Inquiry ProgressPost # 3

On Friday we were able to film the two second grade classes. I will be loading the videos by next week. My students were able to demonstrate their understanding what we have learned in the unit.

Inquiry Progress #2

After my students have learned about the different areas of the house, and were able to act out what they do in each room (showering, eating, sleeping….). Now we started putting the family members in the different rooms. We put one person at the time until we have covered the 6 areas and the 6 persons. Then we played the “what’s missing” game is when the students have to close eyes and I will take down one person at the time and they have to guess it. In a different activity I asked the students to put the family members in different areas of the house. Putting the family members in the different room after a verbal command will count as assessment for understanding.

Inquiry Progress #1

In the last two week, I have been working on teaching our family and home unit. As these are second grade students we have previously learned about the family in fits grade, and now we have been working on the different areas of the house. I presented the difference areas of the house by the TPRS (Total Physical Response Story Telling). I used French only by acting the story out, like “I shower in the bathroom” bys saying it while acting like I am showering. I did that with all the different areas of the house. The students had the chance to participate by acting and the others had to actually word what the students was acting.

task Five. Domain 1

the first item i found was a video of Howard Gardner http://www.edutopia.org/howard-gardner-interview#graph7
Howard Gardner’s interest in the multiple intelligences, the student direct learning and the different types of learners is the center of my teaching philosophy. I enjoyed listening to Gardner talking about the need for a new approach to assessment; his words were music to my ear. His idea about engaging the students in what they are learning and creating a meaning to what students are learning, if the students have the chance to manipulate the material being taught and are able to use it, it will stay with them forever. because it was taught in a context. As a French teacher I see the importance of that. I am moving away from one word answer into “chunks” or complete sentences since students will be able to use it. With my fifth graders I give them research to do on their own to help them own what they have learned and assist them in exploring instead of presenting the facts to them. And so many times I have learned great things from their research topics.
I liked listening to him talk about what I call an effective assessment. We shouldn’t assess to come up with a final verdict, but we should assess so that we can better our teaching and maximize the students’ learning. We should share the results with the students and get their feedback about what worked and what didn’t. By analyzing data we can look for patterns and notice flaws in our way of teaching and move to the self-assessment.

the second item i found was an article http://www.edutopia.org/comprehensive-assessment-introduction
With the states so worried about funding, and meeting the endless goals. Teachers and students are caught in the cross fire, the quality of teaching is going down while the quantity is going up. Teachers are teaching for the test and so many skills are left out. The No Child Left Behind had left us with No Teacher Left Alive. Assessing should tell us where we are, where are we headed and how can we change the outcomes and correct errors. I liked the fact that the article highlighted the importance of the performance –based assessment. As a language teacher of k-5th students with limited linguistic abilities (French). I find that the performance based assessment if a great way of assessing and checking for understanding. It gives me reassurance that my students learned and understood what I taught them and are able to show that, and it gives the students the chance to share what they have learned. Both summative and formative should be used to generate data and use the data to improve teaching and learning experience as well as scores.

The last item was a blog “Differentiated Instruction Allows Students to Succeed” http://www.edutopia.org/differentiated-instruction-student-success

I believe that all the students can learn, but not all the same way the day. Therefore I see the importance of differentiating instruction and ways of assessing the students to make sure that they are learning and succeeding. The blogger touched down on something very important which is the need for attention from the students as well as the neglect that most teachers do unintentionally to the quiet and shy students, those who obeys, do their work and never cause nay problems. I have decided last year to make sure that I would talk to one of them each day and not only by saying hi but trying to make a personal connection. “The ideal is to provide equivalent learning activities that cater to the students' strengths but bring all of the students to the same learning objective.” That’s the ideal fro me I would like to designs lessons and assessments well thought, challenging but yet age and level appropriate. Allowing extra time to finish the tasks to those needs maximizes their grades earning.

TASK #4

Important Note: Dr. Clarke you will notice many similarities between my answers for this task and those of Carmen, and the reason in not that I am copying her work but we both went through the option7 Program for World language teachers at NKU, and we both work with JCPS, and also we are both part of a team of world language elementary teachers designing a framework that is language neutral. So we have the same goals and we are working on improving same areas.

What was that domain? Why did you choose this domain?

I chose this domain because as I stated I am part of group of teachers in JCPS designing a framework. A knowledgeable and well prepared teacher can contribute the success of the students. And also because I see that I have much room for improvement in this area.

Which component from this domain are you most comfortable with?

The component that I feel the most comfortable with is in demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy. Even though French is my first language teaching it and passing the knowledge on to my students was not and still not an easy task. Knowing the language doesn’t guarantee that a person can teach it and that’s why I had to become certified. I went trough a range of pedagogy courses to gain delivery skills. Now that I have gained more classroom management skills and had learned more about the children’s cognitive development, and the different factors that affect the teaching/learning. Teaching French to English speaker had helped me reflect even deeper on the structure of the French language, and helped me find similarities between the two languages and therefore finding way to tie both of them together and demonstrate to my students that they can learn it.

Which component from this domain do you believe most strongly ties to instruction?

I believe that setting instructional outcomes is the strongest tie to instruction. When designing a unit of study in general and each lesson in particular, the outcomes and the goals should be clearly set. The backward design is the best example that supports the importance of setting the instructional outcomes and its positive impact on the learning. In the past world language teachers used to teach so many things without asking themselves why do I teach what I teach? For example for so long world language teachers had taught the Alphabet as a start and in isolation, they don’t have a solid argument for teaching the alphabet in isolation. The students memorize the alphabet at the end, but what are they going to do with it is the question that the teacher should ask him/herself.

Which component from this domain would you like to zero in on in your own instruction?

As I stated before I have made progress in managing my class and delivering lessons. But a big part of teaching is assessing, and if the assessment is not done the way it should, the teachers will not know how to proceed or even end up with conflicting data. Therefore I chose to focus on designing student assessments.

Question to my group.
How do you go about touching down on the multiple intelligences when designing a lesson?

TASK #3

Do all students have a capacity to learn?

I believe that “all students can learn but not all at the same day, the same way” I have read this somewhere but can’t remember who said it. I believe strongly in that statement and think that all the students including the special needs students have an equal chance to learn and comprehend the material. I also believe that the teachers are facilitators; they should design lessons, and come up with lessons that suit the learning styles of their students. Each lesson should touch down on the multiple intelligences to better reach out to all kinds of learners.

What shapes this capacity?
There are so many factors that contribute to shaping the students’ learning capacity. To me it all starts at home, before the teachers’ contribution comes in the situation at home is very essential, whether the student lives with his family or in a foster home, whether the one parent with whom he/she spent the week end remembered to help with homework or signed the “fieldtrip” slip, or whether someone makes sure that the student gets enough sleep and have breakfast before coming to school., and whether the student took his or her medication before leaving home. Then comes the skilful teacher who fosters a safe and encouraging learning environment, a teacher who can engage and challenge the students, a teacher who plans lessons lesson with his students in mind, a teachers who makes the students feel that he cares about them individually. It is so funny that while I am writing this the “are you smarter that a fifth grader” sho came on and I am looking at these kids and wondering about what makes them so special that they are entertaining millions of people? What was offered accessible to them and not to my students in my title one school?

How much influence do you have upon this capacity?

As far as dealing with the home problem I can’t really do much about it. Nut I do what I can in easing some of those problems by being understanding and supportive. From my position as world language I am trying to positively impact their learning capacity and improve their performance and provide them with language tools that will allow to become world citizens, and think of themselves as part of a global community of learners. I also try to challenge my students by designing units that promote higher thinking questions. But I am limited because of the nature of the subject. I also try to reinforce what students are learning in their first language using their second language, by working with a content based language neutral framework

How do these assumptions about learning shape our instruction?

Well I don’t have the magic stick to turn a low achieving student to a genius, I know that I can touch and change their lives with what knowledge I can offer them and more importantly is how I offer it to them, and how I help them use what they have learned. Loading students with meaningless information or dictating the learning instead of facilitating it will only serve the testing purpose, and by the following year they will remember little none of it.

My Domain:
I am picking the first domain: Planning and preparation

I am adding this video to say that every one can learn/trained

TASK # 2

Curriculum is what guides the learning and the teaching. Most of the time it is mandated by the state and the school districts. The curriculum should have a set of goals, standards and assessment tools. It also tells the teachers what to teach, how to teach and when to teach. The curriculum also can be used as a tool to promote higher and deeper thinking and also should motivates and get the students engaged in learning. Our role as educators is to try and change the things in the curriculum that are not working or to try to use them in a different way than what’s prescribed. We should also make the curriculum as user friendly as possible and open the door to creativity. We also should connect the curriculum with everyday life to make meaningful to students. My students who are between 5 and 11 years are not at all interested in knowing about some parts of the French history but by putting in games and songs I will get excited about learning it. We should be the facilitators of the learning and not only the men and women.


Well I am going to sound just like Janna. As world language teachers I have to say we had no curriculum we were “left behind”J. With the appointment of a new world language specialist, we started seeing a lot of good changes, and one of them is the designing of a framework which is also a state pilot program that is generating a lot of interest from districts nationally. This is the work of 10 certified elementary world language teachers. This framework is language free, and that what’s beautiful about it. Each one of us knows what unit to each and when to start and end each unit, each one has the option of choosing from a whole range of activities while the goals and the standards are the same. We also created an online resource center where we all share the most successful strategies and activities. I have the full freedom in teaching what best suits my students. I compare the freedom and the control I have over what I teach now with the rigid curriculum I was forced to obey to back in Morocco. Therefore gaining even partial control can make the learning/teaching a fun and beneficial experience.



As I stated previously having a framework well thought and designed to promote language proficiency, global cultural awareness. With the framework putting me on track all I have left is to design activities that will guarantee maximum fun and mastery of what I want to teach. Our framework is so hands on and so culturally connected so while students are learning the language they are also enjoying learning about the cultural similarities between francophone countries and the United States have the flexibility to link worldwide events and changes to my lessons and broaden my students’ horizons in an effort to make them world citizens. I was happy to see that world language teaching was mentioned by Wiggins and McTighe.