Anna Krulatz

Towards critical cultural and linguistic awareness in language classrooms in Norway: Fostering respect for diversity through identity texts:

This article reports the results of a school-based curriculum development project that aimed to support language teachers working with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations in Norway to develop teaching strategies that foster intercultural citizenship and multilingual competence. Three university researchers collaborated with two schools to increase mutual respect and tolerance for cultural and linguistic diversity in language classrooms, to increase awareness of the positive impact of home language maintenance on academic performance, and to improve the engagement of multilingual literacy and student identity in the classroom. Data were collected during teacher workshops and while following the delivery of the project, and consist of lesson planning materials, texts produced by students, and a follow-up teacher survey. The article presents examples of activities and materials the teachers at the cooperating schools designed and implemented, samples of student work, as well as teacher reflections on the extent to which the project promoted multiliteracy and intercultural citizenship. The findings suggest that while the project helped strengthen awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity at the schools, understanding of the relevance of the home language to literacy development and academic success and multiliteracy were not adequately supported. Implications for future work to promote language classrooms that foster linguistic and cultural diversity and multiliteracy are discussed.

Promoting Student Success through Active Involvement in Assessment

One of the goals of assessment is to increase student motivation by highlighting the areas in which they have succeeded and enabling them to notice the areas for improvement (Wiggins 1998). In my years of college teaching practice, I have strived to employ fair, authentic assessment—i.e., assessment that promotes engagement with “worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively” (Wiggins 1993, 229), such as portfolios, journal writing, and cooperative learning groups (Sanders 2001). I also conduct ongoing formative, informal assessment that helps me modify teaching and improve student performance by monitoring students, recording my observations and referring to them as I plan future lectures. Finally, I integrate selfassessment practices such as peer review and written self-reflections, which allow students to monitor their own progress and attainment of course objectives. Nevertheless, I felt that learning outcomes in my classes could be further improved if my students assumed a shared responsibility for assessment (Bachman 2010). Active engagement in assessment promotes deeper reflection on learning processes and more meaningful interaction with the course material. Thus, I have sought other methods, which eventually lead me employ a technique my students and I call Test Yourself. It consists of the following steps: 1. Teacher-generated Test Yourself items 2. Guided practice 3. Student-generated questions shared via a class blog 4. Review sessions before final assessment To introduce the concept, I present a short list of sample Test Yourself questions at the conclusion of each session. For assessment to be authentic, these are directly linked to learning goals and class activities. The types of questions include factual (e.g., Define X, List Y), conceptual (e.g., Explain why X, What are the main reasons for Y?) and provocative (i.e., questions related to problem solving, decision making, and constructing individual meaning) (Erickson 2007), and they can be combined with increasing cognitive demands (Bloom et al. 1956). I model how to answer a few questions to scaffold the skills needed for self-assessment and to foster good study habits. I also discuss these different types of questions with the class, providing several examples of each. To learn how to write questions themselves, students participate in guided active assessment sessions in which we brainstorm sample Test Yourself items and discuss what a good question is. To practice writing their own assessment items, students work in small groups, pairs, or individually. They are encouraged to refer to the learning goals and allowed to use any question format they want (e.g., open-ended, multiple choice). The following step-by-step instructions can be used during this stage: 1. Write three questions about the content of today’s class that increase in level of difficulty. Choose from the following question repositories (Bloom et al. 1956; Erickson 2007): a. #1 – factual – e.g., list, define, name, explain, identify, etc. b. #2 – conceptual – e.g., demonstrate, criticize, explain, compare, solve, analyze, etc. c. #3 – provocative – e.g., plan, design, assess, evaluate, justify, etc. 2. You can write Yes/No questions, open-ended questions, True/False statements, or multiple choice questions, etc. 3. Exchange your questions with another group and answer each other’s questions. 4. Reflection/Share with the class: Which questions were difficult to answer? Why? To ensure that students engage in an ongoing review, I make it mandatory to post Test Yourself items on a class blog and to respond to the questions posted by their classmates. Similar to the guided practice in class, students are given instructions regarding the number and types of the questions. I monitor the blog activity and