Tag Archives: integrated performance assessment

216: Assessment & Feedback: Supporting Growth, Not Just Grades

Posted on | Leave a comment


Are your assessments really capturing what your students can do with the language? Or are they just measuring memorization and correctness? In today’s episode, we’re diving into what it looks like to assess for performance and proficiency. I’ll share tips for aligning tasks to the modes of communication, using Can Do Statements to drive growth, and giving feedback that supports risk-taking rather than only focusing on what is not completely accurate.

Topics in this Episode:

  • Assessment and feedback are teaching tools, not just measurement tools
  • Questions to consider when looking at feedback and assessments in your classroom: 
    • Do Your Assessments Reflect Performance & Communication? 
    • Do Assessments inInclude the 3 Modes of Communication
    • Do Students Understand How They’re Being Assessed?
    • Does the Feedback Encourage Growth? 
  • Assessment doesn’t have to feel like a judgment. It can be an opportunity to motivate by showing what was done well and guidance on improving on that.
  • Let your assessments and feedback tell students: ‘You can do this—and here’s what’s next.

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Leave a comment

Posted in Podcast Episodes, Teaching Methodology and Research

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

144: Using Student Performance Data to Adjust Our Teaching with Wyatt Crane

Posted on | Leave a comment


What do you do with the information that you learn from the assessments that you give students? Even if we are talking about end–of-unit summative assessments we should look at the overall results and see if there are any changes we should make to instruction.  This is our own consistent way of doing action research in our classrooms.  In this episode, Wyatt Crane, a Spanish teacher in New York City, joins me to talk us through how he uses data from assessments (both formative and summative) to determine what is effective and what he may need to modify in his classroom teaching.

Topics In This Episode:

  • how Wyatt collects and analyzes student performance data in his language classroom
  • the tools and methods Wyatt finds most effective for this process
  • how student performance data influences Wyatt’s instructional decisions and lesson planning
  • examples of when data prompted Wyatt to adjust his teaching
  • how to ensure that student performance data is used not just for assessment purposes, but also for fostering student growth and learning
  • how to tailor approaches to data analysis and interpretation to meet the individual needs of students

Connect with Wyatt Crane:

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me as a guest on the podcast.

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Leave a comment

Posted in Classroom Procedures, Podcast Episodes, Teaching Methodology and Research

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

122: IPAs and World Language Standards

Posted on | Leave a comment


Join me on the podcast for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode.

How do you implement IPAs effectively in your classroom? Today’s episode is a Leveling Up episode, where I coach Judy, a German teacher in Illinois. Implementing IPA’s effectively is the area where wants to level up her teaching practice.

Suggestions:

  • Begin by incorporating IPAs in one unit or topic. This step-by-step approach allows you to refine your techniques and identify what works best for your students.
  • Authentic materials can be just about anything: a short video, a photo, a brochure. Create a Pinterest board where you can pin authentic resources that you find on the internet.
  • Develop clear and detailed rubrics to evaluate students’ performance in IPAs. 
  • Begin with 2-3 modes on the IPA, then add on the other modes with future IPAs.
  • Offer formative practice opportunities before the actual IPA to help students become familiar with the assessment format.
  • Use AI tools, such as ChatGPT to create a possible IPA, or at least offer a template to use.
  • Create a Pinterest board where you can pin authentic resources that you find on the internet

Action Plan:

This Week:

  • Choose one unit or topic from your curriculum where you will create an IPA.
  • Create a clear and detailed rubric that aligns with the IPA tasks

The Coming Weeks:

  • Design and implement formative practice activities related to the selected IPA unit. 
  • Administer the IPA for the selected unit, using the rubric to evaluate students’ performance.

Helpful Podcast Episodes on This Topic:

Helpful Blog Posts on This Topic:

You  can also be a part of Leveling Up coaching episode if there is an area of your teaching that you like to improve or enhance.  Join me on the podcast for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode.

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me as a guest on the podcast.

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Leave a comment

Posted in Classroom Procedures, Podcast Episodes, Teaching Methodology and Research

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

93: Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs)

Posted on | 2 comments

What is a highlight or takeaway from the first 100 episodes of the World Language Classroom Podcast?  Leave a 20-20 second audio recording. I hope to include you in episode 100.

How do you approach assessment in your language classroom?  Is it about quizzes and tests on particular vocabulary and language structures, or do you focus on students demonstrating what they can do with the Target Language?  In this episode I am going to focus on Integrated Performance Assessments (or IPA’s).  This type of assessment provides a chance to determine what students are able to do with the target language, rather than just what they know about the language.

Topics in this Episode:

  • Henshaw and Hawkins’ recommendations around assessments in Common Ground
  • aligning instruction with assessment
  • Success Criteria
  • what an Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) is
  • the 3 sections of an IPA: interpretive, interpersonal, presentational
  • creating and IPA
  • assessing and IPA
  • Pros and cons of IPAs
  • tips for creating and implementing an IPA

Episodes Mentioned in this Episode:

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom.
Join me on the podcast.
We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

2 Comments

Posted in Classroom Procedures, Podcast Episodes

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

61: Goals and Assessment in the Language Classroom

Posted on | Leave a comment


In this episode we look at goals, and assessment of those goals, in teaching and learning language.  This is the third of 5 episodes dedicated to the book Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom by Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins. Actionable insights and takeaways that you can use right away as you set goals for your students and create the assessments that support students moving toward them.  

Topics in the episode:

  • ACTFL Proficiency Levels
  • Setting Proficiency-Based Goals
  • Performance and Proficiency
  • Assessment; Integrated Performance Assessments and Rubrics
  • Intercultural Communication Goals
  • Making the discussion interactive on Twitter with Joshua (@wlcalssoom), Florencia Henshaw (@Prof_F_Henshaw) and Maris Hawkins (@Marishawkins).

Blog posts referenced in this episode:

Get your own copy of Common Ground.  Hackett Publishing is generously offering a 25% discount when you use the code WLC2022.  [Available through December 31, 2022].

**The 25% off discount code can be used for any book through the end of December, 2022.  Hackett publishes several intermediate language-learning textbooks in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Latin, and Classical Greek. New releases include Cinema for French Conversation, Cinema for Spanish Conversation, and Les Français.

——————————————————————————————-

Work with Joshua either in person or remotely.

——————————————————————————————-

Teachers want to hear from you and what you are proud of in your classroom. Join me on the podcast.  We record conversations remotely, so you can be anywhere.

——————————————————————————————-

Follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Leave a comment

Posted in Classroom Procedures, Podcast Episodes

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,