Helen Young

EDF 660 (02)

February 26, 1998

Project Proposal

Working in Collaboration with Other

Foreign Language Teachers

in the Amity Regional School District

Goals

To work with all members of the Foreign Language Department in the three

Amity Regional Schools in order to complete the Curriculum Assessment

Project and the Curriculum Assessment Instrument for presentation to the

appropriate committees established by the Board of Education.

To work in concert with the other French teachers in the district with a

goal of selecting a new integrated French series and to ease the

transition of teachers and students to the new series.

Rationale

Both of these goals are supported by Fullan and Hargreaves in What's

Worth Fighting for in Your School? "Commit to working with colleagues"

is #6 of their Guidelines for Teachers (p.64). Additionally, they cite

Rosenholtz's study of "learning impoverished" and "learning enriched"

schools to emphasize the importance of recognizing the power of

collaboration in "the common quest for continuous improvement."(p. 44)

One of the charges by the Amity Regional Board of Education to its

teachers is to periodically evaluate the curriculum (including successes

and areas of weakness), the facilities, and the current and projected

needs for continued growth and improvement of lifelong learners. The

Curriculum Assessment Instrument which each department must complete is

a document which requires an incredible amount of research, cooperation,

and consensus to complete.

Because I believe that presentation can sometimes be as important as

content, I have a desire to present a high-quality document to the Board

of Education. I have volunteered to collate much of the input of the

department members and to produce a document which not only accurately

assesses the strengths, weaknesses, and needs of the program for the

next several years, but also makes a strong statement in its appearance

as the product of thoughtful professionals.

I foresee that selection of a new French series will be one of the

most pressing recommendations of our curriculum assessment. The text

which we are currently using with beginning students was copyrighted in

the early 1980s. Needless to say, while French grammar hasn't changed

drastically since that time, the cultural information, photos, useful

expressions (mild slang), and pedagogy of teaching foreign language have

all gone through numerous changes. New program offerings from publishers

include videos, audio tapes which are not just recordings of the

exercises in the textbook, TPR (Total Physical Response) activities,

communications activities, Bell-Ringer Reviews, additional cultural

information, and a host of other supports. The wealth of material can be

daunting, and its quality (especially of the print material) is not

always what I consider acceptable.

Three years ago our Board of Education approved a new program for

students studying Spanish. As I successfully completed the transition

from the older text to the new one, I believe that I can help my

colleagues by carefully evaluating the texts offered for consideration

and by sharing what I found to be successful and not-so-successful

strategies in changing from a text which stressed mastery of very

limited topics to a program which encourages proficiency and ability to

communicate in a second language.

When the new Spanish program was implemented, the school district

obtained the publisherís permission to purchase one complete set of the

ancillary audio and video tapes and then duplicate them in order to give

each teacher a complete set. I did all of the duplication during the

summer before we began using the program so that we could begin the

school year without worrying about getting the tapes copied. Assuming

that we again receive permission to copy these items, I intend to do so

during the summer.

Many of the foreign language teachers in the district have asked to

copy various worksheets, quizzes, and tests that I have prepared. In

turn, they offer information from the Internet, holiday puzzles, and

some of their own materials. I intend to continue this exchange of

materials.

Time Line

Work with other Foreign Language Department members during department

meetings and before and after school to compile the necessary

information to complete the Curriculum Assessment Instrument. This

should be completed by March 5.

Prepare a draft of the Assessment Instrument for proofreading by

department members. This should be completed by March 10.

Revise the draft and complete the document (ready for presentation to

the Board of Education) by March 22.

Work with other French teachers during special department meetings and

before and after school to peruse the various programs to be considered

for purchase.

Attempt to contact French teachers currently using the prospective texts

(perhaps on the Internet) in order to get feedback on the strengths and

weaknesses of each.

Submit our proposal to the appropriate committees of the Board of

Education to obtain textbook approval and funding. These three steps

should be completed before the end of the school year.

Assuming that the publisher again grants permission to duplicate master

tapes for the use of department members in the district, make classroom

sets of audio and video tapes for each French teacher in the district

who will be involved in using the program. This would be a project for

the summertime.

Review my personal files of French materials, discarding those which are

outdated and revising those which can still be used. Create a variety of

worksheets which teach, reinforce, and challenge students of differing

abilities and interests. This is an ongoing project which I can start

over the summer, but which will probably never be completed...