Re-thinking learning for the 21st Century

The Tale of 2 Students!

My blog post today is about my #COHORT21 action plan. My focus in the past 2 years has been linked to my past plans regarding a focus on learning skills rather than marks. While I don’t believe in having a new plan each year, this current plan was created out of the issue that I have begun running into, in the Advanced Placement (AP) French program.

As a teacher or language, in Grade 12, I tend to run into 2 students, the Second Language Learner who is eager to learn the language yet not fully comfortable with it, and the Native Speaker, who tends to drop in and Is looking to master the language or at the very least, obtain an easy credit. Both students are entitled to take the course, but as we can all recognize, these 2 situations are going to wreak havoc on classroom culture and more importantly, the comfort of taking risks will be extinguished. These 2 students will either coexist wonderfully or clash, killing the joy of learning.

How to accommodate both students, you could, if you are very lucky, create 2 different sections, but let’s be honest, that doesn’t always work. How can we accommodate both of these students in one room?
My “How might we” question is:

How might we engage Native French Speakers, and FSL speakers alike, in a manner that challenges both, while attending to and respecting each’s level and need in the Advanced Placement classroom?

I have begun. I have some ideas, and frankly, some experiments to come , some potential help from @cgaffney and @egelleny, who may have some advice for me I have been told, which will hopefully create an environment where all are engaged!

1 Comment

  1. Jennifer Bairos

    I love this question, Andrew! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

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