Tovani

Chapter 8 of Tovani, focuses on two topics: assessment and student involvement within the classroom. Different types of assessment can be used to judge student mastery as well as provide teaching reflection. The author assigns grades to the majority of assessments which can act as extrinsic motivation for students work but is not always necessary in my opinion. Grading all assignments for complete accuracy places a lot more work on the teacher that is not necessary in determining student mastery. I am a believer in mixing up the grading of assignments,  sometimes grading for accuracy, spot checking, or completion. Through using a variety of grading techniques students complete their work as if it is always going to be graded for accuracy although that is not always the case.  

In the case of summative assessments I lean more towards the standard based approach to assessments, using brief assessments to check for mastery of each standard before moving forward. It is easier for students to compartmentalize specific concepts together rather than being given a variety of concepts on one exam. 

Formative assessments are a great way to check for student understanding without putting anxiety/pressure on students. These assessments can be given through a variety of modes, such as whiteboards, group work, exit slips, or homework checks. These types of assessments are used by the teacher as well as students to reflect on the quality of learning taken place throughout the instruction. 

Assessments are essential in all fields of education and it is up to the teacher to decide which form will best suit their students and aid in student learning.  

Words Words Words

As a foreign language teacher vocabulary intake is a very large part of teacher instruction. In the first two to three years of Spanish students are required to learn and reproduce hundreds of new vocabulary words related to all different topics. It is important for instructors to find efficient and effective strategies for students to master vocab sets in a very short time period. 

Janet Allen, author of Words Words Words, offers teachers a new strategies to vocabulary building as opposed to the traditional memorization methods. Allen believes it to be important for students to make connections with the words to better help understand them. In Spanish these connections can be made through the examination of the root of certain words. The Spanish language is full of cognates, words that look and sound like their English counterparts. For instance, the words importante, inteligente, computadora, and examinar are all words that students can deduce meaning from without having to ever look up the words. I have been trained throughout my own education by the traditional “memorize model” but would like to try out some of Allens strategies in my own FL classroom.