proficiency
June 30, 2014
Well, last Friday came and went and the first official Camp Musicuentos is a wrap! I had the great privilege of working with 20 outstanding teachers from across my own region and even beyond – I was joined by teachers from Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Virginia! Our learning, for […]
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June 16, 2014
Don’t smack me here, I know school JUST got out, but you know it’s true – it’ll be back before you know it! And one of our most important jobs in the first days of school is educating (and selling!) parents and students on proficiency-based teaching. I’m being hosted by The Webb School of Knoxville […]
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June 10, 2014
Have you ever stopped to think about why we teach the past tenses separately? When I first started investigating TPRS as a teaching method, a lot of things clicked with me (and some didn’t) but one of the tips that made the most sense was that it didn’t make sense to teach past tenses one at […]
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May 28, 2014
The Merrillville (IN) High School is hosting me for a professional development workshop and is inviting teachers across the region. Here are the brief details, and you can view the description more in-depth in this flyer. Where: Merrillville High School, Merrillville, IN (near Gary in the greater Chicago region) When: Thursday, June 19, 8:00 A.M. – […]
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May 13, 2014
If you haven’t heard, you have many amazing professional development opportunities this summer. You can mix with the people who really know TPRS at NTPRS and iFLT. Also, if hands-on collaborative planning is your thing, you do not want to miss at least one of two opportunities to work with fellow teachers on proficiency-based curriculum planning […]
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March 31, 2014
Got intermediate Spanish students you’re trying to push to use some advanced skills? How about using these authentic “memes” to illustrate some proficiency differences? All three of these phrases mean basically the same thing, but they use different language to express it. Once students get to intermediate low proficiency, pushing their proficiency higher has a […]
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March 28, 2014
To find out what curriculum planning I think is necessary before school begins, click here for Part 1. Before the unit starts If you haven’t already (see Part 1 #4), choose a platform to help you organize yourself. I use a simple Excel or Google Drive spreadsheet. On the left, I list the date, number […]
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March 4, 2014
I’ve gotten this question several times lately and it’s made me remember I sort of blogged on that when I wrote about taking the leap to standards-based assessment but I should go into it a little more. So, you’re ready to move to proficiency-based assessment and standards-based grading, but if you’re assessment is focused on […]
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January 27, 2014
Last year I blogged a post about the top 3 mistakes teachers of novices make. It made a big splash, in the cyber world anyway. Something about that post resonated with teachers. But it didn’t address the biggest mistake all of us make – the cancer that plagues world language teaching and makes programs far and […]
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December 30, 2013
The reaction to my post titled Top 3 Mistakes Teachers of Novices Make startled me to say the least. The ACTFL TOY called it a “must read.” My blog traffic jumped 600% in one day. It’s been accessed twice as much as the next most popular post in the last six months. Something here resonated […]
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December 21, 2013
2013’s fourth most popular post is a novice-level activity suggestion using the Latin Grammy’s Song of the Year, Marc Anthony’s Voy a vivir. His performance at the Latin Grammys is sure to get everyone moving and singing to the music! —————- The most popular Latin pop song in the country has NOVICE written all over […]
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December 9, 2013
2013’s eighth most popular post is about telling the difference between novice high and intermediate low. Be sure to check out the comments on the original post for more helpful distinguishing tips. I got a question recently from a colleague who was having trouble pinpointing the difference between novice high and intermediate low with her […]
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