Language Sensei

A Language Teacher's Journey

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February 9, 2020
by leesensei
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A “Feedback For Learning” Dialogue – Student Self-Corrections

To correct or not to correct? It’s an ongoing discussion among my colleagues both in school and on line. Is it of any use? Do students learn anything from us doing it? What to do?

In keeping with my attempts to provide more feedback – and ‘dialogue’ with students about their work – I abandoned the ‘teacher correct’ model a couple of years ago. I also looked to this move to help strengthen student accountability for their own work (and their role in their learning).

In my class it goes like this – students generate sentences or chunks depending upon our focus. They hand in (or can submit online). If there are no issues they get the Shiba Inu ‘okay’ stamp. (if you are unfamiliar …this a Japanese breed and I happened upon this set of stamps at a local Japanese store). In my mark book I indicate this with a happy face (yes a happy face). An online submission gets the JPG attached when I return it.

If there are any issues I will indicate things that I want the student to look at again. Sometimes it’s just spelling. Sometimes something is missing. And at other times the structure I am looking for is not used correctly. My feedback for their corrections can be a simple notation (such as ‘sp!’ or ‘missing…’). At other times it’s a reminder..(remember this is one of those that…). Often it leads to a quick discussion one on one as in “Sensei, I’m not sure …” or “Sensei, is this supposed to be…?” Then they resubmit for me to take a look. In my mark book this is indicated with a ‘circle’ (handed in but awaiting correction) Once it looks fine – the stamp goes on (or admittedly in a rush my scribbled ‘okay’) and I put a check mark in the circle in my book.

Now students know that there are no ‘marks’ attached to this beyond completing. They know that they don’t ‘have’ to do this. But they also know that their choice not to do them means that they miss out on growth, on learning and on raising their level of language. Yes there are students who don’t do this and who choose to ignore this input for improving. Sometimes they are then asked to (or required to) come in for mandatory assistance during our school support block. Their lack of engagement in their learning is also noted in a comment when reporting to parents. In the end ‘does this count towards my mark?’ is answered in the quality of the unit assessment and their proficiency level (reflecting accuracy and consistency). I feel that I see stronger more accurate language as a result of this process.

Please note that I am lucky to work with several neuro-diverse students. Their feedback is just as deep as other students’ is but I adjust the ‘correction’ idea to fit their individual strengths (for example ‘recognizing a correct answer’ instead of self-generating one or putting in a part of the answer with me giving the rest.)

I like this idea of a ‘dialogue’ for each student and the discussion it sparks around the language…and I like that they demonstrate an interest in improving their understanding…

Colleen

 

 

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November 13, 2019
by leesensei
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Changing Seating/Changing Teaching – What My 2019 Classroom “Set Up” Now Says…

Teaching ClassI wrote the first part of this post in 2014….when I was making what I knew was a huge first step in my classroom environment. Today in November 2019 – as the last ‘student desk’ came out of my room I took another step. So I thought I would repost & update this for my new space…and my evolved classroom.

I looked out at my room the other day – the same room I started to teach in when it was a new school in in 1997. The blackboard is now a whiteboard, the screen is there for my computer…and wow – is that the same old TV in the corner for video announcements? (Yes!) But even more interesting for me is what has really changed. There is a big difference in ‘how’ my students use the room – how they sit, what they do, and where the focus on learning is. It took me a minute to connect the change in my room setup and my changing educational practice.The journey mirrors the evolution of my teaching…

Single Rows – Focus: Teacher at the front of the room:  Those first few years, with their long nights of prepping material and me trying to wrap my head around what I was ‘teaching’. Note the word ‘teaching’. With my students in rows, facing the front, it was clearly a ‘teacher as the driving force’ kind of space. And in those early years, as I worked to discover who I was as a teacher, and even what kind of things I wanted my students to explore it probably needed to be this way. The first few years can be chaotic, challenging and oh so much fun…and clearly, if you looked at my desk arrangement, I was the one ‘in charge’.

Pairs – in a “U” shape – Focus: Teacher at the  front of the room/another student: Gradually my room saw a change – from single rows to pairs – and, daringly, not even in rows. This coincided with my degree of comfort in the what and how that I was teaching. Notice again though that the focus was on me and the front of the room. Yes, I thought it had to be as that is where the screen for the overhead – replaced by computer/LCD is located. My degree of comfort in ‘letting them go and interact’ was growing – and I injected lots of partner/interactive time into the class. But clearly the setup still said ” ‘Focus on the teacher – and then shift to practicing with your partner’ (but remember who is in charge! )

“Tables” 4 desks- all facing each other – Focus: Fellow Students/Teacher when needed: And this year – another change for me – and another ‘leap’ in my style of teaching. I had tried the group of 4 in the past – but hadn’t made the permanent shift. But the changes in my teaching, and a visit to Catherine Ousselin (@catherineKU72) and her ‘table setup’ did it for me. If I was going to let my students, and a communicative/interactive focus be a priority, I needed to put my ‘desks where my teaching philosophy is’. So now they sit – pods of 4 desks – a partner to talk to beside them – and pair across the table for broader consultation/interaction. It’s a challenge at times – but remarkably easy to pull them all together for the ‘coaching’ moments at the screen/board. I don’t even think of it as the ‘front’ of the room any more – the focus is now on the students – and my teaching, okay my language coaching – is improving because of it.

Now….Round and Wavy Moveable Tables, Camping Chairs and a Sofa – Focus: Comfortable, More Natural Communication: Loved the pods of desks – the square 4 set that allowed my kids to face each other. But…my needs, and more importantly, my students needed more. They needed to be able to move, to get away from being at a desk and be in a place that made it easier to talk. So initially in came the camping chairs. You can see them in the photo below – under the window, near the front of the room on both ‘sides’ of the board. They cost under $10 each and are light and extremely moveable. With clipboards from the dollar store they are a place kids can do a learning check or assessment and  easily be moved to suit what they need. I often use them when we conference and I love how relaxed you feel in them. And then…the desks had to go!

With the support of my colleague (who took the ‘take the desks out’ leap first) I scrounged a couple of round tables and out went a few desks.  And then my principal stepped up.  In came 2 more round tables and the wavy tables you see on the right. These are great – they are easily wheeled around and, if I need more room, the tops flip up and I can move them almost completely out of the way. My principal even encouraged me (and paid for it!) to get ‘whiteboard’ tables. Kids love it when they can practice/write/think on them. And I’m sourcing large whiteboard squares for the round tables so that they can too.

I also put in a sofa (you can’t see it) which is immensely popular – maybe it’s the large Hello Kitty stuffed animals they like to hold while they talk. I encourage students to ‘move to where you are comfortable’ for almost every task. One of my grade 11’s said today “When we started in Grade 9 there were desks…now there are none..and I like it!!”

I hope that my room now says to my students “the focus here is on you and I’m encouraging you to be comfortable as you are using your language skills to communicate.” What does your setup say about what you value in your class?

Colleen

 

 

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November 5, 2019
by leesensei
3 Comments

The Evolution of My Class Interpersonal Orals….

How can I evaluate an interpersonal conversation in a way that is not super stressful for my students? How can I listen to them just “talk”?  When I first started I used to have them do the conversation in front of me. They had to talk and I sat there with my rubrics and evaluated.  They were nervous to speak in front of me and worrying about how well they are doing. I was trying not to make them nervous, to just listen and not write too much (they equated writing with mistakes) and then had a split second to record impressions before the next set. So then I moved on to recording. “Just go out and record you and your partner speaking.” What a great idea! Despite the issues of quality, and sometimes the ‘obvious clicks’ of a recording pausing I thought this was better. Then I’d spend a long time listening to the audio files…But I still didn’t like it – too stilted and  too ‘staged’. They found it nerve-wracking saying they felt a pressure to perform and be right on a recording or they’d want to record it again. A great colleague Connie Santos, who is an awesome department collaborator, had been experimenting with a new style of oral…and I was willing to test her ideas out too…The new ‘orals’ began.

Before the Oral Discussion – What They Are Doing

Generally I have two partial periods for them to prep before the orals. They are brainstorming ideas for themselves to use as a basis for the orals. Just like before they are chatting with partners as they prepare. They are speaking, and listening and practicing supporting. They are reviewing how to say when they don’t understand and how to assist someone who isn’t understanding them. They are using supports as they need to. They are asking questions of me and trying to say what they want to say.  They are exploring ways to address the topic(s) to be discussed and what fully meet, or meet, would sound like (we do have a rubric for this to guide them).

Before the Oral Discussion – What I Am Doing

I am working with them to give them any supports that they need. I am taking some time to ask them to target specific structures during a preparation session. I am listening and giving some feedback. I am actually walking around with a clipboard to get them used to what I will have during the oral. I am asking them to not understand something on purpose to practice both asking for and providing assistance. I am working with them in any way they ask me to from “how would I say…?” to “is there another way I can…?” to “am I saying …. correctly?”.  I am also modelling what I will be doing during their oral – walking around, looking like I am taking notes, stopping to listen…and reinforcing that what I am/will be writing is what I am hearing not writing down a list of ‘mistakes’.

During the Oral Discussions – What They Are Doing

They are speaking with a partner for a set period of time. If they need supports they have them although they know they can’t fully meet expectations if they do. They are listening, and speaking, and clarifying and questioning. They are talking the entire time – addressing the topic and going beyond when they have other things to discuss. They are telling their partner when they don’t understand and helping out when they are asked to. At the end of the alloted time (my Grade 11’s first oral was 11min per partner) they are thanking their partner and moving on to another. They are speaking with 8-9 people over the almost 2 classes this will require.

During the Oral Discussions – What I Am Doing

I am walking around with a clipboard and stopping to listen. Often who I am looking at is not who I am listening to. (I’m getting good at looking one way but listening to another to try to reduce their anxiety!) I am making notes on what I hear. “At grade level” “clarifies” “unit structures” “adding details” “says when doesn’t understand” “effective follow ups” and more in a shorthand that allows me to make notes more quickly “agl”  “clfy”, “Unit” “dets” “asks help” “eff f-up” etc. If there are serious issues I am making a brief note too. I am making multiple passes listening to kids more than 1 time. I am leaning in when I need to to hear the quiet ones. I am constantly checking that I have ‘enough’ and when I feel I have enough for a student checking them off and listening to those kids I need more on. I am moving, listening, moving, recording over and over.

After the Oral Discussions – What They Are Doing

Student Evidence Sheet

They are reflecting on the oral. They are assessing how they feel about how well they have met expectations. They are considering my question “What did you hope that I heard” and are offering up evidence of the kinds of things they said on the topic. They aren’t using notes or dictionaries to do this so it’s coming from what they actually said. And I’m not worrying as much about spelling/correct forms as I am looking at what they said. They are providing evidence of how they participated. On my last Grade 11 orals I gave them room to provide 4-5 sentences on the three topics areas they touched on.

After the Oral Discussions – What I Am Doing

Teacher Response Sheet

I’m also reading their evidence to see what they highlighted – and seeing if generally what they report they said reflects what I heard. I’m looking at my notes generated when I listened to them. I am preparing my feedback for them – not on everything but on key items. My response sheet (feedback sheet teacher) is divided into “Things That Were Noticed..”  – the positive things I say/heard them doing and “For Next Time” – advice on how to step up and sometimes corrections. I write out my notes for each…and eventually clip it to their response sheet.

What They Like About This…

They like the multiple partners. They like that it takes more than one period so they don’t feel rushed. They like that they are, depending on who they talk with, sometimes more the helper, and sometimes more the “helpee”. They like the idea that they get, with multiple partners, a  kind of do-over and they also get the chance to pick up extras from others. They like how ‘natural’ it feels…

What I Like About This….

I like seeing kids in a room – on the couch, in the camping chairs, at tables talking.  I like seeing kids engaged, listening to each other and actually having conversations. I like to see them reasonably relaxed during the process. I like to see the kids who aren’t so confident able to speak and actually interact. I like to see the really nervous kids relax and sit on a couch and just talk. I like that, although it’s my job to hear them,  they are asked to play their role in the evaluation process too.

It took a bit to get comfortable with this  style – and every time I do one I get better at it. But I like this…I like what I see and, most importantly, I like what I hear…

C

 

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October 19, 2019
by leesensei
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Scaffolding UP: Learning To Support The “Less Confident” Writer

We do a lot to help our students  to raise their proficiency in presentational writing.  And based on what we do many kids do. They add detail, expand with reasons, try to explain and move beyond just writing statements. But for some, writing – and growing their writing – is not easy and I’ve struggled to help them to improve.

I am fortunate to work with a wide range of students and I currently have a 2nd year student who has difficulty organizing her thoughts and getting down to work. In the first unit the assignment was to re-tell a story in the past tense and based upon what I saw after the first day of work I realized that I was failing her. Our great support teachers in our school worked with me to see that my student needed a way to organize  – to start small and then gradually expand what she is writing. So I created a format using an fill in the blank/add a sentence strategy. For the summary it went like this – Step 1 fill in a past tense form:  “A long long time ago there _____an old man (was).” Step 2 – add a related sentence:  “Now add one piece of information about the old man  (in a sentence).”  For each part of the story she filled in the ‘past tense’ verb then added an extra detail sentence. When she completed it she had a basic summary and participated in peer feedback using it. A copy of the assignment: kobutori retell scaffolded write

In our second unit the task was to create an Instagram post of her dream room – and to write a long description of it. I needed a different way to help her as I didn’t know what she would design to be described. I came up with a ‘target structure/add a reason/add a detail’ sheet. In each she identified an item in the room (a total of 6) and wrote down – on separate lines –  the item “desk” its location “beside the bed” then put it together “The desk is beside the bed” and added what she did with it “Because I have homework” and finally  she put all the pieces together “Because I have homework, there is a desk beside the bed.” After creating her 6 main sentences her task was to go back and add 1 more piece of information to each sentence – for example “in the first sentence add a describing word for how the item looks” and “in the 3rd sentence add how often you use it”.  Now she has a description that meets expectations for using unit items. A copy of the assignment: room project scaffolded

It’s not just my students with IEP’s that can find this useful. In fact I’ve realized that this approach can assist any student who may need support in addressing a writing task. Yes – I finally realized this! In my grade 11 class I have students who are currently working on a write-up of an interview with a classmate. So I created a slightly less formulaic sheet – but one that helps them to express themselves in a more grade appropriate way by guiding them to create a basic grade-appropriate response then add some ‘extra’s’ around it including an opinion etc. A copy of the assignment: scaffold written interview paragraph

My 2nd year student loves this approach. “It works for my brain”, she says and beams when I tell her that working with her is helping me to help others to write. I’ll be preparing a scaffolding sheet for each of my tasks…and my students’ written expression will be the better for it.

C

PS – if you want more detail of what’s in the documents – and you don’t read Japanese – let me know and I’ll be happy to ‘translate’ for you!

 

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October 14, 2019
by leesensei
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Learning Engagement – Strengthening Students’ Understanding of Their Role In Their Learning

Engagement connects to…

Two years ago I made the switch to ‘modes’ in my gradebook and descriptors instead of numbers. What a valuable change that was – for both me and my students. By using modes I can easily see strengths and where support is needed. Descriptors help kids understand what they can do and how they might improve. More importantly I discovered that everything I do can be classified in terms of mode – including assigned preparation work (you might call it homework) had nothing in it because I am either asking them to do something presentational or interpretive or, sometimes, interpersonal for class. What a relief to be rid of that category in ‘grading’…However…

In addition to changing my focus on assessment to modes – I wanted to change my students’ view on their role in the classroom. If their teacher is no longer ‘marking’ them but rather ‘assessing’ their skills then they also need to recognize that they have a role to play in that outcome. I must admit I got tired of hearing “I got an 80” and I want them to see (and say!) that they ‘earned’ a particular assessment and that they had a key role in doing so. It isn’t about ‘participation’ – too often viewed as a subjective evaluation of their role in class. No it is about more. Long discussions with colleagues ensued and one day my great French colleague mentioned that she had been talking to other teachers about students being ‘engaged in their learning’. Revelation. Why weren’t we looking at engagement in the process. As a teacher I can often see who is ‘engaged’ but now I wanted to ask students to be aware of their role too. This shift in focus is also the direct result of changes in my provincial curriculum and the focus on Core Competencies which are sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need in order to engage in deep, lifelong learning. Central to this is student self-reflection on their own strengths, weaknesses and learning.

So “Learning Engagement” became the fourth gradebook category. For me it is worth 5% of their overall achievement – small enough to let the modes be the majority of what is assessed, but significant enough to play a role in a ‘grade’ – especially those on the line between two possible marks. And this is not just be my judgement. My students also have to examine, reflect and report on their engagement before reporting periods. They are able to, as it were, to hold themselves accountable for their role in learning. So twice a semester now we engage in this process. Students assess themselves based upon criteria that we have discussed as a class  – they come up with the definition – including using the target language, positive influence in the class community, preparing for classes, choosing to respond to feedback and more (This years’ version of the form: engaged learner 2019 – of course the ultimate ‘evaluation’ is sensitive to every student, their unique needs and how they are ‘engaged’ to the class – ‘fully meeting’ looks different for every student. ). Then we conference about their view of their engagement. their current assessments and how the two may be linked (or not). When they set out a goal for the next term they often include aspects of engagement in these goals. Rarely do they ‘under’ or ‘over’ assess themselves and when they do it’s a healthy discussion to have. We then mutually decide on the final evaluation for the category. Please note that my neurodiverse students may receive an edited form more suitable to them – I want to stress this!.

Learning Engagement…it’s helping me to help them see the link between their participation in the learning process and their results..

Colleen

 

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April 14, 2018
by leesensei
1 Comment

Love Flipgrid but …My Flipgrid App-Hack for Privacy Law Compliance…

One of my goals this semester has to provide more ‘personal’ feedback on speaking. I am giving non-graded feedback on more conversations done during class as well as recorded quickly on a mobile phone. Another new tool for this (no Google Voice in Canada!) is  Flipgrid. There are teachers out there doing amazing things with it – check out Laura Sexton’s blog if you want ideas for using it.

I loved Flipgrid when I tried it…and I still do – and my original post outlined my steps/tips as a newbie to the app.   I liked the possibilities for an alternate way to give focused feedback on a particular concept like “tell me three things you have to do on the weekend” or “tell me two things you did yesterday and how they were”. Students, once they were assured others would not see their video, responded to the prompt and the majority were spontaneous and not reading from a paper or memorized (and if they did – it’s still ‘presentational’ to me and it’s the feedback on the concept that’s key.)

Flipgrid worked very successfully for me until it became an issue. Under Canadian privacy laws, if I ask a student to use an app or program that requires registering of any kind, and that app’s/program’s data is held outside of Canada, I must seek parent permission to do so (because the data is then subject to that countries’ laws),   Originally I thought Flipgrid met this criteria. But after a comment on the original post from another Canadian teacher, and a discussion with my principal, I took a harder look at their terms of use. They are very well laid out and easy for an educator to understand. But, alas, I learned that email data would be held in the US and that’s a ‘parent permission required’ issue for us. Technically that’s why my district does not allow Google Apps for Education but does allow Microsoft (which agreed to hold data on Canadian servers). If students didn’t provide an email I ‘d be fine but that option was key for me for instant feedback.

So what to do. After some discussion with my colleagues, and my principal I looked to what it was that Flipgrid provided. Video recorded snippets for focused feedback and a quick ’email link’ to send that instant reply. My ‘Flipgrid App-hack’ was then born. We now do something very similar and we call it “Video Selfie”.

  1. I set out the ‘prompt’ based upon a structure/concept we’ve been working on including in class.
  2. Students take a selfie using their phone. They are allowed to apply any fun filters that they want but I must see their lips move!
  3. They email me their video (next year I may be using Microsoft’s Class Notebook and would then do this via that)
  4. I watch and send back the feedback
  5. (No phone?: Students without access to a cell phone come see me at lunch and use mine to record)

It’s not slick, it doesn’t have a cool app but it is doing the job. They love adding filters and don’t worry about others seeing their videos. I don’t have to worry about issues with privacy laws….and that’s something everyone is a little more aware of these days!

Colleen

 

 

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February 9, 2018
by leesensei
2 Comments

Kaguyahime: An #AuthRes Story Activity to Support Script Learning in Japanese

Although I rarely write specifically about my subject – this is one of them! A post on using an authentic resource to reinforce script recognition. If you don’t teach my TL maybe something here will resonate with you too!

I teach Japanese in a Gr9-12 semester-system high school (in Vancouver, BC Canada). Several years ago I made the decision to stop using romaji with my beginners. I never liked using it, it was tough to wean kids off it and it didn’t seem natural to me. Instead we start with all ‘oral’ work boosted by key visuals to remember. We repeat, we find new partners, we repeat again. At the same time (and on the first day) I start introducing script – just the first 5 characters on day 1…but enough to start them on their journey. As they learn all their characters we begin to write words we have learned.

It is also my habit to start every new semester with a story for my classes.  I like that it gets kids reading again and seeing characters and hopefully sparks/taps previous learning. Typically I use graded reader stories for my older students (Momotaro, Urashimataro etc.). But for my new first year students I have a board-book copy of the classic “Kaguyahime”. It’s a lovely tale, the script is big, as are the pictures, and the target audience is for children so there isn’t a lot of text on the page. I don’t expect my students to be able to ‘understand’ the story on the page. Here’s how I use it…

  • I don’t introduce the story until we are well on our way with learning characters – that is after we have seen あーも (and ん). I continue to introduce script in class but I feel at this point they have a good ‘chunk’ to work with
  • Each day I pick out5- 7 key words from the story and write them on the board; ‘words such as むかし, おじいさん, たけ etc. Under each I write the English meaning.
  • Students work with their partner (this is key – that they work together) and chart to figure out how to say them. Then we review out loud. I don’t lead them through the words initially because I want to begin the practice of ‘recognizing’. Note: this is a great way to introduce sound combinations like しゃ or the use of the small つ (けっこん). These I do ‘pre-teach’ before I ask them to try to read them…
  • I ask them to choose any 4 words and write them on the back blank page of their hiragana booklet (writing practice!)
  • They look at the text (copied) and work to find the words on the page. It’s also an introduction to reading traditional text (right to left/top to bottom)
  • I read the page and recap in English

I do a page a day for the next few pages in this manner until we come to part where the 5 princes are issued a challenge to find something (in order to marry Kaguyahime). We approach the page the same way – key words that day include vocabulary  for the desired items. At the end of the reading I ask the students to talk with their partner and predict who will be successful in their quest and why (they have to write down their prediction). They are quite engaged in this and all sorts of interesting reasoning.  The next day we go over the items being searched for in English on the board. If you know the story – you know the quests are not successful so our words to read this day are the Japanese for ‘fake’, ‘ship sunk’ and ‘grievous injuries’. They practiced saying them and when I read out an asked-for item in English they guessed – in Japanese – what happened. “Quest for the jewel from the dragon’s throat?” “Ship sinks” they all yelled in Japanese! Then they searched for the words on the page…I read and they learned the  young men’s fate.

For pages after this in the story I ask them to do a different task each day per page including:

  • Select one line and put a check mark beside characters you already recognize
  • Select one line and, using your chart, look for and say out loud all of the characters in the line
  • Select 3 lines and see if you can find a combination sound or a small つ word

The story time is about 15 minutes of my 75 minute class. My book is about 10 pages and it’s a great way to introduce a classic story and also engage students in reading script. Two good outcomes from one authentic resource!

C

 

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January 12, 2018
by leesensei
1 Comment

Adding Detail In Writing…Learning to Accessorize to Add Flare!

One of my Yr2’s came to see me at lunch. She is creative, energetic and outgoing – everything that I ask and very sincere in trying to improve her language skills. But she has been disappointed lately that she is not finding the ‘fully meeting’ in her presentational writing pieces.

“Sensei – I’m trying to hard to get to put in more details – but I keep getting ‘mixed up’ and feel jumbled in my thoughts.” She felt that she was so busy trying to ‘push her level of detail that what she was writing was not making sense. “How do I start?” she asked.

I struggled for a tip, a simple way to help her to understand how. Now I will add that this student is also a snappy dresser who melds her love of cos-play with her everyday wear. And it struck me that, like putting together an outfit, writing was a matter of adding ‘layers’ to basics too. So we talked about getting dressed. “Do you”, I asked, “put on your earrings, bracelets, jacket etc before you choose your basic outfit?” “No,” said my student, “I get dressed first.”

“Well,” I told her “This is just the same as writing – you ‘get dressed’ with a basic sentence – then you add some accessories.””But what  would I add?”  she asked.”What do you do when you choose an outfit?” “I accessorize” she said…Then I asked “What are our ‘accessories’ when we communicate?”…All of a sudden I saw it dawn on her. “Our follow-up questions...”.

And it dawned on me too. It’s not just enough to write on the rubric and say “try adding more detail.” I had to help them to do this in a logical and ‘understandable’ way. I had to more explicitly link what we do with ‘Wheel Of Detail‘ for interpersonal speaking to their writing too. With this in mind I went back to the entire class and talked about adding details using our follow-up questions as a guide.  We started with a simple idea (and written) sentence:

Kenji watched a movie.

If this is what Ken said he did, I asked, what would you want to know? And their follow-up questions included (1) why? (2) when? (3) who with? (3A) what are they like? (4) how? (5) where at? (6) how did they watch? Gradually the expanded sentence emerged.

(1)Because he really likes them, (2) last week on Tuesday at 4pm, (3A) tiny but cute Kenji and (3A) really funny (3) Naomi (6) quietly watched a (3A) very interesting movie (5) at a movie theatre in Shinjuku.

They then practiced in pairs – coming up with their own ‘accessories’ for another sentence and we debriefed them as a group. I saw many have a “I can do this…” or “Oh this is how…” moment.

Making more detailed and interesting sentences should not be hard. I had neglected to help them see the link from the questions we use when we speak to the written text. My students often talk now about ‘accessorizing’ their sentences…and as they emerge out of novice it has also led to more interesting written pieces…with more detail than before!

C

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November 1, 2017
by leesensei
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Pop Check-In…Pop Coaching: Improving My Formative Feedback

Please note: This is a cross post with my blog for Path To Proficiency…

“They know it for the quiz and then 15 minutes later they can’t use it properly.” How could they score so well on a scheduled quiz and then not use it correctly in a spontaneous classroom interaction? How could I make a more accurate appraisal of where they really are in acquiring a concept? How could I offer formative assessment on what they truly understand/know?

And so this year I began the “Pop Check-In”. When I first announced one in my Year 3 class there were looks of horror. “A pop quiz? You hadn’t warned us! A quiz? For marks?” So I explained what the ‘pop check in’ is and isn’t:

  • It is a chance to see what you have in your head ‘right now’
  • It is not ‘for marks’ but it is ‘for learning’
  • It’s a chance for me to see if I have further teaching to do regarding this concept

Typically I “mark” the check-in that evening by putting a coloured dot next to response that needs another look  and the next day ask my students to look at/correct the problem. They receive a ‘complete’ mark when this correcting is done. Those students requiring extra attention then get it that second day.

This works well but one day I returned them the same class and noticed the effect of this more timely response. I realized that I should be opting for immediate feedback and immediate coaching, especially for those students who have still not mastered the concept. In other words if I could pop-check then I should pop-coach. So now I find myself 5 minutes during the class – 5 minutes to quickly look over the check-in and return them that very class. For some it’s a quick look and often “I know where I went wrong!”. But for the others it’s a great time to revisit the concept. When students are working quietly I take a moment to individually help those who need the extra support.

Students tell me that they like this approach. That it really shows them what they know and some are surprised that they didn’t really understand the concept as well as they thought they did.  They also say that it is a way to check in on their learning without a fear of it reflecting on their mark (their concern as always).  For others it gives the confidence to know that they are expressing themselves appropriately and correctly. And I’m finding the quick coaching moments to be more effective because they occur right away.

The other day I announced a pop check-in and one of students turned to his partner and said “I told you we’d have one! She’s checking to see if we’ve got it!”  And that’s formative feedback I’m happy to provide!

C

 

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October 13, 2017
by leesensei
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Keeping My Eye On A New Path….

As I’ve always said blogging is my way of discussing my thoughts, ideas and more with myself. It is heartening when it also resonates with others. I am happy to be asked to be part of the group blogging with Path To Proficiency and will be posting with P2P as well as on this blog. This is a cross-post of the same article that appeared on the P2P site on October 12.

After a long time, and an ‘aha’ moment, I’m introducing proficiency this year as a key part of my students’ learning. I’m using it fully with my Yr1&2’s this semester. There’s been much thinking and reworking of ideas with great help from Connie Santos (my ‘newly on the path’ colleague at school), the resources on P2P and the ever-generous #langchat PLN.  I know that when making changes sometimes the hardest part is sticking to the new direction..and here’s how I’m keeping my eye on this new path:

Posting An Easy to See Path To Refer To – Nothing helps you talk about proficiency more than having the levels visible in the room. Many like to put their path around the room above whiteboards and bulletin boards. However, I chose to put them down low – on one bulletin board – specifically because they are new to me (and my students). I notice that the descriptors catch my eye when I am talking or giving feedback meaning that I refer to them more often. It allows me to take that opportunity to walk over and point to the levels as I refer to them and really focus the kids on what I am referring to. For me the fact that the levels are down low & in sight means that they are top of mind.

Adding The Path To My Syllabus/Site – I added a Path handout to my students’ syllabus in easy to follow language. I used the classic ‘road’ template from easely.ly but any program should let you put one together. Many have used the ‘taco chat’ or ‘sushi talk’ sheets shared by colleagues on #langchat. For me – with 4 levels – I made my own. I referred to the path on the first day of class, the various levels too and explained to them why I was now using levels. There were no ‘in-class’ time dedicated to proficiency exploration at this point – but I did ask students to reflect upon the difference between Novice/Intermediate – as they saw it –  as part of their first day syllabus reflection. I’ve also updated my class site to include the ‘what’ and ‘why’ for parents and other educators/administrators interested in what I am doing.

Adding Proficiency Expectations to My Rubrics –  Adding proficiency to my classroom means that I want to add it – as a level of achievement to my class rubrics. So I’ve created a pdf that I can cut/paste and add to rubrics as I use them.  It has two blanks to fill in  – “Proficiency Expectations For This Task” and “Your Level of Proficiency on this Task” and a copy (just like the bulletin board) of what the basic level descriptors are. I was thrilled to hear a student who received their evaluation on their first interpersonal say “Hey I got a Novice Three!”

Finding/Seeking Out Support – I would be nowhere on this journey without a colleague (or two or an entire PLN) there for support. This is proficiency model is new in my school and it is great to have Connie is on this new journey with me. The ability to have someone in my department to consult with, get feedback from (and confess to) is invaluable. I can’t say enough as well about my ‘virtual’ PLN – especially colleagues like Natalia DeLaat and Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell who answered key questions at critical times. Knowing that I am no alone on this path, and that I can call upon those farther down the road, is so key for me.

The path may be new …but I feel that I have set out on my journey with resources to keep me firmly on route..and fantastic people to travel this road with. Onward.

Colleen

Note: You will note that my colleague & I went with the  AAPL descriptors as our base. The 4 levels in each grouping seemed to provide a bit more opportunity to both show growth & provide a more ‘accurate’ assessment. The number descriptors seemed to us to be more ‘forgiving’ than labels ‘low’ or ‘high’…again our choice.

 

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