Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills

The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structure of the discipline(s)
he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter
meaningful for students.

Artifact I for Standard Seven: Instructional Planning Skills

Name of Artifact: Learning about your Field: Four Exploratory Tasks

Date: Fall 2009

Course: FL561 Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice

Rationale

Cambell, Cignetti, Melenyzer, Nettles & Wyman (2007) say that an effective teacher

plans instruction based on four factors: 1) subject matter, 2) individual needs of learners, 3)

community needs, and 4) curriculum goals (p.49). I took FL561 Teaching Second Languages:

Theory into Practice in the fall of 2009 with Dr. Joanne Burnett. One of our first assignments

was to learn about our field by utilizing four exploratory tasks outlined in Shrum and Glisan’s

book “Teacher’s handbook: Contextualized language instruction”. The tasks were: 1) to learn

about your national language-specific organization and your state language association, 2) to

learn about your regional language conference, 3) to familiarize yourself with foreign language

resources ( I checked out CARLA, which has resources for ESL teachers) and 4) to compare

teacher standards across the career continuum.

Although I am not teaching yet, I am already familiar with my national language

organization, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and my state language

association, TexasTESOL. I attended my first TexasTESOL conference in 2008 and found it

extremely educational. The third task, familiarizing yourself with foreign language resources, led

me to CARLA (University of Minnesota Center for Advanced Research on Language

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 Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Acquisition), which contains a wealth of resources for foreign language and ESL teachers and

provides access to the most current research on language teaching and 2nd language acquisition.

The final task required us to compare teacher standards across the career continuum in these

areas of teacher performance: level of oral proficiency, cultural understanding, instructional

strategies, implementation of performance-based assessments and professionalism. I compared

the TESOL, NBPTS (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) and the state of Texas

ESL teacher standards. This comparison exercise was a serious learning experience. I discovered

what was expected of me in terms of knowledge and performance, allowing me to gauge my

current level and determine what specific areas needed improvement. I feel this type of exercise

is priceless to a pre-service teacher, who is not quite sure what is expected of her on the job.

Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills says that the teacher should understand the

central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structure of the discipline she teaches, so that she can

create meaningful learning experiences for her students. I have included this artifact, Learning

about your Field: Four Exploratory Tasks, because I feel it demonstrates my efforts to learn

about the field of teaching English as a second language. During this task I was exposed to the

resources and professional expertise I need to skillfully plan and implement meaningful

instructional activities, which will support the individual needs of my students, while meeting the

needs of the community and upholding the goals of the national and state curriculum for ESL.

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 Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

References

Campbell, D.M., Cignetti, P.B., Melenyzer, B.J., Nettles, D.H. & Wyman, R.M. (2007).

How to develop a profession portfolio (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

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 Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Artifact I - Learning about your Field: Four Exploratory

Tasks

Task One
Learning about your national language-specific organization and your state
language association

National language association – Teachers of English to Speakers of Other languages -

http://www.tesol.org

State language association – Texas TESOL - http://www.textesol.org/

1. What is the mission (the goals) of each organization?

TESOL: TESOL's mission is to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language
teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide.

Texas TESOL: Texas TESOL's mission is to develop and maintain professional expertise in
English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide. (The same
as TESOL.)

2. How do you join each organization? What is the cost of joining and what are
the member benefits (e.g., publications received, discounts on conference
attendance)?

TESOL: You can join TESOL online or by filling out a membership application and mailing with
payment. The annual membership dues are $95 ($35 for full-time students).

Member benefits include:

• Complimentary subscription to the Essential Teacher, TESOL's quarterly membership
magazine
• Eligibility to apply for awards and grants
• Voting privileges in the association's annual election
• Ability to find, submit, and review resources from the TESOL Resource Center
• Discounted prices for the annual convention, TESOL education programs, and TESOL
publications

Texas TESOL: You can join Texas TESOL by filling out a membership application and mailing
with payment. The annual membership dues are $15 ($10 for students).

Member benefits include:

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 Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

• TESOL Virtual Seminar Scholarships

• Opportunities to serve on the Texas TESOL board
• TexTESOL V Newsletter
• Networking opportunities at local meetings.

3. Describe the professional development opportunities and/or other major

events that each organization will sponsor in the near future (e.g.,
conferences, summer institutes).

TESOL: TESOL Convention, March 2010 in Boston, MA

Texas TESOL: Texas TESOL V Conference on October 3, 2009

4. How might your professional growth be affected by your membership and

participation in one or both of these associations?

I joined Texas TESOL last year. Aside from attending last year’s Texas TESOL conference, I
have not had the time to participate in any of their local meetings. Texas TESOL appears
useful for networking and professional development opportunities (serving on the board,
etc.).
I believe the main reasons for joining TESOL would be access to information, and discounts
on the annual convention (which will be in Dallas in 2013) and educational programs.

Task Two
Learning about your regional language conference – Dr. Burnett, on the
Teacher’s Handbook website it lists the Southwest Conference on Language
Teaching as the regional conference for Texas. However, this conference is for
FOREIGN language teaching and I’m in TESOL. I’m sticking with the Texas
TESOL for the Task Two info.

1. What is the name of your regional conference(s) and where are the
headquarters?

Texas TESOL is divided into 5 regions – I, II, III, IV and IV. I am in region V, which is
headquartered in Dallas,

2. When and where will the upcoming conference be held?

The Texas TESOL V conference will be held on October 3, 2009 at Brookhaven College in
Dallas, Texas. [I plan on attending.]

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 Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

3. What services and/or resources does the conference offer to teachers (e.g.,
publications, teaching materials, job announcements)?

I’m not sure what this year’s Texas TESOL V offers as the schedule is not posted yet, but last
year’s state conference offered discounted books and software, free demonstration classes on
teaching software, and half-day workshops (for an additional fee).

4. How might your attendance at this regional conference enable you to gain a
broader perspective of the foreign language profession?

Last year Dallas hosted a state conference for all five regions. It was a great experience. I
was able to attend a number of presentations on various topics such as: language anxiety,
phonetics, and cultural experiences of ESL students. I also attended a workshop called “An
Introduction to Teaching Accent Reduction” led by Leslie Neal of Brookhaven College. I
enjoyed the workshop so much I asked Ms. Neal if I could sit in on one of her classes. It was
a great experience and she invited me to do my practicum in her class when I take FL694.

This year will be my first region V conference. It will be a much smaller conference lasting
only one day. I suspect this conference will be a good opportunity to network with practicing
ESL teachers.

Task Three
Familiarizing your self with foreign language resources

Go to the Teacher’s Handbook Web site and visit the Web site of one of the resources listed in
the chapter that most interests you. List three to five ways in which this resource can provide
valuable assistance to foreign language teachers.

I selected CARLA – the University of Minnesota Center for Advanced Research on Language
Acquisition - http://carla.acad.umn.edu/ and have joined their email/mail list.

CARLA can provide assistance to FLT by:

• Professional Development – CARLA sponsors Summer Institutes for Teachers (including

ESL), and conferences and workshops. The summer institute looks really interesting.
http://carla.acad.umn.edu/institutes/2009/schedule.html

• Resources – such as a virtual assessment center, immersion education archives and

content-based instruction resources.

• Access to Research – topics include pragmatics & speech arts, ESL and a working paper
series (fee).

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 Standard 7 – Instructional Planning Skills Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Task Four
Comparing teacher standards across the career continuum

Go to the Teacher’s Handbook Web site and access the links to the Web sites for the following
three sets of foreign language teacher standards: ACTFL/NCATE or TESOL/NCATE, INTASC,
NBPTS. Then find the foreign language/ESL teacher standards for the state in which you reside.
Compare these sets of standards in the following areas of teacher performance.

I compared the TESOL, NBPTS and the state of Texas ESL teacher standards.

Level of Oral Proficiency:

TESOL – (Language Proficiency Standard) Teachers demonstrate proficiency in social,

business/workplace and academic English. Proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and
writing means that a teacher is functionally equivalent to a native speaker with some higher
education.

NBPTS – (Knowledge of Language and Language Development) Accomplished teachers of

linguistically and culturally diverse learners are models of language proficiency in the languages
in which they are expected to teach.

Texas – (Standard I) The ESL teacher understands fundamental language concepts and knows
the structure and conventions of the English language.

Cultural Understanding:

TESOL – (Identity and Context Standard) Teachers understand the importance of who learners
are and how their communities, heritages and goals shape learning and expectations of learning.
Teachers recognize the importance of how context contributes to identity formation and therefore
influences learning. Teachers use this knowledge of identity and settings in planning, instructing,
and assessing.

NBPTS – (Knowledge of Culture and Diversity) Accomplished teachers of linguistically and

culturally diverse learners are knowledgeable about and sensitive to the dynamics of culture in
general, and to their students’ culture in particular, which enables them to understand their
students and structure a successful academic experience for them.

Texas – (Standards II & V) The ESL teacher has knowledge of the foundations of ESL education
and factors that contribute to an effective multicultural and multilingual learning environment.
The ESL teacher has knowledge of the factors that affect ESL students’ learning of academic
content, language, and culture.

Instructional Strategies:

TESOL – (Planning and Instructing Standard) Planning - Teachers plan instruction to promote
learning and meet learner goals, and modify plans to assure learner engagement and

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achievement. Instructing - Teachers create supportive environments that engage all learners in
purposeful learning and promote respectful classroom interactions.

NBPTS – (Meaningful Learning and Instructional Resources) Accomplished teachers of

linguistically and culturally diverse learners use a variety of approaches that allow students to
confront, explore, and understand important and challenging concepts, topics, and issues in
meaningful ways. Accomplished teachers of linguistically and culturally diverse learners select,
adapt, crate, and use rich and varied resources.

Texas – (Standard IV) The ESL teacher understands ESL teaching methods and uses this
knowledge to plan and implement effective, developmentally appropriate ESL instruction.

Implementation of performance-based assessments:

TESOL – (Assessment Standard) Teachers recognize the importance of and are able to gather
and interpret information about learning and performance to promote the continuous intellectual
and linguistic development of each learner. Teachers use knowledge of student performance to
make decisions about planning and instruction ‘on the spot’ and for the future. Teachers involve
learners in determining what will be assessed and provide constructive feedback to learners,
based on assessments of their learning.

NBPTS – (Assessment) Accomplished teachers of linguistically and culturally diverse learners

employ a variety of assessment methods to obtain useful information about student learning and
development and to assist students in reflecting on their own progress.

Texas – (Standard VI) The ESL teacher understands formal and informal assessment procedures
and instruments (language proficiency and academic achievement) used in ESL programs and
uses assessment results to plan and adapt instruction.

Professionalism:

TESOL – (Commitment and Professionalism Standard) Teachers continue to grow in their

understanding of the relationship of second language teaching and learning to the community of
English language teaching professionals, the broader teaching community, and communities at
large, and use these understandings to inform and change themselves and these communities.

NBPTS – (Professional Leadership) Accomplished teachers of linguistically and culturally

diverse learners contribute to the growth and development of their colleagues, their school, and
the advancement of knowledge in their field.

Texas – (Standard VII) The ESL teacher knows how to serve as an advocate for ESL students
and facilitate family and community involvement in their education.