My Spanish 12 teaching style is quite different. The course is not really split into units at all. The students were given a Vocabulary packet on Day 1 of the course and I will intermitenly teach 20 grammatical concepts throughout the semester. It is a very self-paced, self-guided class. The students will have the choice in how much of the vocabulary they want to learn and what grammar concepts they want to apply to said vocabulary. In my other classes, I have specific units that dictate which grammatical concepts are paired with a certian vocabulary units. For instance, my Spanish 11’s learn how to give commands (the imperative) whilst giving directions within a city. However, commands can be given in many other contexts.
Spanish 12 is mainly a BIG review + 1 (new comprehensible input – Stephen Krasen’s concept). I want the students to be able to manipulate everything that they have learned over the previous 2-3 years while adding in some new gramatical concepts and new vocabulary. I don’t want them to be told they can only use the future tense if they are talking about their future careers (the follow the textbook unit scenario). My Spanish 12 class is set up so that
- the students get to choose how they are going to show me their learning, with the idea that they’ll be able to build upon and share it with others, via two big projects (one per term) that they propose and carry out, as well as
- complete various tasks that I specifically assign (collaborative short story, famous person portrait, etc – for more info, go to http://css.sd33.bc.ca/sp12)
So my big question is, since the assignment says we must have
- Two (or more) complete learning modules largely based on HTML pages
- One (or more) module programmed for selective release
Do we have to set up the modules as a traditional unit? Or can I set it up the way I am actually teaching, keeping in mind that the students must learn certain grammatical points and certain new vocabulary context by certain dates – complete with ample practice and formative/summative assessment?
As long as each module is complex and substantive, I”m not concerned whether it’s deploy linearly or not. But each needs to be a complete module: several HTML pages plus other learning activities.