Assessment

I believe assessment is an important part of learning, but that the purposes for assessment (the why) and the processes in which assessments are carried out (the how) are open to discussion. Often, the term “assessment” is associated with the high-stakes tests that our students must take: SBA’s, HSGQUE, Terra Nova, ACT, and SATs. These assessments are only part of the assessment process, and they only provide a partial picture of our students as learners.

As teachers, we are assessing our students’ learning on a continuous basis whether we realize it or not. We employ a wide variety of assessments to help us determine if our students are “getting it.” These strategies include: observations, anecdotal notes, chapter tests, quizzes, facial expressions/body language, etc. We use these strategies to increase the effectiveness of our teaching the overall success rate of our students as learners. Our assessments help us determine if our students are “getting it,” and to make modifications as needed.

Likewise, assessing a language curriculum is an essential part of the language program. We need to know if the goals of our language program are being achieved. If our goals are being achieved, we continue to make or program stronger, and if our goals are not being achieved we work to make our program better. The success of our students is at stake.

Assessment serves a purpose, but that purpose should not be to communicate to the stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, etc.) that they are failures. Assessment should be used to lead to changes that will result in the increased effectiveness of whatever is being assessed. Assessment should not be the end result, but a gateway to more effective teaching and learning.

Chapter 6

This chapter discussed different syllabus types. After reading about each syllabus type, I immediately thought that an integrated syllabus would be the best approach to syllabus design. However, as I started to construct my reasons for choosing an integrated syllabus, I realized that an integrated syllabus might not be the best choice for all language classes.

The majority of my language teaching experience has been with young learners (6th grade and under) at beginning to intermediate language proficiency levels. Thus, my experience has helped me construct the belief that all domains of language are important in language instruction. In my mind, the best way to incorporate all of these things would be through an integrated syllabus design, one that stresses the importance of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I believe this would be best achieved through incorporating: context, grammar, and opportunities to use the language, etc., because all these things are interconnected.

However, as I started to think about how proficiency levels and purposes for learning the language differ among students, I realized that it was too simplistic to say that an integrated syllabus would be the best choice for all language classes, and that it would be better to say that the type of syllabus used in language teaching should reflect the purpose of the language class and the proficiency levels of its learners. For example, if the focus of the language class is to improve the writing skills of businessmen with advanced language abilities, then perhaps grammar would be a key area of focus. Maybe, a focus on grammar would be just what the learners would need to become even more proficient in their language abilities.

Chapter 5

Although, I feel confident in being able to identify aims and objectives, I had a difficult time giving an example of an aim and an objective. I found this somewhat ironic because I am a teacher and I deal with standards and objectives constantly. In my own mind, I equate aims to what I know or identify as standards and I equate objectives with what I know as objectives. Once I had cleared up the definition of an aim and an objective in my own mind, I found myself questioning whether or not my aims were to broad (not specific) and whether or not my objectives were centered enough on learning outcomes. My question is how does one know when they have written good aims and/or objectives? Does practice help?

I believe in order to write aims and objectives proficiently, I would need to practice. In addition, I think it would be helpful to work in a group and have the input of several experts. I think these two things would help me write reliable aims and objectives.

Situational Analysis

Situational analysis can be described as a process that tries to identify how changes might positively or negatively affect a curriculum plan. The text identifies several factors that must be considered including: societal factors, project factors, institutional factors, teacher factors, learner factors, and adoption factors. Each of these factors helps decide whether or not a proposed change is successful or not.

In my own teaching experience, I have witnessed the effect of teacher factors on the effectiveness or success of a curriculum. Our district identifies a common curriculum for each of the sites in LKSD. Unfortunately, the amount of teacher preparedness, training, and implementation expertise plays a big role in determining whether or not the curriculum is successful.

Our district can pinpoint sites that have implemented a successful language program and sites that have not. Why do these differences exist? After all, aren’t all the districts following the same curriculum ? Yes, but it must be realized that other factors come in to play (resources, institutional, etc.). Fortunately, some of these factors can be overcome by the effort the teacher(s) is willing to exert to ensure that their students receive a quality education.

Chapter 3

The topic of this chapter, needs analysis, reminded me of the process our district is in regarding the current language programs at each site. Although I am unfamiliar with all of the details of this process, I know that its goal is to determine the type of language program each community desires and to identify the goals of the language program they choose. Once these two things are established, then the district will define a plan that identifies what must occur in order for the goals to be met. For example, the district will identify what teachers must do, what parents/community members must do, and what students must do. Eventually, an “agreement” will be reached and the language program will be modified or changed to meet the goals of the community.

This reminded me of needs analysis because the need is a language program that is appropriate for each site. (In other words, the current language programs may not be meeting the goals of all the stakeholders). In order to meet each site's needs, various ways of collecting information are being used: surveys, meetings, questionnaires, etc. This process takes time but eventually the information obtained will be used to make a decision that aligns the language program with the goals of all its stakeholders.

Chapter 7

“Quality teaching is achieved not only as a consequence of how well teachers teach but through creating contexts and work environments that can facilitate good teaching” (Richards, 2001). This quote stood out to me as I began reading this chapter, because I believe that quality teaching is dependent on a variety of factors, not just “good teaching” alone. An individual can be identified as the best teacher around, but it is how they are supported by their administrative staff, other teachers, and their students that makes all the difference. In order for quality education to occur, all parts of the whole must work together. If one part weakens or completely fails, the other parts suffer and as a result the “quality of teaching” goes down.
Reflecting on my teaching experience over the past three years, I can identify times when my teaching was not “quality teaching.” One year, the communication in our school between staff and administration was very weak. This resulted in many misunderstandings, which created an environment of mistrust and confusion. Over time, the lack of communication affected the morale of the staff. It plummeted. As a result, the quality of the teaching decreased.