ....new and old - Reflections on Week 6
This week has been an interesting one. Students have been finishing up required work in class and their culminating projects are due next Thursday and Friday, so they have been finishing those up as well. We should have ended this week with the second benchmark assessment quiz in my level 3 classes.....but we didn't.
Why you ask? Well, I am still not doing a good enough job getting students watching videos and getting work done. I remember that the first unit is a hard one because it is the first time they are expected to learn new material in the flipped classroom. Where did I go wrong? I am not completely sure. At the beginning of the unit, the students watched the videos, did they work (well, most of them). For the second grammatical concept, they all pretty much decided they didn't need to watch the video. The concept is reflexive verbs, and yes, the students have seen some of this before. However, I told them all that there was new information in the videos that they needed to know. Why aren't they listening?
I am concerned that if I can't find a solution to this problem quickly there is going to be more trouble in the future. The teacher that did all of the level 2 last year decided that in addition to teaching his required curriculum, he would teach most of mine as well. I am not sure why. (For you Spanish teachers, this is what he covered in level 2: additional stem changers in the present, preterite, imperfect, the present and past perfect, future, conditional, present subjunctive, in addition to all the vocabulary and smaller grammatical concepts normally covered in level 2.) The result is, I have classes full of students that know a little bit of all of these tenses, are unsure when to use what, and are unsure of conjugations. So, I am going to have to cover these all again in some manner. So, I have to convince students that even if they have seen a concept before, if I am giving it to them again, there is a reason. For example, with the reflexives, I gave them some new verbs that change meaning depending on whether or not they were reflexive.
Now, if you have read previous posts, you know, I believe that if kids haven't done the work and you give them the break and push quizzes back, you are setting bad precedent. However, when I realized that 80% of my students did not watch the video in all of the classes, I was shocked. I had many who were confused that we were supposed to have an assessment. Well, what was a teacher to do? I could have given the assessment and then spent the weekend grading failing quizzes, only to have to grade many of them again when we did the retake. This sounded like a bad idea (especially since I am behind in grading this week already.) So, I took a look at the schedule and decided I could push the assessment back a day without wrecking other deadlines.
What mistakes do I know I have made?
1. The grammar practice assignments should be due earlier. In planning I was thinking that giving them more time gave them more flexibility and as long as they had it done prior to the assessment, that was fine. Clearly, that idea isn't working.
2. Even though I found in my notes from last year that we needed to do more fun vocabulary and grammar practice prior to quizzing, somehow, it didn't happen. The students need that to reinforce and continue working with the vocabulary to be more successful on the assessments.
3. A mini-speaking assessment was scheduled during the class period that many of the students were working on the grammar practice. This meant that I was working one-on-one with kids and not able to roam the room and notice that they weren't getting it done correctly the first time - before they finished everything.
4. By not correcting everything as they were going, many students had the entire practice sheet done incorrectly, which resulted in a)I spent forever checking them giving students less time to fix their mistakes in class and b) there were one or two in each class I didn't get to check at all.
Instead of the assessment, I had students write a quick skit with reflexives and vocabulary in groups of three. Then the groups rotated and performed the skits for another small group. It was an informal practice, but it got them to practice the verbs they needed to and reinforce the grammar rules and vocabulary that they needed for the assessment.
As I am finalizing the plan for the Fairy Tale unit, next week, I am going to go back and double check to make sure I am avoiding these mistakes in the next unit.
Why you ask? Well, I am still not doing a good enough job getting students watching videos and getting work done. I remember that the first unit is a hard one because it is the first time they are expected to learn new material in the flipped classroom. Where did I go wrong? I am not completely sure. At the beginning of the unit, the students watched the videos, did they work (well, most of them). For the second grammatical concept, they all pretty much decided they didn't need to watch the video. The concept is reflexive verbs, and yes, the students have seen some of this before. However, I told them all that there was new information in the videos that they needed to know. Why aren't they listening?
I am concerned that if I can't find a solution to this problem quickly there is going to be more trouble in the future. The teacher that did all of the level 2 last year decided that in addition to teaching his required curriculum, he would teach most of mine as well. I am not sure why. (For you Spanish teachers, this is what he covered in level 2: additional stem changers in the present, preterite, imperfect, the present and past perfect, future, conditional, present subjunctive, in addition to all the vocabulary and smaller grammatical concepts normally covered in level 2.) The result is, I have classes full of students that know a little bit of all of these tenses, are unsure when to use what, and are unsure of conjugations. So, I am going to have to cover these all again in some manner. So, I have to convince students that even if they have seen a concept before, if I am giving it to them again, there is a reason. For example, with the reflexives, I gave them some new verbs that change meaning depending on whether or not they were reflexive.
Now, if you have read previous posts, you know, I believe that if kids haven't done the work and you give them the break and push quizzes back, you are setting bad precedent. However, when I realized that 80% of my students did not watch the video in all of the classes, I was shocked. I had many who were confused that we were supposed to have an assessment. Well, what was a teacher to do? I could have given the assessment and then spent the weekend grading failing quizzes, only to have to grade many of them again when we did the retake. This sounded like a bad idea (especially since I am behind in grading this week already.) So, I took a look at the schedule and decided I could push the assessment back a day without wrecking other deadlines.
What mistakes do I know I have made?
1. The grammar practice assignments should be due earlier. In planning I was thinking that giving them more time gave them more flexibility and as long as they had it done prior to the assessment, that was fine. Clearly, that idea isn't working.
2. Even though I found in my notes from last year that we needed to do more fun vocabulary and grammar practice prior to quizzing, somehow, it didn't happen. The students need that to reinforce and continue working with the vocabulary to be more successful on the assessments.
3. A mini-speaking assessment was scheduled during the class period that many of the students were working on the grammar practice. This meant that I was working one-on-one with kids and not able to roam the room and notice that they weren't getting it done correctly the first time - before they finished everything.
4. By not correcting everything as they were going, many students had the entire practice sheet done incorrectly, which resulted in a)I spent forever checking them giving students less time to fix their mistakes in class and b) there were one or two in each class I didn't get to check at all.
Instead of the assessment, I had students write a quick skit with reflexives and vocabulary in groups of three. Then the groups rotated and performed the skits for another small group. It was an informal practice, but it got them to practice the verbs they needed to and reinforce the grammar rules and vocabulary that they needed for the assessment.
As I am finalizing the plan for the Fairy Tale unit, next week, I am going to go back and double check to make sure I am avoiding these mistakes in the next unit.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
The first week with Flip 201
There is nothing like the first week of school. It is a time when everything seems possible. All the students are capable of receiving A's and learning all that we can teach. The students all have a fresh start and have the ability to continue on a great path or change directions to get on the path to learning.
I love the beginning of the school year, and not just because I can talk to children other than my 2 year old twins. I love looking at my new students, getting to know each of them as individuals, and seeing how all of the plans I have made over the summer are received by the students.
Of course, as we teachers know, another interesting thing about the beginning of the school year is how something that was so easily explained last year is totally confusing the next. For example, this week, many of the students seem confused by the assignment sheet. (A sample is on important docs tab.) I explained it to the group, I explained it individually to many of the students, but the students are still confused. Even in looking back at notes from last year, I don't remember this being as big of an issue. So, I am faced with a few choices: 1)In addition to the current assignment sheet, give a cheat sheet in date order, 2)Change the current assignment sheet, 3)Keep the assignment sheet the same and keep giving them the "what's due tomorrow" list on the board.
The problem is, I really like my assignment sheet. I like the students to be able to make their own plan and keep up with the due dates on their own. I enjoy helping them make the plan to stay on track. I think that learning how to tackle the assignments and completing them in a way that works best for each student is an important part of the life lessons that the students get from the flipped classroom.
So, what to do? I think I am going to continue just giving the students the "What's due next class" reminder for the remainder of the review unit. When I begin the first "real" unit, (after Labor Day) I am going to give them the blank spreadsheet and go over with them how they can make a plan for the unit. Hopefully the more that the students work with the spreadsheet, the easier it will be to understand.
Otherwise, I think the students are settling in nicely. They began giving their "Who am I?" present review projects, and so far I have been pleased with the results. They are doing a good job about not reading (of course I did tell them they would get a 0 if they read!) I am going to be doing baseline speaking assessments with the students Wednesday and Thursday and am excited about being able to do a better job of tracking student progress throughout the year.
Back to school night is Monday, and although I would love to have some classroom pictures with the students, it is probably not going to happen. The first week just went by so fast. I think I am going to send home a newsletter to parents with something I put together toward the end of September. This way parents can see the flip (and their students) in action.
Now for week 2.....
I love the beginning of the school year, and not just because I can talk to children other than my 2 year old twins. I love looking at my new students, getting to know each of them as individuals, and seeing how all of the plans I have made over the summer are received by the students.
Of course, as we teachers know, another interesting thing about the beginning of the school year is how something that was so easily explained last year is totally confusing the next. For example, this week, many of the students seem confused by the assignment sheet. (A sample is on important docs tab.) I explained it to the group, I explained it individually to many of the students, but the students are still confused. Even in looking back at notes from last year, I don't remember this being as big of an issue. So, I am faced with a few choices: 1)In addition to the current assignment sheet, give a cheat sheet in date order, 2)Change the current assignment sheet, 3)Keep the assignment sheet the same and keep giving them the "what's due tomorrow" list on the board.
The problem is, I really like my assignment sheet. I like the students to be able to make their own plan and keep up with the due dates on their own. I enjoy helping them make the plan to stay on track. I think that learning how to tackle the assignments and completing them in a way that works best for each student is an important part of the life lessons that the students get from the flipped classroom.
So, what to do? I think I am going to continue just giving the students the "What's due next class" reminder for the remainder of the review unit. When I begin the first "real" unit, (after Labor Day) I am going to give them the blank spreadsheet and go over with them how they can make a plan for the unit. Hopefully the more that the students work with the spreadsheet, the easier it will be to understand.
Otherwise, I think the students are settling in nicely. They began giving their "Who am I?" present review projects, and so far I have been pleased with the results. They are doing a good job about not reading (of course I did tell them they would get a 0 if they read!) I am going to be doing baseline speaking assessments with the students Wednesday and Thursday and am excited about being able to do a better job of tracking student progress throughout the year.
Back to school night is Monday, and although I would love to have some classroom pictures with the students, it is probably not going to happen. The first week just went by so fast. I think I am going to send home a newsletter to parents with something I put together toward the end of September. This way parents can see the flip (and their students) in action.
Now for week 2.....
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Demonstrating Proficiency using PBL and the ACTFL scale
This year, my focus is going to be having the students demonstrate proficiency. I am moving away from the old written tests. I want my students to demonstrate their proficiency with new and old skills and concepts. I know, many of you may be saying "Duh", and although I have known this is the way to go, only recently have I found a way that I think will really be effective. I working to utilize Project Based Learning. If you are unfamiliar with this, check out this recorded webinar. It is a fantastic explanation of PBL.
In order to demonstrate not only proficiency, but movement on the ACTFL scale, I am also beginning the year with a baseline speaking assessment. I am going to do a baseline written assessment at the end of the review/beginning of Unit 1. I am hoping that these assessments will not only help determine students progress as we move through the year, but help me to identify common gaps in learning so that I can address them quickly.
My assessment plan for the beginning of the year
Students will be given videos to review previously learned grammar points. They will then do quick written practice and then demonstrate their proficiency with basic grammar and vocabulary through projects of their choice. I am giving them a question to answer, and they can demonstrate their proficiency in any way they choose. The first one is shown below. I asking for a 1-2 minute presentation from my regular Spanish 3 class, 2-3 in PreAp and 3-4 in level 4. My thought is to begin these PBL projects small so the students don't get overwhelmed. The project for Unit 1 is more involved and complex. I am also giving students three of these projects in the first 2 weeks - Present, Past, and Future.
As students are working on these assignments, I will be administering individual benchmark speaking assessments. I will be using a rubric that I was discussed in the Creative Language Class blog. They did a great series on assessing on the ACTFL scale and if you haven't read it, you should check it out. The challenge in this benchmark assessment is to find a way to do determine student abilities without demoralizing them. I am using a prompt that I found on the Creative Language Class blog which is as follows:
Your class has been working with students in Barcelona, Spain and you have shared lots of information about your daily lives with them. It’s time to find out more about what students’ lives are like in Spain so you have to interview a student there to find out what his/her daily life is like. Since your partner may not remember what you said about your daily life, be prepared to answer any questions he/she might have about your daily life. You may want to find out:
What your partner does daily at home, school, and/or work;
What your partner does most every week at home, school, and/or work;
Anything else you would like to learn about daily life in Spain.
Remember to greet your partner and thank your partner for his/her time. And don’t forget, your partner will probably ask you questions about your life as well.
After much consideration and searching the net, I decided this was a good benchmark for level 3 because the students should have enough knowledge to answer the questions coming into the class, and there is room for the students to show growth as we progress through the review and Unit 1. For me, I need to give the same assessment to be able to determine growth accurately. I will be assessing the students with this prompt after Unit 1, Challenges in Teen Life. With the new vocabulary students learn in that unit, as well as the continuous language use in class, I am expecting to see a big increase in abilities. My best guess is that students will score Novice Low - Novice Mid on the benchmark assessment. I hope they will be at Novice High when I reassess in October.
My goal for the students in level 3 is to be able to be consistently at Intermediate Low, and level 4 to be at Intermediate High in all activities by the end of the year. I am hopeful that with the tools from ACTFL* I will be able to accurately assess not only where students are, but be able to show them the areas where they need to improve.
I realize that approaching assessment in this way will be a big change for the students, but I am hoping that they will quickly embrace it. I think it is so much better for students to demonstrate their knowledge using these tools and projects then be stuck staring at huge tests. Since school starts on August 20th, I don't have long to wait to see how these new changes are received.
*I am adding the Performance Assessment Rubric from the Creative Language Class blog to the Helpful Class Documents tab.
**Many of my students have not done conversation and listening in a meaningful way in level 2, which is why I believe that they are going to begin low on the ACTFL scale. (I hope they prove me wrong!)
In order to demonstrate not only proficiency, but movement on the ACTFL scale, I am also beginning the year with a baseline speaking assessment. I am going to do a baseline written assessment at the end of the review/beginning of Unit 1. I am hoping that these assessments will not only help determine students progress as we move through the year, but help me to identify common gaps in learning so that I can address them quickly.
My assessment plan for the beginning of the year
Students will be given videos to review previously learned grammar points. They will then do quick written practice and then demonstrate their proficiency with basic grammar and vocabulary through projects of their choice. I am giving them a question to answer, and they can demonstrate their proficiency in any way they choose. The first one is shown below. I asking for a 1-2 minute presentation from my regular Spanish 3 class, 2-3 in PreAp and 3-4 in level 4. My thought is to begin these PBL projects small so the students don't get overwhelmed. The project for Unit 1 is more involved and complex. I am also giving students three of these projects in the first 2 weeks - Present, Past, and Future.
As students are working on these assignments, I will be administering individual benchmark speaking assessments. I will be using a rubric that I was discussed in the Creative Language Class blog. They did a great series on assessing on the ACTFL scale and if you haven't read it, you should check it out. The challenge in this benchmark assessment is to find a way to do determine student abilities without demoralizing them. I am using a prompt that I found on the Creative Language Class blog which is as follows:
What your partner does daily at home, school, and/or work;
What your partner does most every week at home, school, and/or work;
Anything else you would like to learn about daily life in Spain.
Remember to greet your partner and thank your partner for his/her time. And don’t forget, your partner will probably ask you questions about your life as well.
After much consideration and searching the net, I decided this was a good benchmark for level 3 because the students should have enough knowledge to answer the questions coming into the class, and there is room for the students to show growth as we progress through the review and Unit 1. For me, I need to give the same assessment to be able to determine growth accurately. I will be assessing the students with this prompt after Unit 1, Challenges in Teen Life. With the new vocabulary students learn in that unit, as well as the continuous language use in class, I am expecting to see a big increase in abilities. My best guess is that students will score Novice Low - Novice Mid on the benchmark assessment. I hope they will be at Novice High when I reassess in October.
My goal for the students in level 3 is to be able to be consistently at Intermediate Low, and level 4 to be at Intermediate High in all activities by the end of the year. I am hopeful that with the tools from ACTFL* I will be able to accurately assess not only where students are, but be able to show them the areas where they need to improve.
I realize that approaching assessment in this way will be a big change for the students, but I am hoping that they will quickly embrace it. I think it is so much better for students to demonstrate their knowledge using these tools and projects then be stuck staring at huge tests. Since school starts on August 20th, I don't have long to wait to see how these new changes are received.
*I am adding the Performance Assessment Rubric from the Creative Language Class blog to the Helpful Class Documents tab.
**Many of my students have not done conversation and listening in a meaningful way in level 2, which is why I believe that they are going to begin low on the ACTFL scale. (I hope they prove me wrong!)
Thursday, August 2, 2012
With change comes objections
Flipping your classroom is a daunting task. It is not easy, takes a big time investment from the teacher up front, and requires patience when it is being implemented for the first time. You may encounter resistance from students, parents, administrators and your peer teachers. You will experience technical difficulties - both your own and your students. Kids will not magically start doing their homework, nor will they all become fluent language speakers.
So, with all the issues, why would anyone bother flipping their class? The answer for me is easy...because the traditional way of teaching was not working for me or my students. I was spending so much time lecturing and "leading" class, that many students could get good grades without truly learning the material. I had other groups of students that could keep their head down and be quiet, make their "C" and also not really learn much. Then of course there was the third group (albeit small) that just ignored me as much as possible and barely made it through class. This was not acceptable to me and I knew I had to find another way. (see earlier posts for my AP story and thematic units.)
Here is my attempt to answer the common objections:
- Students won't do the homework. Honestly, this is completely true. Students that continually refuse to do homework in a traditional classroom probably aren't going to do homework in a flipped class. For me, a big difference is that they don't have to do homework. They can plan to watch the videos in class. In fact, I encourage some of my "homework slackers" to do it that way.
- I will lose my relationship with my students. From my experience last year, and talking to other teachers that have flipped, the complete opposite is true. Since I am not being a "sage on the stage", I am able to work with students individually and actually have better relationships with them now than I did before the flip. When a student was having a problem with content, or a personal problem, I was able to detect it quickly and help the students work through the issues.
- Parents and students will object. Whenever we try new things in the classroom, the one thing we can be sure of is that some parents and students will object. The key is to try to predict the objections and be ready for them. Start the year by explaining the changes you are making and why you are making them. Everyone fears change. Many parents fear change for the sake of change, especially in education. (As a parent myself, I can attest to this!) Make sure you can justify changes that you are making in the classroom BEFORE you make them. Last year, I had only one student at fall conferences who tried to convince her mother that I wasn't teaching and that is why her grade wasn't where it should be. I had many parents tell me how much they loved the lectures via video because it really helped their student.
- Peer teachers aren't supportive. I am so fortunate that in my small school with three other foreign language teachers, I always receive support from my fellow teachers. Although I am the only one flipping, I have never heard any of them be negative about this decision. I know that many other teachers are not so lucky. I believe that it goes back to the fear of change. If our peers have been teaching the same way for years and are comfortable, it is difficult to contemplate changing their methods. I think some teachers fear that if the flipped class works for some teachers that they will be forced to make the change in their classroom if they want to or not.
- Putting lectures on videos won't improve learning. Actually, this is something I totally agree with. However, what many people misunderstand about the flipped classroom is that the videos are a small part of the process. What improves learning is what happens in the classroom once the teacher becomes a facilitator and the students take the lead in the learning process. I have been blown away by not only what my students could achieve at the end of last year, but their motivation was even more exciting. So many times, even my good students think of Spanish is something they have to "get through". Last year was the first time I had many students really start to love the language and be excited about class. That to me is the indicator of true success.
Thanks Karla for inspiring this post! Keep commenting!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Path to Success in Spanish Graphic
I am playing around with creating some graphics to post in my classroom next year, as well as some of the cool online graphic tools. I really want to have some things that I can point to in my room to remind students that learning a language is not always easy, or doing things the right way is really worth it. I created the visual using Word, and the roll over definitions on www.thinglink.com.
I think this is close, but as always, value comments and/or suggestions.
I think this is close, but as always, value comments and/or suggestions.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Flipping for Fluency - The Webinar!
I received word today from my friends at Sophia.org confirming the date, September 18th at 7EST, for a foreign language flipped class webinar. This is something I have been working on since the Flipped Class Conference in Chicago, and I am glad that it is coming together. Register here!
I know that there are many language teachers interested in (and already) flipping their classrooms. I have many ideas for things that I think would be great in the presentation, but I really want to hear from you about what you would like to see in the webinar. Please fill out the following form and let me know what your interests are so that I can best meet your expectations.
Thanks in advance!
I know that there are many language teachers interested in (and already) flipping their classrooms. I have many ideas for things that I think would be great in the presentation, but I really want to hear from you about what you would like to see in the webinar. Please fill out the following form and let me know what your interests are so that I can best meet your expectations.
Thanks in advance!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Is it possible to teach listening?
One of my main reasons for flipping my classroom was to have more time to work on listening comprehension with my students. We have done tons more listening, with CDs, videos, movies and Google Voice. My students have improved their listening skills close to 30% more than my students last year. Much of that has to do with how much more practice these students are getting, and I am doing a better job choosing level appropriate listening selections.
However, there are still so many struggles. For our latest listenings, we did two selections that accompany the story, Rosa, that we read. This is nice because now the students are familiar with quite a bit of new vocabulary found in the selections. This is a tougher listening, and does require the students to understand the listening, not just listen for key words. Although on the whole the students did well, I was amazed by one of the questions where the students obviously grabbed on to a phrase they heard rather than use their brains. The question asks something along the lines of "what did the narrator want to do with technology". Most of my kids chose the answer "return to prehistoric times" when the answer was really "slow down the speed to be able to enjoy life". When the first two or three I checked had that answer, I chuckled a little, but when I realized it was the majority of them, I started thinking about how to fix the issue.
Now, if I had come up with an answer, I would have quickly sold it to the highest bidder. I did look back through my notes from past CCFLT and ACTFL conferences and tried to find some possible solutions. One presenter that I saw about a year ago discussed how we teach everything, but throw the students in the deep end when it comes to listening. I thought I had been doing a better job, but realized that I am focusing so much on the listening, that maybe I forgot about the THINKING! I encourage my AP students to think about the answers they are choosing and do they make any sense. I obviously forgot to teach that lesson with my 3's. Reverting to prehistoric times is not what any person in their right mind would want to do, so they should have been able to eliminate that answer right away.
So, the big question, what to do now? I decided I am going to give them the answers again and look at just the answers. Which ones seem to make no sense? Is there an answer (or two) that seem to go together and are closely related? Is there an answer that seems very far fetched or implausible?
Then we are going to do the listening again and see what answers they choose. (They did the listening the first time about 2 weeks ago, so I doubt they will remember their answers!) Hopefully they will do a better job. We might also look at the transcript and listen to it again to see where things are going wrong.
Listening is in my mind, the MOST important part of communication, why is there so little time dedicated to HOW to teach this most valuable skill? Maybe because it is so very hard to teach......ideas? .....suggestions?
However, there are still so many struggles. For our latest listenings, we did two selections that accompany the story, Rosa, that we read. This is nice because now the students are familiar with quite a bit of new vocabulary found in the selections. This is a tougher listening, and does require the students to understand the listening, not just listen for key words. Although on the whole the students did well, I was amazed by one of the questions where the students obviously grabbed on to a phrase they heard rather than use their brains. The question asks something along the lines of "what did the narrator want to do with technology". Most of my kids chose the answer "return to prehistoric times" when the answer was really "slow down the speed to be able to enjoy life". When the first two or three I checked had that answer, I chuckled a little, but when I realized it was the majority of them, I started thinking about how to fix the issue.
Now, if I had come up with an answer, I would have quickly sold it to the highest bidder. I did look back through my notes from past CCFLT and ACTFL conferences and tried to find some possible solutions. One presenter that I saw about a year ago discussed how we teach everything, but throw the students in the deep end when it comes to listening. I thought I had been doing a better job, but realized that I am focusing so much on the listening, that maybe I forgot about the THINKING! I encourage my AP students to think about the answers they are choosing and do they make any sense. I obviously forgot to teach that lesson with my 3's. Reverting to prehistoric times is not what any person in their right mind would want to do, so they should have been able to eliminate that answer right away.
So, the big question, what to do now? I decided I am going to give them the answers again and look at just the answers. Which ones seem to make no sense? Is there an answer (or two) that seem to go together and are closely related? Is there an answer that seems very far fetched or implausible?
Then we are going to do the listening again and see what answers they choose. (They did the listening the first time about 2 weeks ago, so I doubt they will remember their answers!) Hopefully they will do a better job. We might also look at the transcript and listen to it again to see where things are going wrong.
Listening is in my mind, the MOST important part of communication, why is there so little time dedicated to HOW to teach this most valuable skill? Maybe because it is so very hard to teach......ideas? .....suggestions?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
World Language Day and ideas...
Today, I took all of my Spanish III, PreAp, IV and AP students to World Language Day at University of Northern Colorado. This day is full of cultural activities, competitions, and opportunities for the students to speak the target language. It is also is a chance for the students to get a small glimpse of a college campus.
My AP students were the only ones that competed, in extemporaneous speaking. They were given a questions, two minutes to prepare, and two to three minutes to present...with no notes. Both of the students were disappointed in their performance, but I applaud them putting themselves out there and trying. My other students were excited to compete next year.
All of the students participated in a variety of activities, from dancing, to bingo, to soccer. They had a great time and many were "caught" using the target language. I am very proud of them all.
Being at this event gave me some ideas for how I can implement more speaking events in the classroom. Next year, I am going to have the 3's plan a speaking event. First semester it will be for the 2's, second semester for the 1's. I am imagining them setting up the room like a store, cafe, bus station, whatever they decide. Then they will ask the lower levels questions, award prizes, etc. I think it would be a cool way to get them all talking, and something to look forward to as they move up the "food chain". It would be a great "project" without having to be a huge thing that I grade! (bonus!)
On a side note, I just have to say how great my students are. My day started with a students bringing me a hot chocolate from Starbucks. Then, all of the kids were assembled and ready to go ON TIME, which was 20 minutes before classes start. When it was time to leave, all of the kids were assembled ON TIME. As if that was not enough, on the way back, multiple kids thanked me for taking them on the field trip. I love my students, and I would not want to teach anywhere else!
My AP students were the only ones that competed, in extemporaneous speaking. They were given a questions, two minutes to prepare, and two to three minutes to present...with no notes. Both of the students were disappointed in their performance, but I applaud them putting themselves out there and trying. My other students were excited to compete next year.
All of the students participated in a variety of activities, from dancing, to bingo, to soccer. They had a great time and many were "caught" using the target language. I am very proud of them all.
Being at this event gave me some ideas for how I can implement more speaking events in the classroom. Next year, I am going to have the 3's plan a speaking event. First semester it will be for the 2's, second semester for the 1's. I am imagining them setting up the room like a store, cafe, bus station, whatever they decide. Then they will ask the lower levels questions, award prizes, etc. I think it would be a cool way to get them all talking, and something to look forward to as they move up the "food chain". It would be a great "project" without having to be a huge thing that I grade! (bonus!)
On a side note, I just have to say how great my students are. My day started with a students bringing me a hot chocolate from Starbucks. Then, all of the kids were assembled and ready to go ON TIME, which was 20 minutes before classes start. When it was time to leave, all of the kids were assembled ON TIME. As if that was not enough, on the way back, multiple kids thanked me for taking them on the field trip. I love my students, and I would not want to teach anywhere else!
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