This is the third post in a series of professional growth goal blogs for World Language teachers – in particular this time, the presentational mode. At the beginning of each year, educators are tasked to create an annual professional growth goal to improve in an area that will positively impact student achievement in the classroom. This blog post is designed to narrow down some options that will directly relate to the presentational mode in the World Language classroom.
Growth goals are important for students and teachers because measured teacher growth is tied to increased student achievement as well as increased teacher satisfaction in the classroom. Listed below are 2 more usable ideas in the format of a SMARTIE goal. The IE has recently been added to many school district expectations to verify the presence of Inclusion and Equity.
The format of a professional growth goal is often a SMARTIE goal. A SMARTIE goal is:
S: Specific
- What will change and for whom?
M: Measurable
- How will I measure if I am successful?
- What data or evidence will show my success?
A: Attainable
- Is my goal too ambitious or just right? Are there specific actions that I must do to show growth?
R: Relevant
- Does this goal move me and my students towards a shared goal of growth? How is it relevant to student growth?
T: Time-bound
- What is my timeline?
I: Inclusive
- How does my goal include marginalized groups to contribute in a way that promotes their growth, achievement, and voice in the classroom?
E: Equitable
- Does this change move us towards greater equity in my classroom?
What is the presentational mode?
The presentational mode of communication is when our learners present concepts or ideas with a goal to persuade, narrate, inform, or explain on a variety of topics. The learners use the appropriate media to engage the audience or listeners, viewers, or readers.
Additionally, information is presented one-way which means that the audience does not have the opportunity to interact spontaneously with the presenter.
Professional Growth Goal Idea #1 – Text Type
One area of the presentational rubric is the text type domain. Text type is the amount and quality of organization of language (spoken or written) for a proficiency level. The continuum of spoken or written language is word – phrase – sentence – connected sentences – paragraph – extended discourse. What is a possible SMARTIE goal that would focus on text type at any proficiency level?
“S” for Specific:
I will help students move up the proficiency continuum at their individualized level of proficiency.
“M” for Measurable:
I will take a writing sample from a previous presentational sample and work on strategies to move students along the continuum of text type to the next level. If students are in a level 1 course, I will wait until the end of the first unit to take the presentational student sample.
- To pre-assess a speaking sample, I will script out the student’s oral language to determine if the student is consistently at the word level, the phrase level, the sentence level, etc…
- To pre-assess a written sample, I will highlight examples where the student is consistently at the word / phrase / sentence level / etc…
- I will also measure students with a second presentational sample of the same type.
“A” for Attainable:
This goal is attainable because not only will I pre-assess and post-assess the students but I will show students how to self-assess and reflect on their use of text-type. If students do not understand the continuum of text type, then I will put a horizontal poster on the wall to indicate the progression and expectation.
As students visually see and self-assess, we will have discussions about how to move to the next level. For example:
- What types of words are needed to move from words to phrases to sentences?
- What types of conjunctions are needed to write or speak in connected sentences?
The answers to these questions will be added to the horizontal poster as a visual aid and goal for students to use during our language activities.
“R” for Relevant:
This goal is relevant to students because language production (spoken or written) is practiced in each unit across the length of the school year. The goal is also relevant because it is measurable and very obvious to students to self-assess their progress.
“T” for Time-bound:
The goal is time-bound because there will be a minimum of five weeks between each assessment sample in the presentational mode of communication. The two assessment samples will come from two separate units of instruction and will both be in the same delivery method (both spoken samples or both written samples).
“I” for Inclusive / “E” for Equitable
This goal is inclusive because all students, regardless of level 1 or level 5, will have the opportunity to complete the presentational assessment of content at their own starting level. If a level 5 student has shown me comprehension of a concept at the phrase or sentence level, then we start from there. If a student does not complete the assessment because he/she/they can’t show comprehension immediately with a series of sentences, then there is no opportunity to grow.
I will encourage all students to show comprehension of the material at the level that they are at.
This goal is equitable for all students because it meets the learner where he/she/they start. Whether the student is level 1 or level 5, if he/she/they start at the phrase level, the goal is still the same: increase the proficiency level from the phrase level to the sentence level.
This goal is equitable for all students because I will not dumb down the content. The level 1 student will move from the phrase level to the sentence level using level 1 content. The level 5 student will move from the phrase level to the sentence level using level 5 content.
Professional Growth Goal Idea #2 – Language Function
A language function determines the purpose for which the language is used and is often represented by action verbs such as:
- apologize
- clarify
- convince / persuade
- narrate / retell
- justify / defend
- agree / disagree, etc…
A summative with a language function is very clear to the teacher and the students as to where the lessons are headed. For example, if the summative assessment for the unit is to compare and contrast two different family members, then all lessons, activities, vocabulary, and grammar structures move students towards being able to compare and contrast two different family members.
Consider this SMARTIE professional growth goal for the language function portion of a presentational rubric.
“S” for Specific:
I will shift my French 1 summative assessment on the family unit to incorporate “compare / contrast” instead of “describe”. Often, French 1 students “describe” everything they see and therefore, I will change the summative from “describe 5 family members using adjectives, names, ages, and preferences” to “compare / contrast 2 people to highlight similarities or differences between 2 people in the same family”.
With that slight expectation shift from “describe” to “compare / contrast”, there is an enormous change in the types of vocabulary and structures to teach. With “compare / contrast”, I will teach conjunctions such as “and, but, however” and this will increase the complexity of their spoken and written language production.
“M” for Measurable:
This growth goal is measurable because I will highlight the new lessons that will include the conjunctions and how to show similarities with words such as “and” or “too” while expressing differences with words such as “however”, “but’, and “on the other hand”.
“A” for Attainable:
This growth goal is attainable because I will be able to show students how adding a few words to their repertoire of vocabulary will take them to the next level of proficiency.
“R” for Relevant:
The goal is relevant because as students understand better the pathway to proficiency, they will relate what they’re learning in class to what it takes to move up on the proficiency scale.
“T” for Time-bound:
The goal is time-bound because there will be a minimum of five weeks between my pre- and post-assessment. Both the pre- and post-assessment will be completed before the end of semester 1.
“I” for Inclusive / “E” for Equitable
By changing my summative to reflect a more complex language function, this will change how students show their learning to me. The language used will be more complex and will help them move towards higher proficiency. Therefore, this is increased rigor that leads to higher student achievement in my classroom. The task of comparing / contrasting for similarities and differences involves more rigor because of the vocabulary and language structures needed. All students will have the same expectation to use this academic vocabulary.
Final Thoughts on a World Language Professional Growth Goal
Making a direct and explicit connection between our professional growth goal and positive impact to student achievement is a hallmark of a strong professional growth goal. For our World Language colleagues, we want the conversations and wonderings about a growth goal to be in a collaborative and shared space.
While the growth goal for idea #1 and idea #2 may not apply directly to your teaching style, teaching environment, or administrative requirements, any professional discussion around increasing student achievement in our classrooms is a win for us and our students.
If you are interested in a professional growth goal that connects to other modes of communication, here are two options:
- “An Interpersonal SMART Goal for World Language Teachers”
- An Interpretive Professional Growth Plan to Improve Student Achievement”
Finally, if you prefer to watch videos of these blogs, please check out my YouTube Channel: L’Essentiel French Resources. Let’s stick together to make our professional growth relevant to our classrooms yet collaborative as we put more ideas into the World Language space.
My name is Lisa and I love being your new French colleague. How can I help you tomorrow?
