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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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 2, 2016
by leesensei
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Building Student Responsibility For Learning: Pre-to-Post Oral Activity Ideas

DSC05583The ideas in this post deals with oral interpersonal activities in my classes. However I think many of them can be used for presentational and interpretive activities as well.

One of the big things that I have learned, and continue to learn, in my teaching is that, in order for learning to occur, my students need to be as aware of/involved in it as I am. Increasingly I’ve been building in opportunities for them to take on responsibility for their learning and provide feedback for themselves (and me) on the process. I’ve done a variety of posts in the past on parts of these but thought I would put it all together in one post that spans the ‘pre to post’ activity process.

Pre-Activity – Setting Our Expectations – I’ve learned that I can’t just set out ‘what’ we will be doing, but, in building in self-responsibility I also have to address ‘how’ and ‘why’ we will be doing an activity. With that in mind I now employ a range of pre-activity strategies (sometimes I use all of these at once, sometimes just a few) including:

  • Rubric in advance – Wow have I learned how powerful a rubric can be in establishing expectations. But what I have also learned is to use it to see if they both understand the expectations and their impression of how they are meeting them. So now I often ask them to mark the rubric before we do the activity so that I can see how they are expecting it to go.
  • Intention and/or Post Reflection Starters on board- new for me this year is to put either the ‘intention’ of the activity  or the actual post-reflection sentence starters on the board in English (or both!). In reading out the intention it gives an opportunity to remind my students why they are doing the activity. “Today we will discuss our favourite activities with partners. The focus is on communication and understanding – not on finishing quickly.” I’ve also experimented with writing the post-activity ‘reflection starters’ on the board – another way to set/build expectations.
  • Checks/Smile – Again a new one for me this year that expands beyond just having students read the rubric in advance. I am seeing results in using “Checks & a Smile” in the reflective comments of students afterwards.
  • Sharing with partner – We know that if we share a journey of change and growth with someone it helps us to make the change/take a risk. In a quick ‘share a challenge with your partner’ students share, and often learn, that everyone, regardless of perceived ability, has areas that they can still grow in

During Activity – Focus On Communicating – The goal during any activity that’s interpersonal is ‘good communication’. We work a lot in class on this. What does it for students to be good communicators in class? Students know that top ‘marks’ go to those who:

  • Are as good at listening as they are speaking
  • Don’t confuse good communicating with dominating/making speeches
  • Say when they don’t understand & help out when someone doesn’t
  • Asks a variety of appropriate related follow-up questions
  • Know that it isn’t about ‘finishing’ it’s about participating

Post Activity – Reflecting and Evaluating: Yes there is a rubric to fill out. It may be a simple ‘how did that go‘ or a more complex one specifically designed for the activity.  But before they fill it out students know they will also be writing. And they know that I will be reading these reflections and responding to them. Some of my favourite post-activity starters include:

  • That went ….because…
  • I am most proud that….
  • A challenge that I set out for me was to …and I met/didn’t meet it because…
  • My work in class today reflected/did not reflect our year level because…
  • One challenge for me for next time is…because…
  • We should do more/less of this type of activity because…

It’s taken time, and the great support of my #langchat PLN for me to realize that it’s what my students think/know/feel about their learning counts the most.

Colleen

 

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