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California Question
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12 thoughts on “California Question”
..one of my ideas would be to document my progress or struggle on my blog….
Steven if you do that and happen to need college recertification credit you can get those credits just through that very self reflection as well as our sharing here as we’ve been doing since you joined (happy for that!). Do this:
https://benslavic.com/blog/ci-810-comprehensible-input-for-language-acquisition/
Yes. I already have taken CI 810 during the summer. Extremely useful for diving into CI. Than you for the opportunity.
There are posts on Scope and Sequence in the Primers hard link section at the top of this page, especially an important one by Robert Harrell. It may contain everything you need to know on that topic relative to your work with CI. There are many additional knife sharp articles up there that can certainly keep you from getting derailed by the California machine. Good look on this. I am thrilled when teachers new to CI write sentences like this:
…I could even set precedent considering that I am teaching at a high profile middle school in Fresno….
I am convinced from what you have been sharing with us here on the PLC since you joined us a few months ago that you will do so and more. I have every confidence in you.
Thank you Ben for pointing out those resources. I feel at the forefront of something big in my area.
What a great place to be, at the forefront of something big! I have been active in my union and I can say from experience that you can pretty much make up BS for any system, and keep doing what you feel is right while ticking off their boxes. Email me if you need someone to help you with the stupid district/state checkboxes. I love how you are in there upsetting the apple cart.
I think we all have to “upset the apple cart”. Why else have we been called to do this type of work?
It feel good, right Steven?!
Yes, but there is much work (and reflection) ahead of me if I want to make a difference.
Steven, I did an equivalent program in another state. I, personally, took it very seriously, and began asking difficult questions colleagues couldn’t answer, mostly because THEY didn’t take the beginning teacher program seriously. One of the reasons we need to check off boxes is because someone else has to do the same. Call me cynical, but very few educators care enough about the profession to bother reading about new ideas (and not just new activities/lessons). Our “new” ideas create more work for people who don’t care. That’s the source of most conflicts CI teachers will have with others.
1) scope and sequence (my supervisor mentions it)
– Every teacher who makes a lesson plan adjusts that plan. If they didn’t, they’re an ineffective teacher. This holds true for curricula. Some years, traditional teachers “don’t get to chapter 5,” etc. As a new teacher, you really aren’t supposed to have a handle on pacing, and will make many adjustments. The best scope and sequence, therefore, should be quite broad. Scope = most frequent words; Sequence doesn’t really exist, but you could begin with the most useful/logical of the most frequent (e.g. “goes” should come before “runs”). That’s your plan, but other words will creep in as you go, and those are adjustments. I have a guide for Latin, and there’s a link to English translations if that helps (http://magisterp.com/ci-materials/).
2) pre-assessment for a unit
– There’s no reason to pre-test in a second language course. If students understand new words, they still need to hear and read them before they’re able to produce them, otherwise they’d be communicating to you in that second language, which they’re not. Non SLA folks won’t like to hear this, but it’s important to lay it out, and then offer an alternative that won’t take away from our precious CI time. Assuming your Units are stories, before you write the structures on the board, in the target language, you could ask:
A) Who knows what X means?
B) Who has heard X more than 50 times?
There will be very few students who raise their hands, especially if you use structures in phrases (which they should be whenever possible, and not just individual words). You could keep track, or have a student job Structure Counter do so. Then, collect the Structure Counter’s tally sheet to show how you’ve addressed B, and ANY assessment showing understanding to show how you addressed A.
3) summative assessments
– Think less about format, and more about timing. Tasting soup while cooking = formative; serving soup to guests = summative…it’s still soup. Any CI assessment can be used to determine current language proficiency…you don’t need some beast of a test assessing every communication mode, or language skill. I have Proficiency Goal rubrics for that, too (magisterp.com/ci-materials)
Thank you for giving some practical advice and resources.
I too am taking it seriously because if I can document a way for new CI teachers to make through BTSA (the beginning teachers program in California) then I am able to encourage others to risk a different way.
I can also make a case for FL professors at the state university to change their methodology course to include other approaches to teaching FL. Currently there is only the “communicative” approach that is grounded in 1) memorization, 2) info-gap activities 3) canned conversations 4) projects. Add to this the bail out conjugation tables.
RE: ‘I can also make a case for FL professors at the state university to change their methodology course to include other approaches to teaching FL.’
Have you seen Bill Van Patten’s open letter to deans of Univ WL departments?
https://benslavic.com/blog/an-open-letter-to-deans/
Thank you Alisha. I am somewhat connected to the Ed department and the prof who taught my Methods class for my credential program. I definitely be contacting them.