Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
Colleagues
Share:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Ben Slavic
Get The Latest Updates
Subscribe to Our Mailing List
No spam, notifications only about new products, updates.
Related Posts
CI and the Research (cont.)
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
Research Question
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
We Have the Research
To view this content, you must be a member of Ben’s Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to
6 thoughts on “Colleagues”
A group member wrote: He said, “We have a limited amount of time to get them ready for the IB test and if we do not expect writing accuracy in the first years they will have nothing to build on.”
That is the core of this problem and disagreement. The colleague at the high school is concerned overwhelmingly, if not solely, with preparing students to pass a standardized test and not with helping students acquire the language.
Without knowing the full situation, I cannot blame the high school teacher very strongly. He has probably received a mandate from his administrators to get a high pass rate for the IB test because it will make the school look good. Once again, our society opts for appearance over substance – we have to “make the school look good” rather than focusing on students and their needs. Students are encouraged to view learning in terms of passing a test rather than learning for its own sake. Once again, students are punished by rewards. (Thank you, Alfie Kohn)
Come to my department meetings Robert.
This is heated but Robert clears the smoke by getting to the source.
The thingy is that most of the IB test is CI friendly. There is something like a Free Write. There are “text-handling” exercises (like multiple choice questions) assessment comprehension of a reading passage. There’s a teacher-student interview and another oral interactive task that could be a discussion or debate that happens in the classroom.
If a conversation needed to be had with this mud slinger then basing it on the IB exam could work in the CI teacher’s favor.
Thanks, Sean. I do not work in an IB school, so I am not very familiar with its format or content. I agree with using the test to support our position whenever possible; we just need to be careful that we do not thereby unconsciously endorse part of the exam that are not CI friendly.
He said, “We have a limited amount of time to get them ready for the IB test and if we do not expect writing accuracy in the first years they will have nothing to build on.”
Is this focus on writing accuracy part of the rubric for IB, or is that in the mind of the colleague?
The current focus with regard to accuracy is based on making oneself comprehensible. Verb accuracy in three time frames is Advanced Mid sublevel.
Here are three relevant principles from John De Mado (from his website):
“Language moves from ‘non-standard’ toward ‘standard’, with or without instructional intervention.
Linguistic accuracy is a destination, not a point of departure.
The conventions (rules) of a given language must not impede the invention of that language.”