It was a busy week on the Path to Proficiency blog that took a very reflective turn. Four new posts, including a new author, that shared some vulnerabilities and reminded me of the human side of teachers. I’ve been saying for years, I often know how effective a teacher is by their reflections. Many of the most effective teachers are often also the most reflective teachers. Blogging certainly is one way of reflecting on your practice and perhaps even processing your own reflections. I’m thankful for teachers who have chosen to share that important process with us publicly. Here are the reflections that caught my attention this week.
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EPIC Telenovela PBL Unit & Final Exam
Spanish teacher, Laura Sexton, recently attended the TELL Collab Nashville and shares how the EPIC Growth Plan model is now playing out in her classroom as she prepares to close the school year on a high note, developing a PBL Unit for her students. Read Laura’s post –>
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The “Level Up” Writing Workshop Class…
Allowing students to provide peer feedback on their work can be a daunting task that requires a carefully designed structure to ensure it truly supports the performance & feedback process. Japanese teacher, Colleen Lee-Hayes, shares how she is facilitating this process so that her students can become better writers. Read Colleen’s post –>
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You’re not a jar of Nutella
In line with many of the reflective posts of this week, Spanish teacher, Jessica Pederson (aka Señora Upton), provides some words of encouragement to teachers who may be questioning if they are a good teacher or not. Read Jessica’s post –>
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From the Path 2 Proficiency: Why Not Now?
In her first post on the Path 2 Proficiency blog, Montana German teacher, Lisa Werner, provides the perspectives of a veteran teacher who is trying forge her own path and asking herself: “why do I, the veteran teacher, feel less confident to share? Why does the simplicity of proficiency continue to seem so complex to me?” Her post also introduces the fascinating term of “proficiency natives” and in my mind is a must read this week. Read Lisa’s post –>
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From the Path 2 Proficiency: Oh, the Places They Will Go …
World Language educator, Alyssa Villarreal, shares an inspirational experience about student empowerment from her life and provides an important reminder that “We do not know what the future holds for our students”. Implications for what that means for our role as language teacher are part of this empowering reflection. Read Alyssa’s post –>
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From the Path 2 Proficiency: Spark Forgiveness
Spanish teacher, Paul Jennemann shares his reflections after attending the TELL Collab in Nashville earlier this month,where he realized that “it becomes really easy for us teachers to start to feel bad about everything we haven’t done for our students–not given enough corrections, not given them enough authentic resources, not taught them all new vocabulary in context.” Always an optimist however, Paul also provides readers with some important advice in response to his thoughts. Read Paul’s post –>
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From the Path 2 Proficiency: The Struggle of Teaching Level 1
No one said the Path 2 Proficiency would be easy, so in her latest courageous post, Spanish teacher Jaime Basham, reflects on her struggles as a Level 1 teacher. Read Jaime’s post –>
