Meeting 15 • 22 May 2012 • Tuesday

Version:
5/24/12

People (√ = present; strikeout = absent; e+strikeout = excused absence): √Fischer; √Chapman; √Choate; √Couture; √Hinsinger; Hunter; √Idrissi; √Looney; √Moore

(X') = anticipated time in minutes (to total 100 minutes + 10-minute break)
(0001) etc.=item in document collection (will be explained in class)
Key to notes added AFTER the class meets:
√ = topic / activity that was adequately dealt with during the class
+ = topic was begun but needs more attention & will be resumed at next / subsequent meeting(s)
- = a topic / activity that was proposed but not carried out - will be taken up later
Struckthrough text like this = a topic / activity that was proposed but is not going to be taken up after all
Italic green text like this = comments after the meeting
Week 8: More about the projects; special presentations; portfolio assessment

new materials:

0702 (on disk) LinguaFolio comments: handout included 0702 LinguaFolio, pp. 1 (My Language Journey), 3 (Appendix 1: What about me?), 5 (Appendix 2: What I do to Increase My Language Skills), 10 & 12 (Self-Assessment Checklists); also the form "Intent to Apply" for the 2012 Oregon NCLB-USP grant

Handout includes articles about assessment: 0739 (not on disk), PSU FRINQ portfolio reading (p. 3, "Writing Rubric"); 2012W Humboldt SINQ assignment "Describe a Humboldt-Related Species" - assignment & scoring guide, work samples brought to class; 0931 (not on disk) Understanding University Success ("Second Languages," pp. 67-71 (pp. 41-3 of original book)

(05') Depending on mood of group: tests from hell - our own experiences We did something else: a) explored what we knew about other "AC"s than LAC: MAC (math); BAC (biology); PHAC (physics); and of course CLAC; b) debated whether it would be possible to do double CBI: two subjects at once - consensus was yes, for example science and art (nature illustration)

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(30') Discussion of projects - hope people have brought something to the table; if assessment comes up, but we have plenty else to discuss, we'll move the assessment part to the second hour comments: a) NH & EM showed how greatly their project #1 outlines differed, but also how either structure could suffice; b) then we did round-robin "private" (one-on-one) showings of projects, which seemed to work very well

I haven't forgotten the request for videos of CBI in action.

√

(20') Example of an activity that could be converted into CBI for languages, combined with last week's special topic, assessment: the Humboldt SINQ assignment "Describe a Humboldt-Related Species" - assignment & scoring guide, work samples;

Focus / Venting topic: student course evaluations.

(10') Break: Go get your coffee or your snack.

√

(20+') Assessment & portfolios: LinguaFolio (norm- or criterion-referenced? summative or formative? How would our college students stack up on LinguaFolio?)

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(10) If time: relating language learning to the learners' larger development (and getting away from "standardized testing") - Understanding University Success (0931 not on disk, pp. 67-71, Second Languages - excerpts in handout for previous meeting)

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(10') The modest proposal for an immodest culminating event of a subversive nature: What would we want to accomplish with our target audience? If time: the current WLL CBI grant situation: USP intent to apply in handout); just announced but long expected: US DOE CFDA 84.016A Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs RFP

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(5') If time: more about grants - COFLT Mini-grants; little/medium grants that might support the Humboldt Project
Upcoming class meeting(s) (#16 • 24 May 2012)

1) Continue Stryker/Leaver

2) Look at the work samples for projects from earlier years.

3) The culminating event: if we're doing it, then let's get on with the serious planning.

4) Proposed next major topic of general discussion: specific examples of CBI; suitable reading: 0176 Lear, "Spanish for Working Medical Professionals"; 0356 Bueno, "Creating Community…A Content-Based Approach" (art & film); 0436 Armengol, "Developing the Language of Mathematics"

5) Very soon, quite possibly this Thursday, we WILL discuss those two articles about rice cultivation (0725) and teaching science through American history (0082)

6) After that: thematic units; suitable reading: 0115 "Designing a Standards-Based thematic Unit"; 0304 "Integrated Thematic Unit: House"; work samples 0707a, 0707b

There was some interest in the following areas, which will receive attention as time allows: the various content areas; literature; culture; changing the curriculum; business; grants.

Below here are notes for myself; read them at your peril!

grant info: ••PSU grants; ••small-/medium-scale external grants & a sample application; ••large-scale external grants & a sample application; ••conference ideas & sample proposals

••how to assess CBI activities (the projects; in general);

••Portland Public Schools "Recommendations for the Second Language Minimum Performance Standards" (#0010a)

••Drake

I think we need a discussion about what we (ourselves, our learners) want language teaching and learning to accomplish, so that we can examine the pros and cons of CBI (and other teaching methods or tools). Example: Some people prize language courses for what they contribute to the development of students' intellectual rigor (logic, clear thinking, understanding of system, rules, principles); such people may also say: "…especially Latin" or "…but of course they can get the same things from a stiff geometry course". To what extent is that view / goal compatible with CBI? What if the students' goal is to… [name several different goals]?
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