WEEK 5 Jila Naeini Standards Professionalism MerriamWebster 2013

WEEK 5 Jila Naeini

Standards & Professionalism Merriam-Webster (2013: Something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example In educational context, standards are generally defined as benchmarks for accountability (O’Malley & Valdez Pierce, 1996) or goals that students (or teachers) will attain Darling-Hammond (1997): Ø Standards are a way to provide the stability & consistency Ø There is a direct connection between standards for student learning and professional standards for teaching, stressing that both are necessary for genuine learning to occur.

Standards & Professionalism Types of Standards: Content Standard Content knowledge is teacher’s knowledge of the content they plan to teach and their ability to explain important principles and concepts delineated in professional standards (declarative & pedagogical)

Standards & Professionalism Types of Standards: Pedagogical standards Ø how to teach, how students learn Ø what is taught (the curriculum) Ø effective teaching strategies to impart the specialized knowledge of a subject area (e. g. , planning, instruction, analysis, and evaluation) Ø students’ diversity and on differing approaches to learning Ø how culture influences teaching and learning Ø what teachers need to know about students’ preconceptions that must be engaged for effective learning Ø teachers’ familiarity with standards-based instruction, assessment, and learning

Standards & Professionalism Types of Standards: Performance standards describe how well or to what extent Ø standards are met Ø the criteria and evidence document that a standard has been met Ø standards demonstrate the level of performance expected to determine progress (this often includes scoring rubrics) Ø standards include exemplars of learners’ work to help teachers align instruction Ø instruction and assessment are at the appropriate level of difficulty Ø standards lead to assessments aligned with content standards Seufert, P. , Sherman, R. , Amador, N. , Condelli, L. , Silver-Pacuilla, H. , Tetteyfio, S. , Faller, B. , Knight, L. , & Ward, K. (2005). A process guide for establishing state adult education content standards. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research

Standards & Professionalism There are two approaches to standards development: Principle-based approach (Abstract) Mahboob & Tilakaratna (2012) present several principles needed for successful program implementation that should be used when constructing standards: Ø collaboration Ø relevance Ø evidence alignment (with the policies and practices of a country, ministry), Ø transparency (easily understood, without jargon), Ø empowerment (takes into consideration the outcomes expected from learning English, such as economics and education)

Standards & Professionalism There are two approaches to standards development: Domains-based approach (Concrete) Ø focuses on general categories TESOL (2010) identified five domains needed to prepare English teachers: Ø Language (foundation domain) Ø Culture (foundation domain) Ø Instruction (application domain) Ø Assessment (application domain) Ø Professionalism (at the intersection of all the domains) There a total of eleven standards within the five domains. These are visualized as intersecting circles because each is dependent on the others

Standards & Professionalism Visualized eleven standards within the five domains

Standards & Professionalism There are eight standards for ESL/EFL teachers of adults. Collectively, these eight standards represent the core of what professional teachers of ESL and EFL to adult learners should know and be able to do.

Standards & Professionalism One standardization project was developed collaboratively (Mc. Graw-Hill Education, TESOL, the National Foreign Language Teaching Association, scholars from the China Basic Foreign Language Education Research and Training Center, and staff of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press): Ø Ø Ø Ø Knowing Students Appreciating Attitudes Planning, Delivering, and Reflecting on Instruction Constructing Knowledge of Languages, Language Learning & Critical Thinking Exploring and Applying Culture Assessing Teaching and Learning Connecting Beyond the Classroom Expanding Professional Horizons

Native vs nonnative issue of SLTE How are these teachers are perceived by learners and what qualities they bring to the language classroom? (Walkinshaw & Oanh, 2014) NEST Non-NEST models for authentic lg natural pronunciation non-authentic and their speech less fluent (appreciated for code switching) Grammatical explanations (not comprehensive) cultural and communicative gap Valued grammar explanation multilingual competence pedagogical competence professional confidence