Going to the 2015 ACTFL Conference in San Diego? The NFLRC team will be out in full force with 6 exciting presentations related to our Project-Based Language Learning (PBLL) and Online Language Pedagogy (OLP) projects. Mark your calendars and come join us!
Also, come visit our booth (#1849) in the ACTFL 2015 Exhibit Hall!
Designing online language pedagogy for online language teachers
Sat, 11/21: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | San Diego Convention Center | Room 23B
The Hawai‘i National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) has teamed with North Carolina Virtual Public Schools (NCVPS) to develop and pilot a series of open professional development modules focusing on online language pedagogy. This session presents an overview of the process to create professional development targeted exclusively to online language teachers, including results of an initial survey that guided the selection of topics and the results of a pilot implementation of the first module, which focuses on designing and managing interaction. Presenters will also address revisions made to the module after the pilot, its adaptation to a self-paced format, and the creation of a badge that certifies successful completion. Both the module materials and corresponding badge structure are offered as an open educational resource for any interested institution to implement them as part of their professional development activities. Please bring your own device.
Session Presenters
Applicable Language: Non-language specific
Audience Level: All
Focus Area: Learning and Teaching
Language of Presentation: English
Partner/Sponsor: Distance Learning SIG
Project-based learning: How to spot the real thing
Sat, 11/21: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | San Diego Convention Center | Room 31A
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is now a buzzword in education, appearing in names and descriptions of projects and publications that in fact 1) do not meet basic criteria of PBL as defined in the scholarly literature and 2) do not exploit the transformative potential of PBL. Rigorous PBL must feature eight essential characteristics, including a significant driving question, deep inquiry, opportunities for student “voice and choice,” and tangible positive impact in a targeted natural or human domain. Language educators, understandably excited about the potential of projects to enrich and enliven their language curricula, are missing the larger picture in a rush to appropriate the term “PBL.” This session will provide critical tools to participants, including the basics of canonical PBL and the adaptations necessary to apply PBL in language instructional settings — for example, how to fulfill PBL’s requirement for in-depth inquiry given learners’ limited communicative capacity in the L2.
Session Presenters
Applicable Language: Non-language specific
Audience Level: All
Focus Area: Learning and Teaching
Language of Presentation: English
Project-based language learning: Inspiring teachers, transforming learning
Sat, 11/21: 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM | San Diego Convention Center | Ballroom 6E
This engaging team presentation will provide a concise overview of the main features of quality PBLL experiences through a guided journey of model projects that were collaboratively designed by participants in a summer institute sponsored by the Hawa‘ii National Foreign Language Resource Center. Participating teachers, their institute peers and leaders, and experts in instructional design, assessment and intercultural collaboration, carefully crafted the projects you will review and discuss. In combination, these projects illustrate high quality instructional design for PBLL, the application of the national standards, alignment with the 21st Century Skills Map, and effective selection of resources and technologies. You will be introduced to a free, online system that houses model PBLL blueprints and that allows teachers to modify (flip) project blueprints to adapt them to their particular instructional context and share them back with colleagues. Please bring your own device.
Session Presenters
Applicable Language: Non-language specific
Audience Level: All
Focus Area: Planning for the Learner
Language of Presentation: English
Pedagogy, Pinterest, & PBL: A 21st century approach to literature & culture
Sun, 11/22: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | San Diego Convention Center | Ballroom 6C
In this hands-on session, participants will actively explore how combining design-based pedagogies, free web 2.0 tools, and a project-based learning approach can inspire students to take a more active role in their own learning. Come experience practical techniques for infusing 21st century skills into your literature and culture assignments that can transform students from passive learners into active creators who can critically read and effectively interpret culturally authentic literature and the culture embedded within it. The session will conclude with a summary of findings from the qualitative study on which the activities, pedagogical approaches, projects, and techniques shared in the session are based.
Session Presenter
Applicable Language: Non-language specific
Audience Level: Higher Education
Focus Area: Learning and Teaching
Language of Presentation: English
Preparing teachers to design project-based language learning experiences
Sun, 11/22: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | San Diego Convention Center | Room 24C
This session will provide an overview of the Fundamentals of Project-based Language Learning (PBLL) Online Institute, an initiative launched by the National Foreign Language Resource Center at the University of Hawaiʻi to introduce foreign language professionals nationwide to the principles of PBLL and provide them with materials and resources for implementing this teaching method in their language courses and connect with colleagues with like interests. Reflecting on their experiences with the PBLL Online Institute, the presenters will discuss the development of PBLL training modules for language instructors, demonstrate some of the materials and resources on PBLL that were created as Open Educational Resources for the institute, introduce a digital badge system used for assessing participants’ achievement of learning objectives, and provide suggestions for facilitating the integration of the Online Institute in foreign language teacher education and professional development programs.
Session Presenters
Applicable Language: Non-language specific
Audience Level: All
Focus Area: Learning and Teaching
Language of Presentation: English