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Following my students’ responses to my survey, I ran a 4-week pilot program with my Grade 10 class in February. Despite realizing that I may just need some tweaks to my lessons to ensure that all students are engaged and challenged, I thought that I would try something completely new to see where it would take us.
I created t
hree independent projects for the three CEFR levels my students are at: A2, B1, and B2. I used RK Publishing’s Scenarios for an Action-Oriented Classroom by Geoff Collins and Danielle Hunter as the basis for my three projects. The A2 level students’ task was to plan an evening out in Montreal for family friends that were visiting from Switzerland. The B1 level students had to fill out a Government of Canada lost passport form to replace their passport that got stolen while visiting l’Île Maurice. And the B2 level students were tasked with convincing their headmaster to change the school day to have classes start an hour later. Students from all three levels had to hand in a writing task (A2-email, B1-filled-out form, B2-formal letter) and prepare for an oral component (A2-phone conversation with the family, B1-conversation with an agent at the Canadian consulate, B2-formal meeting with a school principal).
I made graphic organizers similar to the placemat activities #cohort21 had 
given us to guide students through the process. I spent A LOT of time on these and was quite proud of my work… However, it became clear that I had gone overboard with this tool when I realized that most students had something negative to say about the “giant worksheets” in the survey I gave them at the end of the unit. And many spelled it out for me – not everyone learns the same way. It is a great reminder to continue offering students choices for the way they learn and organize themselves. I think that there are elements of the graphic organizers that I will keep (as it’s an easy way to check in with students) but I plan on changing my way of presenting the tasks to them.
Students did some research, produced their writing task, then prepared to have an “authentic” conversation with me. Even though I expose my students to a lot of oral activities, many of them talked about how challenging the conversation part of the unit was. But they also realized how much they learned from this challenge. A few comments from the second survey: “I feel more confident speaking in French” and “It seems easier to speak out loud after doing the conversation.”
I realize that 
m
y survey is far from being scientific, but I was pleased to see that their perceived level of engagement and challenge had increased overall. Some of their comments: “I just loved this unit. It was really fun and I loved the real world connection and the scenarios. I liked the fact that we got to practice our writing and our oral skills.” “I really liked researching and learning about all the different areas and tourist sites of Montreal. I found it very interesting and fun and I felt like I was learning a lot at the same time.” “I find French is becoming a lot more challenging, but I feel like I am learning a lot at the same time so I really liked French class during this new unit.”
Do I agree with these results? For the most part, yes. I do believe that students were more engaged and challenged throughout this unit, but I also thought that they could have learned more through this process. When I asked students what could be improved, they mentioned more conferences with me, more reading and conversations, more group work, and more flexibility (in the way they work and in the type of scenario they work on). I agree with them. I believe that my initial thought about tweaking my existing teaching style and lesson plans was the right one. I think that having more structure to their work time would have helped my students learn more, and therefore, combining my existing class structure (that includes questions du jour, mini-lessons, and a 2 minute game to end class) with this new type of project would be more effective.
And so no, I’m not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. In fact, I may just give this all a try with my grade 9 students…
@mlafrance Well it cannot be said that you have not differentiated for the learners in your class. wow! I really like the variety in assessment tasks. For the learner it seems they are all equally challenging.
Don’t feel bad that your first crack at your design thinking placemat was met with some resistance. This was your first prototype. Take the student feedback and strip back some of the elements so it is a bit lighters and less “worksheet”. It is a fine balance. Our C21 workbook has been refined SO many times based on feedback, our observations of where people needed more structure and where they needed less. The end goal should be to make thinking visible and I think you have done that really well.
Surveys are tricky things to design. Designing questions that really yield insightful data take time to get right. Again, after reflecting on the data and where you would have liked to have asked a slightly different question incorporate that into your next version while it is still fresh on your mind.
You have done so great work and thinking so far. Well done!
@gnichols @rutheichholtz @ddoucet @lmcbeth @shelleythomas
I hope that @ddoucet gets to read this soon – you too have much to share with one another. You are doing great work in modern languages, and have much to be proud of.
I came across a quotation on Twitter, and I can’t remember to whom it was attributed, but it went something like: “Many people give accolades to the champions and the dreamers, but I’d like to send my to those who “tried””
It’s those who try that are the excellent role-models for learning.
Keep on keeping on!
garth.
Myriam – it sounds like your survey generated some really valuable feedback qualitative feedback. It isn’t surprising that students crave more feedback and opportunities for social learning, and it’s nice to see it confirmed through the experiment of your approach. Teachers have always found ways to incorporate more content learning, so if your gains are in the areas of challenge and engagement, that sounds like a win to me! And, of course, there is always next year to continue your refinements.