Week 3-Assignment 3B

    Project-Based Learning or Problem-Based Learning PBL

One of my goals as a Spanish teacher this year is to incorporate much more project based learning (PBL) into my teaching approach.  I want students to use their language skills and find their own meaningful connections to real life problems that are of interest to them.

But what is a project based learning (PBL) anyways.  Project based learning (PBL) is a dynamic classroom approach in which students actively explore real-world problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge. 

Menu

In this project students play the role of a restaurant owner who needs to develop and create a menu for his/her restaurant established in a Spanish speaking country (Colombia).

  The food in Colombia has been influenced by the climate, geography and the integration of different cultures such as African, Spanish, and so on. This project supports the elements of a Project based learning. 

1.        The project is based on students’ interest and their general activities.

2.      The PBL was created in order to foster these skills: Critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration; self-management.

3.      The project is standards-based:  National Standards for Foreign Language Learning

Communication
Communicate in Languages Other Than English 
Standard 1.1: Interpersonal Communication
Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. 
Standard 1.2: Interpretive Communication
Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. 

Cultures
Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures 
Standard 2.1: Practices of Culture
Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. 
Standard 2.2: Products of Culture
Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied. 

Connections
Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information 
Standard 3.1: Making Connections
Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language. 
Standard 3.2: Acquiring Information
Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures. 

1.       The project invokes meaning: A question and an answer. Some of the questions are: 

                                       

·         What is the climate and geography of Colombia?

·         What is the diet of the people from Colombia?  Is the diet of the young people different from the ancestors?

·         How did the arrival of the Spanish people influence the food in Colombia?

2.      Sustained inquiry:  The project takes serious work and preparation. 

3.      The project includes: research, planning and development, application or presentation. The ideas for integrated performance assessments are:

·         Interpretive: View the menu and answer questions about what is offered.

·         Interpersonal: Role-play a situation in which the students ask a waiter about item on the menu.

·         Presentational: Write a comment card about the experience the student and the family had during a recent visit to the restaurant.

                                             STEPS

   STEP 1:  Students will use books and supervised internet side to find out about the

                Colombian cuisine.

                

              

             

 STEP 2:  Students will begin taking notes and researching more about Colombian cuisine. Students use notes to complete a draft of the Colombian menu.  They need to do a brochure with the information.

STEP 3:  Students will compare notes in the group and decide the final project.  This is a great opportunity to clarify any information they found about Colombian cuisine and culture.

STEP 4:   After writing, editing and receive feedback from the teachers, the students will start working on the “Colombian menu”

STEP 5:  Students will create a Menu with different dishes from Colombia.  They need to add pictures and the prices.

STEP 6:  Students will present the “Colombian Menu project” to the class.

References

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. 1986. Proficiency Guidelines. Hastings-on-Hudson, New York: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2013). NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements Progress Indicators for Language Learners. http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Can-Do_Statements.pdf

 National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. 1999. Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the Twenty-First Century. Yonkers, NY: National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project.

National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project (NSFLEP). (2013). Worldreadiness standards for foreign language learning. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from the ACTFL website. http://www.actfl.org/publications/all/world-readinessstandards-learning-languages

Week 3 - Assignment 3A - Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning

Cooperative learning is effective for all types of students, including academically gifted, English language learners (ELLs) because it promotes learning and fosters respect and friendships among diverse groups of students. In fact, the more diversity in a team, the higher the benefits for each student. Peers learn to depend on each other in a positive way for a variety of learning tasks.  Students typically work in teams of four. This way, they can break into pairs for some activities, and then get back together in teams very quickly for others. It is important, however, to establish classroom norms and protocols that guide students to: Contribute, Stay on task, Help each other, encourage each other, share, solve problems, give and accept feedback from peers.

As a Spanish teacher I can see how beneficial is cooperative learning for any student learning a second language because these activities promote peer interaction, which helps the development of language and the learning of concepts and content. For writing in Spanish these activities are really helpful because students can help each other and learn from others.

I will form the groups according to the activity and I will have a mixture of heterogeneous and homogeneous groups.  The heterogeneous groups can have students who are struggling with the concept and advanced students.  It is a great opportunity to mix the students.  It is a diverse group. On the other hand, the homogeneous groups are formed with students who show same ability, interest and friendship. There is a variety of configuration available.  I will do the following:Cooperative learning is effective for all types of students, including academically gifted, English language learners (ELLs) because it promotes learning and fosters respect and friendships among diverse groups of students. In fact, the more diversity in a team, the higher the benefits for each student. Peers learn to depend on each other in a positive way for a variety of learning tasks.  Students typically work in teams of four. This way, they can break into pairs for some activities, and then get back together in teams very quickly for others. It is important, however, to establish classroom norms and protocols that guide students to: Contribute, Stay on task, Help each other, encourage each other, share, solve problems, give and accept feedback from peers.

As a Spanish teacher I can see how beneficial is cooperative learning for any student learning a second language because these activities promote peer interaction, which helps the development of language and the learning of concepts and content. For writing in Spanish these activities are really helpful because students can help each other and learn from others.

I will form the groups according to the activity and I will have a mixture of heterogeneous and homogeneous groups.  The heterogeneous groups can have students who are struggling with the concept and advanced students.  It is a great opportunity to mix the students.  It is a diverse group. On the other hand, the homogeneous groups are formed with students who show same ability, interest and friendship. There is a variety of configuration available.  I will do the following:

Whole group: For this group configuration I will use the activity called choral response TPR. Students have in front of them a sheet with pictures of the vocabulary that they learned.  As the teacher say each word, the students touch it on their sheet.  The teacher say the words in order or randomly.  Then, the teacher points to the pictures without speaking and the students say the words.  This activity is based on the following multiple intelligences: V/L (Verbal/Linguistics), V/S (Visual/Spatial), B/K (Bodily/Kinesthetic).

Small group: For this group configuration I will use the activity called: “Sequencing”.  Students work in group of 4 to sequence sentence strips in the right order.  First they need to form complete sentences, then sequence the sentences in order to form a story.  More than one version of the story may be possible.  Each students begin with ¼ of the strips.  This activity is based on the following multiple intelligences: V/L (Verbal/Linguistics), L/M (Logical/Mathematical), Inter (Interpersonal).

Peer pairs: For this group configuration I will use the activity called “Mix-n-Match”.  Each student have a card with half sentence on it.  They move around the room and pair up.  They read each other’s card and decide if they have a pair on not.  If they think they have a pair, they will write the whole sentence in a paper and they will stand still and put their hands up.  When all the students have their hands up, they quickly swap cards.  They will do this lots of times and start again. This activity is based on the following multiple intelligences: V/L (Verbal/Linguistics), L/M (Logical/Mathematical), Inter (Interpersonal), and B/K (Bodily/Kinesthetic).

Individual design: For this one, I will give the students a worksheet with all the words that we have been learning and they need to try to answer all the questions by themselves.  Before the class ends I will give them the correct answers to the worksheet. This activity is based on the following multiple intelligence: L (Linguistics).

                      

Cooperative learning strategies have been demonstrated as an effective way to differentiate instruction.  This type of differentiation demonstrates to students the acknowledgement of their individual needs and that teachers are willing to adapt the classroom to help students learn in the best environment possible (Marzano et. al 2001). 

References

Gregory, G.H., & Chapman, C.M (2007). Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All 2^nd edition.  Corwin Press A Sage Public Company.

Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J., & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

The Animal School Curriculum

Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something decisive to meet the increasing complexity of their society. They held a meeting and finally decided to organize a school.

The curriculum consisted of running, climbing, swimming and flying. Since these were the basic behaviours of most animals, they decided that all the students should take all the subjects.

The duck proved to be excellent at swimming, better in fact, than his teacher. He also did well in flying. But he proved to be very poor in running. Since he was poor in this subject, he was made to stay after school to practice it and even had to drop swimming in order to get more time in which to practice running. He was kept at this poorest subject until his webbed feet were so badly damaged that he became only average at swimming. But average was acceptable in the school, so no body worried about that – except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of her class in running, but finally had a nervous breakdown because of so much make-up time in swimming – a subject she hated.

The squirrel was excellent at climbing until he developed a psychological block in flying class, when the teacher insisted he start from the ground instead of from the tops of trees. He was kept at attempting to fly until he became muscle-bound – and received a C in climbing and a D in running.

The eagle was the school’s worst discipline problem; in climbing class, she beat all of the others to the top of the tree used for examination purposes in this subject, but she insisted on using her own method of getting there.

Meanwhile a baby elephant gets the feedback from his father.

The gophers, of course, stayed out of school and fought the tax levied for education because digging was not included in the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to the badger and later joined the groundhogs and eventually started a private school offering alternative education.

This video is an eye-opening reflection on how we view children and how we teach children in our current education system.

Enjoy it!

Animal school

Week 2-Assignment 2A-Differentiated assessment

Differentiated assessment

In the world beyond school, we don’t have to be good at everything.  We have specific skills that match the needs of a specific job, and we have plenty of adult experience and maturity. As children in school, however, we have to be good at everything regardless of our skill set or background, and we have little experience or maturity.

What is fair…

…isn’t always equal

       

Differentiating instruction is doing what’s fair for students.  It’s a collection of best practices strategically employed to maximize students’ learning at every turn, including giving them the tools to handle anything that is undifferentiated.  It requires us to do different things for different students some, or a lot, of the time. It’s whatever works to advance the student if the regular classroom approach doesn’t meet students’ needs.  It’s highly effective teaching.  

“Differentiation curriculum moves teachers away from the “one size fits all” curriculum that really fits no one.”  It encourages students to become more responsible for their own learning and to recognize and use their own strengths, thereby helping them become lifelong autonomous learners” (Coil, 2004)

 Rubrics are "rules" or a way to explicitly lay out expectations for an assignment, and the means to evaluate or grade an assignment using a point system. Rubrics allows the educator to develop one lesson that is not intended to be a one size fit all lesson but instead a standard lesson that can be evaluated according to the student’s ability. The use of rubrics will increase as each educator makes an effort to differentiate instructions. Rubrics work very well for differentiated instruction, because the teachers can establish different levels of performance for general education students and for children receiving special education services.

One of the goals as a Spanish teacher is to promote oral proficiency in the target language.  I know I am facing a diverse classroom where students are learning in different ways.  Therefore, I like to use group projects because they can use everybody’s strength to succeed in the activity.   There are different activities that can help me to promote and assess oral proficiency.

This rubric is used to grade the students’ presentations and also to inform me how I could promote oral proficiency in my students.  The categories for this rubric are: vocabulary, using complete sentences, content, collaboration with peers, enthusiasm, volume, and follow directions.

	Oral Presentation Rubric: Oral Presentations in Spanish- 5G Teacher name:  Mrs. Viviana Rodriguez Nombre: _________________________________________________________
CATEGORY		4	3	2	1
Vocabulary		Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Extends audience vocabulary by defining words that might be new to most of the audience.	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Includes 1-2 words that might be new to most of the audience, but does not define them.	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Does not include any vocabulary that might be new to the audience.	Uses several (5 or more) words or phrases that are not understood by the audience.
Uses Complete Sentences		Always (99-100% of time) speaks in complete sentences.	Mostly (80-98%) speaks in complete sentences.	Sometimes (70-80%) speaks in complete sentences.	Rarely speaks in complete sentences.
Content		Shows a full understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.	Does not seem to understand the topic very well.
Collaboration with Peers		Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Tries to keep people working well together.	Usually listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Does not cause "waves" in the group.	Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group but sometimes is not a good team member.	Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Often is not a good team member.
Enthusiasm		Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.	Facial expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.	Facial expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked.	Very little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being presented.
Volume		Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members throughout the presentation.	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 90% of the time.	Volume is loud enough to be heard by all audience members at least 80% of the time.	Volume often too soft to be heard by all audience members.
Follows Directions		The presentation addressed the directions of the instructor totally.	The presentation was missing 1 element of the directions.	The presentation was missing 2 elements of the directions.	The presentation did not follow the directions.

 References

Coil, Carolyn. (2004) Standards-Based Activities and Assessments or the Differentiated Classroom. Pieces of Learning

Week 2- Assignment 2B: Beginning differentiation

Beginning differentiation

According to the book, Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All 2^nd edition, differentiation is a philosophy that enables educators to plan strategically in order to reach the needs of the diverse learners in classrooms today to achieve targeted standards. (Gregory, & Chapman, 2007). As educators is important to understand that all our students are different and they are coming from different background.  Therefore, our instruction should be different if we want to reach all our students.  If I want to differentiate content, I should use different genres, level materials, use a variety of instructional material, and provide choice. Here, I am going to identify 5 ways by which I can differentiate a content presentation with the following types of students: A. English Language Learners, B. Special Needs Students, C. Advanced or Gifted Learners.

English Language Learners:

1.      Pre-assessment: With this strategy teachers can know more about the students and they know about the topic they are going to teach.

2.      Present the content in Native Language if it is possible.  English language learners feel more identified when the information is presented in their native language.

3.      Flexible grouping: Try to group these students with advanced students and with students who are speaking the same native language.  The buddy system helps the students and they are gaining confidence during the learning process.

4.      Use visual aids: present the content with different visual aids can help these students to stretch their capacities as learners.  

5.      Tiered activities: with these activities students are focused on essential understandings and skills but at different level of complexity.

Special Needs Students:

1.      Problem based learning: this strategy enhances students’ critical thinking and problem solving. 

2.      Choice boards: with this strategy, teachers are asking students to make a work selection from a particular row.  The teachers’ target work toward students’ need and at the same time allow students’ choice.

3.      Using varied text and resource materials: Using multiple texts and combining them with a wide variety of other supplementary materials increases the chances for reaching all the students, especial the ones who are really advanced. Also add to these resources audio-videotapes, DVDs, guest speakers, field trip, and Total Physical Response (TPR) or Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS).

4.      Peer and adult mentors: adults often volunteer to help students who are behind with their work and in need of additional guidance.  Teachers can create a support system by using the people in the classroom, school and community. 

5.      Tiered activities: with these activities students are focused on essential understandings and skills but at different level of complexity.

Advanced or Gifted Learners:

1.      Curriculum compacting: this strategy is specifically designed to help advanced learners maximize their use of time for learning.

2.      Using varied text and resource materials: Using multiple texts and combining them with a wide variety of other supplementary materials increases the chances for reaching all the students, especial the ones who are really advanced. Also add to these resources audio-videotapes, DVDs, guest speakers, field trip, and Total Physical Response (TPR) or Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS).

3.      Learning contracts: with this activity students have the opportunity to work somewhat independently on material that is largely teacher-directed.

4.      Tiered activities: with these activities students are focused on essential understandings and skills but at different level of complexity.

5.      Adjustable assignments: allows students to begin learning where they are and to work on challenging and worthwhile tasks.

 References

Gregory, G.H., & Chapman, C.M (2007). Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All 2^nd edition.  Corwin Press A Sage Public Company.

Tomlinson, C.A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, (1ed).  Alexandria, VA: ASCD