NDMA – Elementary Spanish Program

FLT 817 Program Development & Administration | Dr. Lanier

Program Evaluation Report for:

NDMA Spanish Program

Pontiac, MI

This report has been completed by:

Patricia Wyza – Participant Role

Katherine Byrne – Observer Role

Date submitted:

[05/01/2021]

CURRENT STEP AND VERSION:

Program Evaluation Report – Final Version

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Introduction

In an International Baccalaureate® (IB) school, such as Notre Dame Marist Academy

(NDMA)’s Elementary School, there are multiple needs a foreign language program must fulfil.

NDMA is a private, catholic, IB school located in Pontiac, MI. The Spanish program at the

school is aimed for grades Pre-Kindergarten 3-year-old through 5th grade. Because the school is

part of the IB program, the Spanish program should maintain a mutualistic relationship with all

other subjects making sure that they are teaching in such a way that the students are making

connections between different subjects. At the same time, they must affirm that their students are

being held to the most accurate and appropriate standards such as the standards presented by the

American Council of Teaching Foreign Language (ACTFL). By being able to evaluate the

program’s ability to conduct themselves under these guidelines, the teachers and administration

will be able to best identify strengths and weaknesses of the program. The outcomes of this

evaluation will allow them to ask important questions about the program as a whole such as how

items might be modified, how teachers may be given more support, how the program can

become more effective, and if peers may be able to adopt similar strategies in their own

departments.

Literature Review

Foreign language programs answer to a number of standards which define who they are.

In addition to the national and state standards, an IB school must also answer to the standards

and practices of the IB program. This evaluation will identify if and how the curriculum uses

these standards and practices to strengthen the comprehension of its learners. This literature

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review examines the needs of the IB program and the ACTFL standards for this program, while

illustrating the importance of program evaluations.

Program Evaluations

Language programs are constantly evolving and in an emergent, rather than a finished,

state (Pennington, M. & Hoekje, B., 2010). Because language programs are evolving, there is a

need for regular evaluations. Evaluations can be viewed as the central function driving and

unifying the curriculum process and outcomes. Pennington and Hoekje (2010) states that

program evaluation can also be defined as “a process of determining the success of the individual

components of the language program in relation to each other and to contextual factors, goals,

and criteria of value.” Evaluation can address the program in a broader context, or specific

innovations or change efforts.

The program evaluation for NDMA asks three major questions:

1. Is the program connecting with the IB missions and standards on multiple levels

and aspects?

2. Do students meet the ACTFL standards for communication at a Novice-Mid level

by the end of 5th grade?

3. Does the program connect with the ACTFL Standards at a Novice level? (Novice-

Mid is benchmark)

When evaluating a language program, those in leadership positions should continuously

analyze, plan, and monitor all aspects of the program ecology while taking into consideration the

future, present, and past of the program (Pennington, M. & Hoeke, B., 2010). Leaders also must

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make small changes to improve the functionality of the program and refine the match between

the program’s mission, vision, and goals.

Not only do program evaluations need to involve those in leadership roles, but the

evaluation also needs to involve faculty, students, and other stakeholders in the process

(Pennington, M. & Hoeke, B., 2010). Their input on the assessment of individual needs and

views in the context of negotiating common goals, practices, and understandings is vital

(Pennington, 1998). This will allow for the program to change and grow which will eventually

evolve people and their values and practices to become more unified.

Our program evaluation includes the interviews of various faculty and stakeholders. In

addition to testimony from the participant, Patricia Wyza, we interviewed the other Spanish

teacher in the program, the IB Coordinator, as well as the overall head of the Spanish

department. The IB Coordinator is able to provide input and feedback on how the program

connects with the IB Program, while the other faculty members are able to touch on the language

aspect and connecting with the national standards.

Curriculum Design

This Program Evaluation will focus on analyzing the design of the curriculum. When

looking at the curriculum we will identify any and all strategies and tools presented by Anne

Katz and Marguerite Ann Snow (2009). The observer, Katherine, will also make note of whether

or not the standards of the IB and the proficiency-based approaches of ACTFL are implemented.

Additionally, Katherine will determine if the curriculum design is appropriate and beneficial to

the age and educational levels of the learners.

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The participant, Patricia, will utilize strategies from Understanding by Design (2005) to

design an efficient and appropriate curriculum for the program. The use of these strategies will

support the major questions of this Program Evaluation by ensuring the curriculum connects with

the IB and ACTFL Standards. Additionally, it will help ensure students have clear and set

language goals to meet by the end of 5th grade.

Teacher Supervision

This program evaluation will identify key features and strategies of Patricia. Katherine

will use materials such as peer analysis, surveys and student materials in order to evaluate how

well the teacher is able to use IB and ACTFL standards, and if those standards are beneficial to

student learning. Research such as Anne Katz and Marguerite Ann Snow (2009) will help

provide Katherine with strategies as well as important questions to ask regarding how standards

can be used by the teacher in a beneficial way for learners. Other research, such as “Analyzing

Qualitative Data” (Taylor-Powell, E. & Renner, M 2003) will help Katherine, focus on main

outcomes from analyzing materials like the student samples and peer surveys. Finally, Katherine

will use research regarding the perspectives of Foreign Languages teachers in order to identify

any key items that Patricia may want in order to continuously grow after the evaluation.

Program Description

Context

The program being evaluated is an Elementary Spanish program that teaches grades Pre-

K 3 through 5th. The program belongs to a Catholic private school. This private school is also an

International Baccalaureate (IB) School.

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Mission

NDMA Spanish Program provides its diverse student body a Catholic and internationally

recognized educational experience of lasting value. We affirm our Marist mission to “Work with

God to form Christian People, Upright Citizens and Academic Scholars.” We will provide every

learner with the tools to succeed as world citizens.

Curriculum

When the participant, Patricia Wyza, started at the school 5 years ago, the curriculum did

not match the materials available. Patricia had a filing cabinet with multiple random copies in no

particular order with no organization. The curriculum document she was provided did not match

the copies available. They somewhat matched the outdated textbooks, but it didn’t align with the

academic calendar utilizing the IB’s six phases and themes. Patricia was lost with no clear

direction nor a proper structure in the curriculum.

As the years progressed, she has slowly began changing the curriculum based on a new

textbook for the 5th graders and based on the IB themes. She has had no formal training in

curriculum design, so the changes weren't necessarily aligned with research or proper standards.

There was confusion as to which standards were most important versus what she should be doing

with the IB. There has been a struggle to connect the two in the best way possible. The current

curriculum has improved in the 5 years, however, still has room to grow and become more

efficient.

The school follows the IB Program of Inquiry. The elementary school has Auténtico

textbook for 5th grade. The curriculum is flexible in collaboration with core subjects and IB

themes. The curriculum is instructed with a mixture of several instructional strategies and

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methodologies. The methods and approaches typically used are comprehensible input, grammar-

based instruction, and Montessori instruction.

Languages Taught

Languages taught in the elementary school are American English and Spanish.

Languages in the Middle and Higher Schools include Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

Faculty

There are 136 faculty and staff at the school (22 of which are in the lower school).

Almost all the teachers have a bachelor’s degree in their field as well as a Master's in Education.

Each school has a language department head. Patricia is a department head for the elementary

school. In reference to administration, there is an IB Program Director as well as an elementary

school Principal and a School Superintendent.

Language Teachers

There are two language teachers in the elementary school. They both teach Spanish as a

second language as their subject. The other Spanish teacher at the school, Estela, has been

trained using the Montessori methodology. Estela began as an elementary teacher in Mexico at a

Montessori school. When she came to the United States, she taught at a bilingual Montessori

elementary school. She has had no prior experience or knowledge on specific foreign language

methods. For example, she was not aware of ACTFL, the state standards for foreign language

teaching, nor foreign language modes of instruction. She primarily teaches using the Montessori

methods.

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Students

There are 956 students in the school. 55% are female while 45% are male. 70% are

Catholic. Students are middle to upper class, predominantly white with many Hispanic, African

American, and Asian students at the Lower School. There is an average of 18 students per

classroom. The students range from ages 3-12 in the elementary school and are generally

communicate at the Novice Low level according to ACTFL.

Physical and Technological Resources

Students have a Spanish classroom where they sit in desks as well as a carpet space

where they complete group work. The students have access to iPads during the day and for them

to take home with them. All teachers and administration have access to either iPads or Apple

Computers. Each classroom in the elementary school is equipped with a projector for the

teachers to use as needed. The elementary school is currently transitioning to the use of

Blackboard Learning Systems for record keeping and material distribution needs. All students

have Google accounts, which connect them to G-suite learning tools such as their G-mails. The

students also have access to Microsoft Suite application for use of their learning tools, such as

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

Initial Insights and Intentions

In learning about this program as the observer, I find a great interest in the IB format of

the program and how it can be evaluated. I would like to learn more about the standards and

goals that the IB Program Coordinator requests in each department. I will make sure to ask the

Participant for more materials regarding this, such as lists and rubrics. Another item that will be

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needed for Program Analysis, is an overview of the observed Spanish Program, with a list of the

units, standards, and outcomes.

Program Needs Analysis

The first step in analyzing the program in questions was gathering interviews with

various stakeholders. The first interview was with the other Spanish teacher in the department,

Estela Tapia. Notes were taken of the program’s goals towards following ACTFL standards as

well as the need to continually adapt curriculum. Notes were also taken on the need for

collaboration between the core teachers and the Spanish classes. The second interview was with

the IB Coordinator, Paul Frank. This interview led to information about the IB program and how

the Spanish program in question aligns to it. Frank also expressed the importance of the 5 C’s in

connection with the IB standards. The final interview was with Lauren Raleigh who is the

Spanish Department Chair. She was able to provide insight on how the program connects with

the higher level Spanish courses. She also discussed the importance of the ACTFL standards and

creating more lessons utilizing multiple language skills. After the interviews, analysis and review

of the current curriculum took place. In order to analyze the interviews that were made, it

became evident that it was best to identify key aspects and concepts from our research and find

connections to them in the transcripts. The interviews were scanned for quotes that discussed

recommendations, the present program, program details and areas of improvement.

The curriculum was then examined alongside the IB and ACTFL standards in order to

identify areas of alignment. And lack thereof. Katherine and Patricia looked at the original

curriculum from 2015-16 when Patricia started in the program. The original curriculum was

organized based off of the chapters in the textbook, but had no correlation with the academic

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calendar, the IB standards, the ACTFL standards, nor the language skills utilized. It consisted of

the unit’s Big Idea, vocabulary utilized and an essential question. Katherine and Patricia then

compared and contrasted that curriculum with the more recent curriculum from 2018-19. The

more recent curriculum was designed with the intention to connect with the IB themes and skills,

as well as the Michigan World Language Standards and Benchmarks. This curriculum is also

organized by vocabulary topics, grammar concepts, language skills, culture topics, and types of

assessments. Some areas of the curriculum are detailed while others are generalized.

Some of the issues Patricia has faced with the curriculum she built was the amount of

standards and programs she wanted to make connections to, the vagueness of certain areas (such

as the standards used), and not distinguishing or articulating the proficiencies of the students.

The curriculum was too overwhelming to try and create lesson plans. Additionally, the amount of

skills or proficiencies listed were very ambitious and difficult to try to incorporate in the time

frame available. Lastly, the incorporation of the IB phases have shown to be either irrelevant to

the unit or not feasible based on the consistent changing of the curriculum of the core teachers.

Finally, we looked at student samples or two students: one who has had Spanish since the

age of 3 and the other with a minimal Spanish background. Our next steps are to rate and

compare these student samples in accordance to the ACTFL standards. We may look at a sample

ACTFL rubric as well. We are planning to do this in order to see if they are at a Novice Mid-

level or to see exactly what level they’re at. We are also considering surveying the students’

opinions of the program.

Major themes that we took note of through this process were questions of the

curriculum’s alignment of the IB standards, questions of student proficiency in Spanish, the lack

of collaboration between departments and teachers, and a need to align more with the 5 C’s,

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especially communication. In regard to the curriculum’s alignment, the teachers make attempts

to align with the IB is through culture and looking at the class as a whole and not just viewing it

as strictly language-based. Additionally, all interviewees mentioned the freedom allowed in the

curriculum as both a curse and a blessing. Too much freedom made the curriculum disorganized

and not easy to follow, while it also allowed for growth and improvements in the program. With

this amount of freedom, it was mentioned the program lacked a structured set of standards that

the students would need to meet.

The issues found with trying to connect with the IB were primarily in the amount of

changes made by core teachers. Teachers in the IB program are encouraged to switch up or

change their units every so often to create a more dynamic program. At times, teachers change

their units or phases at the last minute making it difficult for specialists, such as the Spanish

teachers, to keep up with the changes. As stated by Paul Frank, the IB Coordinator, Spanish

teachers are now encouraged to connect with the IB program more retroactively versus

proactively. Patricia should now be going back and finding connections she had made in the

phase instead of trying to design her units and themes based on the IB phases.

In regard to Spanish proficiency, Lauren Raleigh mentioned meeting students where

they’re at and not creating unrealistic expectations. Students are expected to perform at a higher

level than they’re at and creating stress amongst the students. She also expressed the desire to

have students become more proficient in communication versus grammar and vocabulary

acquisition. This also touched on the need to align more with the 5 C’s: Communication, Culture,

Comparisons, Connections, and Communities.

Lastly, all interviewees mentioned the need for collaboration. The interviewees

mentioned lack of collaboration especially during the years of 2020 to 2021 due to the pandemic.

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The IB director mentioned that he usually has activities, such as “Speed Dating”, prepared each

year to help different teachers meet to collaborate and share ideas. These were not available this

year which caused cooperation to be lacking. Additionally, Lauren Raleigh mentioned the need

for the Spanish teachers to meet, discuss, and collaborate more often and how it would be

beneficial to the program.

Program Recommendations

The first recommendation is for Patricia to create and distinguish specific proficiency

goals for students to meet at the end of each grade. These proficiency goals as well as the

ACTFL standards are what each lesson and activity flow to and are the key to each action the

teachers and students complete. The supervisor as well as peers mentioned that curriculums

should align with ACTFL standards and proficiency goals because they are great structure for the

courses as well as approved by the state. These proficiency goals allow Patricia to map out

student success on an individual scale. This also allows the program to match with other

programs around the country, as ACTFL standards are followed by a large percentage of schools.

ACTFL standards are also research backed and have been refined for many years. Additionally,

distinguishing specific proficiency goals for students will help with our second recommendation

of developing a pacing guide.

Over the summer and fall semesters, Patricia will be completing her Experiential Module

to develop and rebuild the curriculum in a more efficient manner. For this recommendation,

Patricia will pull resources from ACTFL to identify the different proficiency levels. Based on

these proficiency levels, she will need to distinguish where students should be by the end of each

grade, starting with 5th grade, then working her way down. Next, Patricia will need to articulate

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which specific “Can-Do” statements would match each grade level based on the proficiency

levels identified.

The second recommendation is for Patricia to develop a pacing guide based on the

specific proficiencies and goals created using the ACTFL Standards. When looking at the

program in question, several informants made note of how important structure is in a curriculum.

This is made even more evident when looking into research from Martha Pennington who

stresses curriculum structure in their work (2010). A curriculum is the backbone of instruction,

and that backbone needs to be well balanced and strong. This made it evident that the curriculum

in the program needed to have a set structure of what will be completed and when. This is how

we came to the conclusion that Patricia needs to develop a pacing guide. This recommendation

will help make sure the curriculum is clear and easy to follow. This will allow new faculty to

understand the goals and standards the students need to accomplish, when they need to

accomplish them, while allowing the freedom to design lessons accordingly and utilize different

methodologies. Lastly, it will allow for more efficient lessons for the students. Having a pacing

guide in the curriculum year after year will also allow teachers to determine the students' levels

of proficiency at each level.

In order to achieve this benchmark and ensure it stays met, Patricia can work with the IB

coordinator in writing out the requirements for the program, and mapping them out in a set

format. This will detail time needed, lengths of units, topics covered and materials used. Needed

resources include the textbook, IB documents (such as scope and sequence, standards, etc.), and

old curriculum. Patricia will also utilize the textbook, “Understanding by Design” (Wiggins, G.

P., & McTighe, J., 2005) to develop the pacing guide. She has also planned to attend a

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conference based on this textbook. Patricia will also utilize the specific proficiency goals she

created for students to meet at the end of each grade.

Lastly, the third recommendation is to set up more collaboration times between the core

teachers and the specialists to identify where connections can be made within each unit, theme,

or phase. With an IB program running in the school, it is vital for the teachers in every

department to work together and collaborate. Both the IB Coordinator, the other Spanish teacher,

and Patricia all identified the helpfulness and necessity of these meetings. By setting up

collaboration times, all teachers will have the ability to align their work with other teachers and

ensure that all of the needed. During these collaboration meetings, the core teachers and the

Spanish teachers will need to discuss each phase for the year, the topics discussed, and the IB

theme used. This will allow for clear connections to be made between the students’ core subjects

and Spanish.

Patricia will need to set up specific meeting times with those teachers at different points

in the year. For example, one at the beginning of the year before school starts, and one halfway

through the year before Christmas break. These particular time frames align with the beginnings

of each semester. Each semester consists of 3 phases so Patricia and the core teachers will be

able to discuss each of those phases. Additionally, Patricia can meet with the core teachers at the

end of the year to reflect on the previous units and if the teacher has decided to switch phases

next year, Patricia will have time to plan before the next school year starts.

Conclusion

The NDMA's elementary Spanish department has the great privilege to teach Spanish to

grades Pre-K 3 to 5th grade. Katherine and Patricia were able to analyze the strengths and

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weaknesses of the program in order to identify areas of concern, as well as ways to solve them.

Katherine and Patricia studied the usage of ACTFL and IB standards in the program, where they

found three areas of concern. The first of the main concerns consisted of the need for ACTFL

proficiency goals in the curriculum, in order to help with structure and proficiency. The second

was the lack of a pacing guide for the program as a whole. With the pacing guide, the program

will be more efficient and allow for clarity as to where students should be in their language

journey and will also allow for incoming teachers to be able to continue with the curriculum in

an efficient manner. Finally, Katherine and Patricia stressed the importance of interdepartmental

cooperation and collaboration in order to ensure that connections are being made in between the

different classes. With these solutions Patricia will be able to better prepare her students to

become world ready citizens in the upcoming school year.

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References

ACTFL. (2012). ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Alexandria, VA: American Council on the

Teaching of Foreign Languages. Retrieved from https://www.actfl.org/publications

ACTFL. (2017). NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements. Alexandria, VA: American Council on

the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Retrieved from https://www.actfl.org/publications

Boyles, P.P., Met, M., Sayers, R.S. (2018) Auténtico: Level 1. New York, NY: Pearson.

Jensen, J., Sandrock, P., & Franklin, J. (2007). The essentials of world languages, grades K-12:

Effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved from

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

García, P. A., Moser, K. M., & Davis-Wiley, P. (2019). Facing reality: A survey of methods

instructors’ perspectives on world language teacher development. Foreign Language

Annals, 52(1), 165–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12373

Norris, J. M. (2016). Language program evaluation. Modern Language Journal,

100(Supplement), 168–189.

Pennington, M. & Hoekje, B. (2010). Language program leadership in a changing world: An

ecological approach. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Richards, J. C., & Burns, A. (2009). Cambridge Guide to Second Language Teacher Education.

Cambridge University Press. identifies key ways that foreign language teachers can use

standards set our for them by different

Taylor-Powell, E. & Renner, M. (2003). Analyzing qualitative data. Madison, WI: University of

Wisconsin System.

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Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design.

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