EVIDENCE #1: Collaborative Poster Making Activity for Project Based Learning

8th Grade French Classes at Edmunds Middle School, Burlington, VT

DESCRIPTION: This project based learning activity (PBL) took place in my 8th grade French classes at Edmunds Middle School in the Spring of 2017. For this collaborative learning project the instructional purpose was outlined verbally and on the dry erase board, referring back to content we had been covering over the past several weeks. Students were tasked to work in small groups. As an experiential context, I set up the learning activity as they were designers at a francophone advertising agency and are tasked with designing and creating inspirational posters.

ANALYSIS/REFLECTION: The students worked hard on this project, had learning targets explained at the beginning, and enjoyed the hands on, artistic and group nature of the work involved. They had several learning targets to meet such as showing they knew the correct verb and subject pronoun agreement, conjugation of verbs, use of the partitive article and accurate spelling. I had a variety of materials available from construction paper, magazines, markers, oil pastels, scissors, glue and other mixed media resources. The student groupings were mostly self-selected, except in two cases where I had to intervene. The pacing of the project, spread out over five 45 minute classes, allowed for group reflection, my feedback and suggestions with time spent working with each group. I presented mini lessons at the beginning of each class to learn vocabulary pertaining to artistic principles such as the elements of art: color, shape, line, form, texture, for them to consider while creating their posters. Additionally, a group presentation component, aligning with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Language Learning Standards of presentational speaking, allowed students an opportunity to share in the pride of their group work. As you can see from some of the final products above, humor was used as well.

As proposed in Dr. Howard Gardener's theory of multiple intelligences, (that he first introduced in his trailblazing book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983), I believe it is crucial to have different learning activities that bolster diverse learning aptitudes and give different types of learners an opportunity to master content. This theory makes room for other views of intelligence as opposed to seeing intelligence as fitting into a single general ability that can be tested on IQ tests. This activity provided a path for visual-spatial learners, and others who benefit most from body-kinesthetic opportunities (learning by doing with the hands,) for example, to excel and shine. This project, allowing diverse avenues for mastery of content through creative, project based activities such as this, meets the requirement of standard 4.2 to create experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful. In the future I would like to learn about potential opportunities for students to display their group poster work in public spaces throughout town to encourage "la francophonie." I would also like to introduce sketch books to my students to help hone learning as I have done in my Wingspan classes and I highlight in the knowledge standards. I am excited to learn about this recent research underlining the positive influence of drawing on learning. Click here to watch short video!

DESCRIPTION: This project consisted of students working with either one or two partners to create, write and perform a dialog for the class. This is a PBL, project based learning activity to make room for all types of learners to excel and display their learning through team work, verbally and with movement and creativity. This occurred at Edmunds Middle School, Spring of 2017 for my 8th grade French classes.

ANALYSIS/REFLECTION: This learning activity engaged students with the use of oral and written French. The learning targets were clarified and they were to create two characters, one of whom came from a francophone country and the other, being a student at EMS (Edmunds Middle School.) Some materials for prop creation were provided. Reflecting on this, as well as the above project, I noticed that these interactive project based learning activities helped to create an environment of respect and nurtured rapport among students and with myself and the students, highlighting specifically, an example of Domain 2 , of the Classroom Environment from The Danielson Framework for Teaching.

Students had time to practice and self-assess before their final presentations. I also watched them practice and provided constructive and positive feedback. It was interesting to observe that some students who at times exhibited challenging behaviors, became fully engaged in this project. I provided props for them to use such as a beret and calabashes I had brought back from Africa and encouraged them to make and use visual tools as well to help tell their stories in tangible, engaging ways. Julia Thompson, a teacher, consultant, and author of several books for teachers including The First-Year Teacher's Survival Guide, points out that it may seem obvious, but that it is important to provide students with the resources they need to be successful such as materials, access to the internet and resources.

According to Larry Ferlazzo, author of Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Challenges, The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide, and Building Parent Engagement In Schools, "when students feel more motivated to learn -- in other words, when engagement is at a high level -- they perform better academically, improve classroom behavior and gain a higher sense of self-esteem," which I was seeing in action. Given I had taken on this French teaching position after the students had had a string of substitute teachers since the end of the first quarter, I had considerable behavioral challenges when I first started. Instructional activities such as these project based learning tasks called for student initiation, creativity and problem solving.

I found that this type of interactive learning boosted motivation and engagement. The evidence presented demonstrates my mastery of this standard because there was a high level of student engagement, preparation and effort into the presentations making their French learning meaningful and accessible. To continue achieving these standards and improving I would like to add onto this learning activity by providing time and tools for students to add on to their own dialogues. In addition, the implementation of a "Question - asking" lesson could dovetail well with this to engage the students observing to engage verbally when they are not the group presenting. Finally, as a semester long project to develop their communication skills, I would like to initiate a pen-pal project with students in francophone countries. With the technological tools available learners could communicate both in written and spoken form.

Click here for Teaching Standard #5