A Big Picture about the

2008 STARTALK

Shuhan Wang

2008 Advisory Board Recommendations

Develop and provide:

Curriculum frameworks

Common assessment tools

Implications for STARTALK 2008

Create common curriculum frameworks: non-prescriptive template

Develop and implement common assessment tool

Share STARTALK Indicators for Effective Programs

2006 PISA Study Programme for International

Student Assessment

Assessment of Reading, Math, and Science of 15 years-old in 57 countries

Andreas Schleicher, 12/05/2007

http://www.internationaled.org/PISA.html

Lessons Learned from PISA

High ambitions

Devolved responsibility, the school as the centre of action

Personalized learning

Accountability and intervention in inverse proportion to success

Access to best practice and quality professional development

Integrated educational opportunities

Why Everyone Must Be Here? Engage in professional development

Learn about the common curriculum templates--returning or new programs

Provide a forum for program staff to work together with immediate technical assistance

Share information, experiences and expertise, and leverage resources--cross program types and languages

STARTALK as a Community of Practice STARTALK Accountability: programs-teams-network-

STARTALK Central

Principal Investigator/Program Director: on-site and on-task designers, planners, and administrators

Team Leaders: mentors, supporters, and liaisons; facilitators for evaluative site visits

Network Managers: managers of teams

Site Visitors: observers and evaluators

STARTALK Central: Steward of STARTALK mandates and funds; Architect of capacity building

What is a Curriculum?

It is a Plan of Study that could be

Enacted Assessed Achieved

National StandardsReflections &

Assessment

Program Curriculum

Program Syllabus

Units

Lesson Plans

Materials (textbooks, articles, online materials, multi-media)

Who are the Students?

Knowledge, skills, perspectives and

experiences

A Student Curriculum Framework

Teacher Standards

Student StandardsReflections &

Assessment

State Certification Requirements

Essential Knowledge, Skills, Perspectives & Disposition

Course Syllabi & Materials (textbooks, articles, online materials, multi-media)

Who are the Teacher Trainees?

Knowledge, skills, perspectives and

experiences

A Teacher Curriculum Framework

Essential Elements of STARTALK Curriculum Framework

1. Understanding by Design—Backward design

2. Language learning or teacher training as a continuum of development

3. Standards-based

4. Performance-based

5. Thematically structured

WORTH BEING FAMILIAR WITH

IMPORTANT TO KNOW AND TO DO

ENDURINGUNDERSTANDING

Within the Timeframe: How to Prioritize and Contextualize Learning?

Something Peculiar about STARTALK

1. Short-term2. Intensive with undivided attention3. Rigorous and fun4. Building meta-linguistic awareness

and a base for learning the TL5. Developing cultural awareness and a

curiosity for native and T cultures6. Standards-based curriculum and

assessment: not just linguistic gains

Framing Curriculum in a Backward Way:

Enduring Understanding Students will understand that…….. It is a big idea about the discipline that is

universal, timeless, and across languages and cultures

Essential Questions In what way/To what extent… EQs are questions that program-specific

questions that your participants will be able to answer at the end of the program

Key Questions forDesigning and Implementing a Curriculum

1. What are the most essential knowledge, skills, perspectives, and experiences that participants must acquire within the timeframe of my program?

2. How good is good enough for my program? What evidence should be collected?

3. How is the content organized and sequenced? How is it taught?

4. Based on the objectives and criteria of judging, how well have my participants done?

5. How successful is my program? What can I do better next time around?

Program Curriculum At A Glance

ThemesGoals and Standards

Learning Outcomes 1

Learning Outcomes 2

Learning Outcomes 3

Unit 2Sub-theme

Lesson PlansAssessment

Unit 1Sub-theme

Lesson PlansAssessment

Unit 3Sub-theme

Lesson PlansAssessment

Let’s Challenge Ourselves:

Enduring Understanding: Participants will understand that STARTALK Project is an endeavor in building and enhancing our nation’s critical and world language capacity.

Essential Question: To what extent will my STARTALK program serve as a model of a quality and sustainable world language or teacher training program that contributes to this capacity building?

Remember “STARTALK” S: Standards-based and Student-

centered T: Target language A: Appropriateness: age, level &

culture R: Reflective practice and learning T: Time on task A: Application to new contexts L: Learning outcomes K: Knowing is doing