Curriculum and Instruction - SAS-WASC

More documents

Recommendations

Info

through twelve, are divided into two tracks: Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL)and Chinese Literacy (CL). At the middle school levels courses are named as such; athigh school, Chinese levels one – four are geared toward beginning and intermediateChinese language learners, levels five and six serve advanced language learners, andlevels seven through twelve are geared toward students who are near-native or nativespeakers. Always present in the thinking about Chinese language acquisition is thechallenge of literacy. A number of SAS students are relatively fluent in oral Chinese,but unable to read and write in Chinese. To address the needs of these students, SASalso offers Intensive Chinese Reading and Writing (formerly called “Bridge”), acourse that focuses on increasing written literacy of Chinese.The Program ReviewIn the years prior to 2006-2007, focus for improvement of the program was on theelementary school program, and to some degree, the middle school program. Muchwork was done on program delivery (see below). It was decided, therefore, to beginthe program review in 2006-2007 with grades six through twelve. Particular goals ofthe review included increasing building principal involvement with the program attheir building level and training Chinese language faculty in western pedagogy.Many PRC faculty members new to SAS have little or no experience learning orteaching in settings that would be familiar to westerners, as evidenced, in part, bywork with the Chinese as Foreign Language department of East China NormalUniversity through a joint internship program. As part of the internship program,in partnership with university faculty, SAS offered weekly seminars in westerneducational practice and thinking – including introducing Bloom’s taxonomy.Planning and conducting these sessions offered insights into teacher training inChina. Teaching practices in China are reflective of differing expectations and goalsof education than found in the west. Other evidence is present in reflections written inPeer Sessions, a professional development activity required of new Chinese facultywho joined SAS in August 2007. Reflections described the learning and teachingsituations participants had experienced – and the contrasts were significant betweendescriptions in the reflections and what and how we expect our teachers to teach (Thetraining guides teachers through the first hour, day and week of students at SAS. Itincludes the first communication to parents as well as basic unit plan construction,an introduction to essential questions, and the use of reflections as one aspect offormative assessment.). It is indicative of the dedication and passion for their workthat several veteran faculty members signed on for this particular training – whichcontinues into August 2008. Given the evidence, it is no surprise that induction ofnew Chinese faculty to the SAS teaching and learning community is particularlyimportant. Covering an appropriate amount of material in line with colleagues andusing texts as resources for covering the SAS standards and benchmarks rather thanas lock-step guides in lieu of standards and benchmarks are particular challenges fornew hires. Continued close work with veteran colleagues through peer observations,collaborative planning and unit-writing will smooth the transition of new staff intothe SAS learning community and enhance learning for new and returning teachersand students alike.In the past two years, professional development that leads to a masters’ degree fromPlymouth State University in Teaching Chinese Language in International Schools(offered to Chinese language faculty at 80 -100% support) has included courseworkin education philosophy, theories of learning and cognitive learning, writing process,assessment, critical friends coach’s training, and so forth (See SAS Plymouth StateUniversity Course Booklet). In consultation with the university, the degree has beendesigned specifically to meet the needs of the Chinese language teachers at SAS.Another indication of the dedication to learning the Chinese faculty demonstratesis the nearly twenty PRC teachers who have taken on the challenge of the master’sdegree. While opportunities for professional learning have been plentiful andfocused, and many teachers have participated, more work is necessary to ensure that98Shanghai American School Self Study Report
the training is applied in the classroom. At present, many can discuss the theories andpractices studied, and are beginning to evidence their learning in practice.Principles of Learning and Essential Teaching AgreementsThe principles of learning and essential teaching agreements drafted and adopted bythe Chinese language teachers served both as an exploration of western pedagogy andof expectations of teaching and learning at SAS as well as a record of discussions andprofessional development conducted through task force work. That said, the essentialteaching agreements are in the emerging stages in several classrooms, part of dailylearning in some, and not yet in evidence in others. Work remains for buildingadministrators to guide staff in continued growth in this area.The task force drafted principles of learning in 2006-2007 and they were vetted withdepartments, then adopted in 2007-2008:The study of the Chinese language . . .• Inspires a lifelong love of learning.• Promotes respect and mutual understanding of other individuals and cultures.• Develops in students a global view and critical thinking skills.• Stimulates interests in language learning.• Offers an authentic, integrated exploration of Chinese language and culture.• Builds the bridge to Chinese culture in order that students can comprehend andappreciate it.Essential Teaching Agreements were written for Chinese language 6-12 in 2006-2007 and adopted in 2007-2008 school-wide. Agreements are intended to supportbest practice in the classroom. An expanded group of the task force – including mostof the grade 6-12 Chinese teachers – unpacked the essential agreements adoptedby the departments and created a rubric for themselves and their principals to useto determine what the essential agreements would look like in action (See ChineseSubject Area Evidence Binder). The Essential Agreements:We Chinese language teachers at Shanghai American School will• Create a positive and interactive environment for the study of the Chineselanguage and culture.• Help students to connect Chinese language and culture to other subjects andareas of their lives with each unit we study.• Provide opportunities for students to explore their interests and apply whatthey have learned in the classroom to real world contexts at least once perunit.• Differentiate Chinese language tasks and difficulty levels according to eachindividual’s unique experience pattern and technique for learning.“Language is only the vehicleof a culture. Even if you masterperfect pronunciation, you havenot truly learned the language.We encourage problem solvingskills, not just teaching languagefor language sake.” - Ms Young,Chinese TeacherStandards and Benchmarks - Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL)The work began with reviewing and refining CFL standards and benchmarks.To begin aligning the work, the first levels – middle school levels one throughfour and high school levels one and two – were leveled against IB Ab Initiotopics and performance requirements, with Ab Initio years one and two beingthe most challenging courses. One challenge in aligning CFL classes is ensuringthat expectations of student learning are similar in like classes. There have beenvastly differing expectations of literacy, for example, in beginning CFL classeswhere language acquisition theory tells us that listening and speaking should havea significant focus over writing – particularly when writing includes learning anentirely new system. This is of particular concern at the high school level. As yet,there is not full understanding of how the early levels of CFL differ. In the comingyear, as teachers design lesson plans around the pilot units in the non-Ab Initiocourses, identifying clear performance indicators for all middle and high schoollevels will be critical.Shanghai American School Self Study Report 99
Page 1 and 2: Curriculum and InstructionShanghai
Page 3 and 4: Curriculum and InstructionThe Proce
Page 5 and 6: • Curriculum is best designed by
Page 7 and 8: Pudong Elementary SchoolPuxi Elemen
Page 9 and 10: written curriculum using Atlas curr
Page 11 and 12: Mainstream Classes (TESMC) to teach
Page 13 and 14: AlignmentAligning divisions across
Page 15 and 16: These discussions have, in part, ar
Page 17 and 18: Finally, the question of academic h
Page 19 and 20: Program Review Progress ReportsLang
Page 21 and 22: 1 st Grade• PM benchmarks assessm
Page 23 and 24: consumables. Puxi adopted them in 2
Page 25 and 26: • Ensure a variety of types of as
Page 27: A subcommittee of the task force co
Page 31 and 32: In 2008-2009, the articulation need
Page 33 and 34: from the United States, including C
Page 35 and 36: content knowledge. Teachers are con

Curriculum and Instruction - SAS-WASC

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?