A Good Report:
Your
Accomplishments
and Progress
Are Commendable
as You Advance
toward Your Goal
of Becoming
an Emerging Professional.

Tuesday, October 30, 2013

Greetings Interns, 

The last week in October brings us to the apex of your internship.  I've heard rumors of the intense pace involved in meeting the demands of teaching your units and keeping up with the coursework in the Masters program.

I've also had a chance to read through your formative observations and experience the accomplishments and progress you are making in becoming an emerging professional.  Good reports are coming in from your mentors as well.

Six Weeks to Go.

Six weeks from now you will have completed your second semester of the M.A.T. program, bringing you one more term closer to obtaining your license and degree.  Your dedication to the program of study, the internship, and your students is impressive.

We are on the home stretch.  Continue to persevere, keep your spirits high, and take time to enjoy the changes in nature and in yourselves.

Here's a link to a key document, the Rubric for Professional Report.  Kindly click the brain to find the doc!  The purpose is to provide evidence of ACTFL Standard 6.a., "Engaging in Professional Development," and "Tenet Six: One who makes decisions based upon professional standards and ethical criteria."  Candidates engage in professional development opportunities that strengthen their own linguistic and cultural competence and promote reflection on practice.  Use it wisely.

 
Posted from Three Dog Acres,
Dr. Bowles

Freddie A. Bowles
Associate Professor of Foreign Language Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education and Health Professions
Peabody Hall 312
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Office: 479-575-3035
fbowles@uark.edu

During Your Internship,
You Will Learn Methods
of Interpretive, Interpersonal,
and Presentational
Language Instruction.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Greetings to the 2013-2014 Cohort of Foreign Language Teachers.

Summer classes rapidly fade into memory as we face the frenetic pace of fall’s traditional schedule of school days (daze?).  By now, you should feel the glimmer of routine as we move into the third week of university classes — and get ready to cheer another victory for the football “hawgs.”

Fall semester heralds the second phase of the MAT program and one of the most critical components: the Internship.  Thanks to the talented cadre of mentor teachers, who volunteer their students and classrooms, you are already experiencing in-service days, the challenges and excitement of the new school year, and opportunities to assist with planning and instruction.

Your First Observation
Focuses on Two Domains.

Before too much longer, you will be observed by your university supervisor. The first observation focuses on Danielson’s Domains Two and Three.  Your mini-lessons this summer introduced you to the intensity of planning and delivering instruction for your peers.  Fall semester expands that introduction to an authentic audience in multiple contexts.  By the end of the semester, you will have created an entire unit of instruction for one of your levels.

The fall semester methods course emphasizes the modes of foreign language instruction:  interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational.  Pay special attention to how these modes relate to oral and written communication.  Your fall instruction also stresses the relationship of reflection to teaching and learning through “E-flections” (electronic reflections).  You will analyze your internship experiences and determine how they relate to the first three tenets of the Scholar-Practitioner Conceptual Framework.

N O T E :   The first of my methods students who sends me an e-mail stating the four major ideas of the Scholar-Practitioner Conceptual Framework will receive four Bonus Points. The ideas surround the four cardinal directions of the multicolored star.

You Will Attend
AFLTA's Fall Conference.

Another important aspect of the MAT program and the Danielson model (Domain 4) concerns professionalism.  Tenet Four of the Scholar-Practitioner framework states that you are “one who is a developing professional and a lifelong learner.”  The first methods class explored the numerous professional organizations that support foreign language education.  Thanks to the generosity of our departmental chair, you will attend the AFLTA District III Fall Conference for a “first-hand” experience as conference attendee, where you will receive six hours of professional development in Foreign Language, a rare opportunity for language educators.

One facet of professionalism involves research.  To support your Action Research project, three of your assignments, the EDOKS, target journal articles to include in the literature review.

Throughout the semester, you will work on your unit plan.  The in-depth project requires attention to all facets of the learning environment — from contextual factors involving the community to assessment of your teaching impact on students.

A busy and rewarding semester is now unfolding. Soon the semester will form a tableau depicting the major aspects of your new career as a classroom teacher. Your growth as a professional educator is already emerging and evolving. I hope you enjoy the journey.

 
Dr. Bowles

Freddie A. Bowles
Associate Professor of Foreign Language Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education and Health Professions
Peabody Hall 312
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Office: 479-575-3035
fbowles@uark.edu

MAT 2013-2014 Cohort
Fall Semester, 2013 —
Including archived documents
from the Summer Semester.

The Daily Lesson Plan Template helps you organize a lesson in three parts: planning, teaching, and reflection. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!
 

Teacher Candidate Work Sample Instructions  include an extensive overview of the project with specific advice for completing each section. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

TCWS Tasks, Prompts, and Rubrics  is a valuable guide for the creation of your foreign language teacher candidate work sample. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

E-flection Assignment  describes the goal and objective of the assignment. It also provides the rubric. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

EDOK Project Descriptor, Example, and Rubric  provides all you need to know about the Expert Distiller of Knowledge project. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

Project Descriptor for Principal Letter describes the goal, scenario, objective, and directions for the assignment. It also includes the rubric. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!
 

Key Points Chapter Five, Part One addresses integrating cultures and comparisons into middle school language instruction. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!
 

Key Points Chapter Five, Part Two addresses the Cultures and Comparisons goals with a focus on implications for instruction. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!
 

Key Points Chapter Four addresses the elementary school learner. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!
 

Key Points Chapter Three focuses on integrating modes of communication with meaningful content through instructional planning. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

Project Descriptor for Mini Lesson describes methods for creating and presenting a mini lesson to teach vocabulary and grammar. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

Key Points Chapter One (slideshow) addresses how we learn and acquire language. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

Key Points Chapter Two (slideshow) focuses on contextualized language learning and the history of foreign language methodologies in the United States.
Just click and go!

Acronyms in Foreign Language Education (slideshow) presents commonly used acronyms of professional organizations relevant to Foreign Language Education.
Just click and go!

Bio poem in target language is an assignment for practice of TL proficiencies and ways to build a learning community and focus on reflective practice. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

Professional Article Evaluation is an EDOK assignment to enhance content and pedagogical knowledge and synthesize this information in a summary format. We've provided a link to the document.
Just click and go!

Different languages — I mean the actual vocabularies, the idioms — have worked out certain mechanisms of communication and registration. No one language is complete. A master may be continually expanding his own tongue, rendering it fit to bear some charge hitherto borne only by some other alien tongue, but the process does not stop with any one man. While Proust is learning Henry James, preparatory to breaking through certain French paste-board partitions, the whole American speech is churning and chugging, and every other tongue doing likewise.
     — Ezra Pound, "How to Read," 1929