Here's a blog entry by our Elementary/Middle Years Representative and Webmaster, Nicole Jarvis: "Up at 5am to go to Whistler today! Gorgeous drive of the sunrise along the Sea-toSky. Volunteering for my Provincial Specialist Association ( BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages ). As an Executive Committee member I've been able to re-vamp our website and support my fellow language-teaching colleagues in the BC K-12 school system. It's a lot of hours, and not void of stress, but it's been really rewarding and a great opportunity for growth. I'm inspired by Stacey Sveistrup and Rome Lavrencic's dedication to our PSA: after many many years of contributing, they still facilitate workshops. Today I'm manning an information booth while my fellow executive members teach at their schools or lead workshops here (Stacey Sveistrup: Intensive French teaching methods, and Rome Lavrencic: iPad Language Inquiry). I'm thankful for other colleagues who contribute to Executives, facilitate workshops, and attend these conferences, conventions and workshops. I've met teachers from all over the province who seek support for French instruction in their intermediate and middle school classrooms (grades 4-9), and many were excited to see the "Restez Calme" poster from TeachersDiscovery.ca! Our first Joint Conference with the BC Provincial Intermediate Teachers Association (PITA) and the BC Rural and Small Schools Teachers' Association = Success!" Thanks to our conference collaborators! www.bcruralteachers.com www.mypita.ca
0 Comments
Thank you to all of our joint-conference collaborators (MyPITA and BC Teachers of Rural and Small Schools) , workshop presenters, and attendees! We had a great time and look forward to supporting our newest members. Click on NEWS up top to check out the 'Storify' from Wednesday's Twitter Chat and see photos from the spring's #WhistlerPSA2015 "Transforming our thinking and practice" conference. -BCATML Executive Committee May 8th 2015 We had a successful Twitter chat about the new FSL curriculum. Thanks to all the participants for your sharing of ideas, opinions, questions and answers. Here is a link to the chat.
https://storify.com/staciajo33/bcatml-chat-about-new-fsl-curriculum -Stacia Johnson, Chat Moderator NOTE: "In a number of slides (listed on the BCATML's Curriculum Information Page), it mentions "content & concepts" together. While in the first round of drafts, the concepts were initially put in the content column (content & concepts), after feedback from the field and many discussions, we have come to the conclusion that concepts are "bigger" than content, and that is why in the new KUD model concepts "reside" in the centre and are linked to all of the areas (content, curricular competencies, and big ideas). [Additionally,] we do not plan to ever "close" the feedback. This curriculum will be a living document, and we will continue to gather any feedback that people provide as they dig deeper and deeper into using the curriculum. We will move ahead with the first round of revisions once we have a big enough "chunk" of feedback. We hope to begin the revision process in Jan/Feb, but the draft will still be open for feedback even after we begin our revisions." Cheers, Laura Laura Hawkes Curriculum & Assessment Ministry of Education" BCATML will host another live free Twitter chat on Wednesday May 6th, 2015 starting at 6 pm. The topic of discussion will be to share details about the new Core French curriculum. Participants will be able to ask questions to members who worked with the Core French Curriculum Working Group in creating this transformative document. Please follow us on Twitter @BCATML and join the chat using #BCATML in your tweet. If you do not have a Twitter account, you can still participate and ask questions to the group by visiting our main page and using the #BCATML widget window.
Please read the updates to the new Core French curriculum by visiting our Curriculum Info page. Teacher Shortage Reaches 'Critical' Levels For French Programs Across British Columbia Patti Holm, President of the Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon Branch, announced the release of a labour market report outlining the serious and widespread shortage of qualified French language teachers across British Columbia. She stated that "[t]he strength and popularity of educational programs, like French Immersion, is fuelling a province-wide need for more and more qualified French teachers." Despite the demand for French Immersion, 86% of BC school districts indicated that it is "challenging" or "very challenging" to fill all available French Immersion teaching positions citing the lack of qualified applicants as the primary obstacle for French Immersion teacher recruitment. The secondary obstacle for French Immersion teacher retention was competition from other school districts. The report also finds that while BC certifies a total of approximately 2,700 teachers per year, it produces about one-fifth of the French Immersion teachers needed. French Immersion student enrolment in British Columbia has steadily increased for the past 16 years. Since 2004, student enrolment in French Immersion has increased by 38.8%, while overall public school enrolment has fallen by 7.8%. In 2013-2014, students enrolled in French Immersion programs accounted for 8.8% of the total public school student population. According to a 2007 study conducted by Dr. Wendy Carr, 78% of elementary school teachers and 71% of middle school teachers do not feel comfortable speaking French, thus creating a gap in the Core French teacher's competency with the language. A majority of BC school districts do not require elementary and middle school teachers teaching Core French to have a specialized background in French that secondary school teachers have. Furthermore, the University of British Columbia is the only institution currently requiring all pre-service teachers to take at least one French methodology course as part of their teacher training prior to entering the workforce. Dr. Carr stated that "teacher education programs need to ensure that all candidates take a French methodology course so that new teachers have at least the basics to teach and inspire BC students to learn French as a second language". Despite a progressive decline in Core French enrolment since 2004, there are 180,000 students enrolled in BC's Core French program, constituting one-third of the total student body. The full report can downloaded by clicking here, or using the link below.
Call for Presenters: BCATML Fall Conference 2015
Celebrating Languages! Dear Colleagues: It’s that time of year again, and we are so excited to start accepting applications for presenters to our 2015 Fall "Celebrating Languages" Conference! We invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation or workshop at our October 23rd PSA Day. Every year, our Conference Committee has the extremely difficult job of going through all the phenomenal options you provide us and trying to create a balanced, comprehensive program for our participants. If you know anyone else whom you think has experience, energy, growth, and wisdom to share, please point them to this form! Register here: http://bcatml.weebly.com/workshop-proposals.html The Conference will be held at the same location as two years ago; Michael J. Fox Theatre and Burnaby South Secondary School 5455 Rumble Street, Burnaby, BC V5J 2B7 Canada Friday, October 23, 2015 Successful workshops for BCATML conferences tend to include a strong focus on practical, hands-on lessons and especially on information, techniques, resources, and lessons that can be implemented immediately in our classrooms. Some ideas are; · updating methods with technology; · art and culture; · social-emotional learning; · growth mindset in the language classroom · literacy strategies; · best forms of assessment; · preserving strong language elective programs; · any strategies/activities that you have found useful in your teaching. Please note that there will be an announcement soon for Publishers or Exhibitors wishing to purchase a display table and advertisement at the Conference. Thank you so much for your willingness to share your professional growth & expertise. We look forwards to seeing the variety of ideas that will be flooding in! Sincerely, The BCATML Conference Committee On Jan. 12, 2015, the BCATML hosted its first ever Twitter chat. The goal was to collaborate with members and others on the theme of developing literacy in the L2 classroom. Participants tweeted about best practices and resources for literacy in the L2 classroom. Participants asked and answered questions, shared photos, and discussed resources for all types of literacy in the second language classroom. A link to the chat is provided here: https://storify.com/staciajo33/bcatml Some key points from the hour session included: -using the CEFR spiral format/concept for developing language ability in split classes -reviewing elements of the new French curriculum -using the feedback loop to reflect on teaching -recognizing the importance of hands on and performance to develop linguistic skills, especially composition -learning how to best teach split classes -giving reasons for tweeting include: growing PLNs and getting inspired with new ideas -having members to compile a list of resources to share -giving suggestions on how to structure a chat by labeling questions and answers Members of the BC Association of Teachers of Modern Languages are invited to an information session for a new M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Leadership program offered Richmond. UBC is hosting two information sessions in the New Year to announce this graduate program. Online Workshop: CEFR-based assessment using CASLT's Assessment in Action Toolkit The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT) is pleased to announce that it will hold an Assessment in Action Online Workshop, on Wednesday December 10, 2014, from 11:00 to 17:00 (Eastern Time). The deadline to register is December 1, 2014. For more information and to register, visit https://caslt.membershare.ca/event/en/31/63.
Atelier en ligne : L'évaluation basée sur le CECR à l'aide de la trousse Évaluation en action de l'ACPLS L'Association canadienne des professeurs de langues secondes (ACPLS) est heureuse d'annoncer la tenue d'un atelier en ligne portant sur la Trousse d'évaluation en action, le mercredi 10 décembre 2014, de 11 h à 17 h (heure de l'Est). La date limite pour vous inscrire est le 1er décembre 2014. Pour plus d'informations et pour vous inscrire, consultez le site Web https://caslt.membershare.ca/event/fr/31/63. From BCeSIS to MyEducation BC—a look at critical issues The ministry has adopted MyEducation BC as the new student information system for BC schools to replace BCeSIS. New technologies always raise issues--from implementation and support to privacy in the era of “Big data.” This BCTF Powerpoint frames some of these issues. |
How to post:BCATML's Executive members can add news items here. Please email BCATML president at [email protected] or your Language Rep with a news item or pro-d opportunity that you would like to share. Archives
August 2023
Categories |