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POLIA Train-the-Trainer
Program
Meeting the Challenge of World Class Language Standards through
Proficiency Oriented Language Instruction and Assessment
| Purpose of the Program
This program has provided intensive professional development
training to world language teachers across the state of Minnesota
in proficiency-oriented language instruction and assessment
(POLIA) in order to meet challenging new state standards.
Teachers, selected in cohorts of twenty-five per year, have
become trainers in their own right through the year-long course
and, working in teams, have delivered workshops to world language
teachers in their districts and in neighboring districts.
The program was funded by an Eisenhower Professional Development
Program, Public Law 100-382 grant administered through the
Minnesota Higher Education Services Office. The program was
coordinated by the Center for Advanced
Research on Language Acquisition at the University of
Minnesota. |
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Program Overview
Teacher-trainers selected for this program participated in a summer
institute and three two-day workshops throughout the year in order
to gain in-depth knowledge about proficiency-oriented instruction,
national and state world language standards, and performance-based
assessment. Through this training, participants received preparation
as POLIA trainers to deliver workshops designed to assist fellow
world language teachers in meeting new state standards. Working
as part of a team, each POLIA trainer had the goal of reaching at
least fifteen world language teachers, to further provide an opportunity
for other world language teachers. In the first year of the program
(1997-1998), over four hundred world language teachers participated
in a POLIA-sponsored workshop.
For the second year of the program (1998-1999), the program model
was expanded to include the development of a mentor-trainer component.
In addition to the new cohort of twenty-five POLIA trainers, six
POLIA trainers who participated in the 1997-1998 POLIA training
program were selected to act as mentor-trainers. The mentor-trainers
served as resources for the new trainers and assistants to the program
director, Professor Diane Tedick, throughout the year. As mentor-trainers,
they further developed their knowledge of standards, proficiency-oriented
instruction and performance-based assessment, and also fine-tuned
their leadership/group facilitation skills in order to improve their
ability to act as consultants for the expanding POLIA "best
practices" network. POLIA trainers in the second year of the
program delivered training to 300 world language teachers in Minnesota,
Oregon, Indiana, and Mississippi.
History of the Program
The program grew out of the work of the Minnesota
Articulation Project (MNAP). The products developed as a result
of the collaboration between MNAP and CARLA
include a battery of proficiency-based
assessments for reading, writing, and speaking in French, German,
and Spanish, and the MNAP's Proficiency-Oriented
Language Instruction and Assessment: A Curriculum Handbook for Teachers.
Response to these resources has been very positive throughout the
state and across the nation. These tools served as the instructional
base for the POLIA training program and complement the tools being
developed in response to the state world language standards.
Program impact of the Minnesota Articulation Project
and POLIA program
The Program Model
The POLIA program model begins with a one-week intensive summer
workshop which enables participants to understand and internalize
the theoretical principles linking national and state standards
with proficiency-oriented language instruction and assessment. The
program also helps teachers develop practical skills in creating
and adapting curriculum materials and assessment tools following
these principles. Participants become well versed with the National
and State standards frameworks and develop ways to lead the language
teachers in their district through the process of shifting their
instructional approach to meet these challenging new standards.
During the fall, participants practice these instructional strategies
by using the task/activities and the assessment tools they develop
during the summer workshop. Participants meet in late fall for a
two-day workshop, at which they get in-depth feedback on their reports
of classroom use of the curriculum materials and piloting of assessment
tools. They also start to develop their own set of training materials
for use in delivering inservices to their home school districts,
and begin the process of setting up workshop dates for their own
and neighboring school districts.
During the early winter, participants continue to pilot and refine
the proficiency-oriented materials they present to their students
and make necessary adaptations to their text materials. Participants
work on customizing their training materials during a two-day workshop
in mid-winter, and they conduct mock training sessions with each
other in order to practice their presentations and receive feedback
in a group setting.
Throughout the spring, teams of POLIA trainers deliver workshops
for K-12 foreign language teachers. Each trainer's goal is to have
an impact on at least fifteen teachers. At the final POLIA training
workshop, held in late spring, participants report on the inservices
they have conducted, and refine their training materials based on
their experiences and on feedback from the group.
At the conclusion of the program, POLIA trainers are available
as ongoing resources within the state and beyond. Many continue
to be linked to programs within CARLA as part of the ongoing development
of a "best practices" network of world language teachers.
Benefits to Participants
Participants in this program receive in-depth training on the national
and state standards, proficiency-oriented language instruction,
and performance-based assessment. Throughout the year-long program,
participants:
- become familiar with the National and Minnesota Standards frameworks
and develop ways to help districts implement these standards in
their world language curriculum;
- learn about the theoretical principles underlying proficiency-oriented
language instruction and curriculum development;
- understand and internalize the theoretical principles so that
they guide their curriculum development and instructional practices;
- learn how to align assessment with curriculum and instruction;
- learn ways of developing formative assessment for classroom
use that align with proficiency-oriented language instruction;
- gain hands-on, practical experience in developing and critiquing
proficiency- and context-based assessments in the various modalities;
- receive feedback and guidance during the creation and development
of proficiency-based assessments;
- gain a sound theoretical and practical foundation for scoring
and evaluating assessments they have developed;
- develop skills linking their assessments with classroom practice
and with national and state performance standards; and
- gain experience training other foreign language teachers to
develop proficiency-based assessment.
For more information about this program, contact the CARLA office
at carla@umn.edu or Professor
Diane Tedick at djtedick@umn.edu.
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