As I've gone through course work this summer I've dug deep into my own thinking behind learning maps and developed a better understanding of what they are and how I will be integrating them into my instruction. My students, however, were not along for that ride. Some of them have not used learning maps before, … Continue reading
As I have documented my learning through my self-regulated inquiry course project this summer, I have... ...begun looking at the big ideas on learning maps as big goals which students will reach by the end of the course. ...revised my existing learning map for French 8 using the most recent curriculum update....summarized research I'm using … Continue reading
My two teaching areas are English and French. I haven't taught English for some time, but there are some pretty reliable tools available now to catch incidents of plagiarism. Translator use is considered plagiarism in second language classes, and it's no exaggeration to say that plagiarism is rampant in high schools. Simply put, work completed … Continue reading
My collaboration partner and I have been using stations (sometimes also called centers) in our secondary level French as a second language classes over the past year. When we tell our colleagues what we're doing, reactions vary. If we're talking to secondary teachers, the reaction is somewhere between asking us what we're talking about to … Continue reading
One of the big shifts in education in BC has been the transition from a content-based curriculum to one that is skills-based. There are many subject areas that are heavily driven by content (math and science, for example). Second languages are a relatively easy place to make the transition to skill-based instruction, but it is … Continue reading
I've been working with my collaboration partner, preparing a presentation we will give at an upcoming conference. The focus of the presentation is the ways in which we integrate culture in our lessons. We've worked really hard to get away from viewing the integration of culture as (a) a checklist, or (b) simplistic. We have … Continue reading
As a high school teacher, I have heard from colleagues that they don't know why I use stations in my classes. They tend to see stations as something that happens in elementary schools, but not at our level. I have learned that breaking down the barriers between elementary and secondary is often one of the … Continue reading
Truth: Change is hard. Here in B.C., we've gone through a period of curriculum change that has transitioned through draft documents, public feedback, revisions, and then implementation periods. The end result was that every single course at every single grade level got a new curriculum document. Think about that for a minute - every school, … Continue reading
ignitelanguage.com 