Faculty College: Preparing for Effective Assessment

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Faculty College

Implementing and Incorporating ACTFL Standards into Foreign Language Undergraduate (Teaching) Curricula: Preparing for Effective Assessment

This multi-session workshop, led by Paul Sandrock, Associate Director - Professional Development, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), will address needs of the faculty and staff in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and in the College of Education and Human Services. This Faculty College offers participants:

1. A review of ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines,
2. Articulation of proficiency goals for UW Oshkosh's French, German, Japanese, Spanish general education and major and minor programs (Liberal Arts and Education),
3. A review of ACTFL Standards  and performance-based tools,
4. Ideas for applying these tools to instruction and curriculum development,
   

 The workshop series also assists faculty and staff in creating effective embedded assessments of Learning Outcomes (Oral and Written Communication) according to the guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
 

Schedule

The workshop began with an all-day session on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. Three follow-up video-conference sessions were held during the spring semester to support outcomes of the face-to-face workshop (March 2, April 6, and April 27).  The final event in this professional development series is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM followed by an on-site luncheon.

Agenda & Handouts for May 18th DFLL Assessment Workshop

8:45-9:15 am = Coffee and pastries
9:15 AM

1. Opening Discussion (15 min.)
• Whole Group:  How are you more consciously using the three modes of communication now as a way to design units and plan lessons? 
2. Performance Tasks Targeting Proficiency Levels (50 min.)
• Review of proficiency levels
• In Groups by Level:  Examples of tasks for each communication mode (Interpretive, Interpersonal, Presentational) targeting specific proficiency levels
• Discussion of department-wide expectations for student performance
3. Degree of Control at Each Targeted Proficiency Level: Language Functions (65 min.)
   
• Conceptual control, partial control, and full control of key functions 
• Moving from structured practice to creative practice 
• Key functions that signal novice, intermediate, and advanced proficiency
• In Groups by Language:   
• Identify key functions for your targeted level 
• Identify degree of control: conceptual control, partial control, full control
4. Identify Next Steps to Design Required Program Assessments (20 min.)
5. Final Whole Group Discussion:  (15 min.)
• How does identifying performance expectations up front in a unit of instruction impact how you teach the unit?

12:00 - 12:45 PM = Lunch

1. UW Oshkosh FSCASL (Faculty Senate Committee on Assessment of Student Learning) Assessment page http://www.uwosh.edu/assessment/
2. World Languages-Standards, Wisconsin DPI  http://dpi.wi.gov/cal/wl-stanlearn.html 
3. ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency Guidelines http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4236 
4. CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment) http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/cadre_en.asp 
5. STAMP (Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency) http://www.avantassessment.com/products/about_stamp.html 
6. STAMP Practice Tests http://practice.njstamp.net/njstamp/do/infopages?forward=practice   
7. TellMeMore http://www.tellmemore.com/education 
8. TMM Higher Education (Language Learning Solutions for Higher Education) http://www.tellmemore.com/higher_education
   

 
For more information, please contact Elizabeth Wade-Sirabian (wade@uwosh.edu) or Catherine M. Bryan (bryan@uwosh.edu ).
 
To register for this workshop, please contact Kathy Lutzke at 424-4004 or lutzke@uwosh.edu  by Monday, May 9, 2011. Once registered, participants will receive more detailed information about the final workshop scheduled on May 18.
 
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