life cycle of a teacher: a startalk perspective. catherine ingold, ph.d. director shuhan c. wang,...
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Life Cycle of a Teacher: A STARTALK Perspective
Catherine Ingold, Ph.D. Director
Shuhan C. Wang, Ph.D.Deputy Director
National Foreign Language CenterUniversity of Maryland
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Overview
• Life cycle of a world/foreign language teacher
• STARTALK’s vision for teacher supply system
• Lessons learned from STARTALK
• Future initiatives
Two STARTALK Goals for Teachers
• LCTLs• Different program types
(immersion, online, etc.)Increase quantity
• Teacher effectiveness • Standards- and performance-
based, student-centeredEnhance quality
• Certification/Licensure
• Professional Development & Life Long Learning
• Teacher Preparation
• Teacher Recruitment
Aspiring individuals Teacher
candidates/Apprentices
Novice teachersPracticing/Master/Teacher trainers
Life Cycle of a WL Teacher
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Improve a Supply System of Highly Effective World Language
Teachers
Individual Needs & local
demands
State Certification
Prep &
support
STARTALK Impact: Teacher Programs
# of Teacher Programs 2007 2008 2009
Arabic 13 16 18Chinese 17 27 33Hindi 5 5Persian 2 4Urdu 3 4Swahili 2Turkish 2Total 30 53 68
Teacher Participants
# of Teacher Participants 2007 2008 2009Arabic 156 293 317Chinese 292 702 776Hindi 35 48Persian 2 29Urdu 6 13Swahili 9Turkish 1Total 448 1038 1193
2009 STARTALK Teacher Profile
• 17% are native speakers of English
• 92% list the target language as their native language
• 6% were born in the United States
• 86% are female
• 38% of the 2007 participants returned in 2008
• 18% live in CA; 8% in VA; 7% IL
Teacher Programs: Language Backgrounds
Age Group Distribution
Educational Background & Credentials
Educational Background:
–93% have at least a bachelor’s degree
–46% have a master’s degree
–5% have a doctorate degree
Certification:
–17.2% are already certified
–56% plan to become certified
Professional Experiences
What Did They Need?
• Pedagogical/descriptive linguistics/culture
• Standards-based curriculum design • Communicative teaching methods• Assessment skills• English for professional purposes• Classroom management, US
educational system and culture• Appropriate paths to certification
Lessons Learned: Participants’ Evaluation of the
Programs
• Supportive institutions (99%)
• Knowledgeable instructors (99%)
• Adequate materials (93.7%)
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Key Administrative Elements
• Opportunities to observe master teachers in actual classrooms and via video clips
• Opportunities to engage in practice teaching and/or micro teaching
• Close collaboration between teacher and student program
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Curriculum
• Balance of theory and practice• Course work relevant to participant needs and
aligned with program goals• A focus on communicative language pedagogy
and assessment, with the National Foreign Language Standards as a foundation
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Instruction and Assessment (1)
• Differentiation of instruction to match participants and their needs
• Opportunities to collaborate to create instructional units, lessons, activities, and/or assessment
• Micro-teaching with peer and instructor feedback• Modeling of best practices or activities in
classroom instruction
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Instruction and Assessment (2)
• Resources that teachers can use
• Adequate time for reflection via journaling, discussions, and idea sharing, and providing timely feedback on the work/journals
• Opportunities to share their own work • Fostering of a community of learners
Greatest Pre/Post-Program Gains in:
–Writing an effective lesson plan–Grouping students in different ways
(small group, pairs, full-class)–Setting reasonable expectations for
students–Providing students with appropriate
feedback
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Teacher Certification: A National Issue
– Each state has its own requirements
– Count seat time instead of competency
– Inadequate or inappropriate requirements to certify native speakers of the language
– Inflexible program design
– NCLB complicates the problem
Mentoring, Retention, & Professional Development
• States are increasing efforts to address the issues of LCTL teachers and their needs
• There is not much of a system in place to work with LCTL teachers
• Language specific professional organizations take the responsibility, should work with state and local educational agencies
• Need mentors who understand language-specific issues, needs, and K-16 contexts
How Can We Address WL Teacher Issues?
• Alternative routes to certification– Address their gaps– Capitalize on their skills and experience
• Opportunities for observation and mentored practice (summer and other)
• Access to workshops or networks (summer, DL/BL)
• Virtual/local communities of practice
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NFLC/STARTALK Certification Summit
• December 9-11, 2009 in Arlington, VA
• Invitation Only: 100 participants– States sending teams (Policy maker, WL
consultant, Certification officer, Higher Ed rep); government observers;
– business leaders; – professional organizations
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NFLC/STARTALK Certification Summit
Expected Outcomes: to create: • a common vision for developing a
linguistically and culturally competent citizenry;
• a shared knowledge base of information and resources from all participating stakeholders; and
• a set of recommendations and action plans on the national and state levels to address the shortage and effectiveness of world language teachers.
STARTALK Teacher Development Library:
Available in Spring 2010
• Classroom Videos • Online Multimedia Teacher Development Workshops
• 12 institutions
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Useful Resources
• National Foreign Language Center at UMD [email protected]
• National Council of State Supervisors For Languages http://www.NCSSFL.org go to the State Report page for certification requirements; also has the contact information of the state supervisor of the states listed
