Assessment Progress Report Russian Language Program Spring 2015 Diana Kravchenko

Transcription

1 Piloted having two weekly deadlines, prerequisites and requirements in both online sections of RUS 111. Assessment Progress Report Russian Language Program Spring 2015 Diana Kravchenko Innovations Reasons Positive Outcomes Follow-up Future Goals FALL 2014 Many students used to This change might study once a week, have contributed to which slowed down fewer F s and their language W s; greater acquisition. student satisfaction. Piloted peer conversations in all three online classes: two sections of RUS 111 and one section of RUS 112 Redistributed material in all four RUS classes: RUS 111, 112, 211, and 212 Moved the interactive exercises from the Online Workbook website to Canvas for RUS 112 Two Russian tutor applicants have been interviewed and approved to work at Tutorial Services New format for oral responses in online classes has been adopted: video instead of audio more opportunities to practice oral skills and apply what they study. To increase the amount of time spent on studying the alphabet in RUS 111 and to address the need in a better and more oral practice in all four courses. Not all students were completing homework exercises on the nonmonitored website. additional support and practice. Many online students cheated and read their weekly oral responses, which was one of the reasons why online students developed oral skills slower than inperson students. While most RUS 111 students chose not to complete the assignment, all RUS 112 students did and reported multiple benefits; improved student fluency This could have contributed to fewer F s and W s; greater student satisfaction. All students completed practice exercises; thus, improving their language skills. Many online students regularly worked with the tutors, reporting many gains and benefits; better student progress; greater student satisfaction. Online students oral proficiency is catching up with the in-person students oral skills. course completion and language progress data. - Pilot the same setup in RUS 112 in spring Incorporate this task into the online RUS 112 in spring completion and language progress data. - If RUS 211 and 212 are offered online in the future, interactive exercises for those courses will also need to be moved to Canvas - Hire more Russian tutors in spring 2015 to allow for better coverage and more variety. collecting quantitative and qualitative data to determine other ways to increase completion - Collect data on the task completion and look into increasing the number of hours students are required to speak with each other. monitoring and collecting data on student language progress. - Monitor student progress and determine if more exercises need to be added to the homework load and if the test questions need to be revised. - Collect student feedback from Tutorial Services to learn details about their experience as well as identify effective tutors.

2 New oral and written response rubrics have been introduced in all online and in-person classes: RUS 111, RUS 112, and RUS 212 Piloted having two weekly deadlines, prerequisites and requirements in online RUS 112 To better assess student skills and language mastery. Some students used to study once a week, which slowed down their language acquisition. SPRING 2015 Students are less fearful to speak the language; they are less afraid to try saying new things. More students are completing all assignments this semester. - Assess the effectiveness of the new rubrics and determine whether any adjustments are necessary. completion and language progress data. - Determine whether the other assessment tools need to be revised. collecting quantitative and qualitative data to determine other ways to increase completion Incorporated peer conversation practice into online RUS 112 more opportunities to practice oral skills, develop fluency, and apply what they study. Expect students to be more comfortable and fluent speaking Russian. - Collect data on the task completion and its impact. - Look into increasing the number of hours students are required to speak with each other. Another half a dozen Russian tutor applicants have been interviewed and approved to work at Tutorial Services additional support and practice. Expect students to get good support and thus increase student completion - Collect student feedback from Tutorial Services. - Determine what kind of help students receive at the Tutorial Services and identify effective tutors. Incorporated two MyCSN/StudentLingo workshops into all online classes: Online Courses: Staying Motivated and Disciplined and Discover Your Learning Style To helps students learn how to manage their time and how to study more efficiently. Expect fewer F s and W s this semester. completion and language progress data. collecting quantitative and qualitative data to determine other ways to increase completion Since the adoption of a new textbook in spring 2014, I kept looking for ways to improve student language learning as well as retention and successful completion rates. For both RUS 111 and 112 (online and in-person) I ve moved the interactive exercises from the free, unmonitored Online Workbook that accompanies the textbook to Canvas because during previous semesters students knew that their scores were not being recorded and they were not getting a grade for it, so too many of them chose not to do the practice exercise at all in despite the fact that that hurt their chances of learning the language and earning a good grade. Now students are required to complete their homework exercises in Canvas for a grade and it is rare that someone chooses not to do them, so everyone gets plenty of practice. This has also allowed me to add lots of my own exercises that assist students in their learning of the language. I also piloted in fall 2014 and implemented in spring 2015 two weekly deadlines in all online courses (Wednesday and Sunday 11:59pm) to help students manage their time more efficiently; thus, increasing their chances of succeeding in the courses. Time management seems to be one of the biggest reasons (after financial aid, military assignments, and personal issues) for students

3 failing/dropping a course if they fall behind, they find it too difficult to catch up, so to help students avoid this problem, I ve also incorporated two MyCSN/StudentLingo workshops into all online classes this spring, requiring all students to complete them for a grade: Online Courses: Staying Motivated and Disciplined and Discover Your Learning Style. Another new feature in all Russian courses (in person and online) is prerequisites and requirements in order for students to unlock the current week s module they need to complete (at least view once) every single item in the previous module and they can only progress through a module in sequential order by viewing all the provided assignments in the order in which I d organized them. This eliminates any confusion and helps students navigate the course even easier, letting them complete all the required assignments after they have studied all the necessary information for them. Russian students now have multiple ways in which they can get support with their studies and lots of opportunities to practice the language. In addition to my help, now students can meet with Russian tutors (two were available in fall 2014 and four are employed right now) at Tutorial Services. Another improvement is that in addition to the required conference calls (classes taught in real time) offered every other week in all online courses, RUS 112 online students are now also required to record and submit four hours of peer conversation practice a semester. This, combined with the new requirement of recording a video (instead of an audio) for their weekly oral assignments, has already proved to be effective in improving students ability to communicate in Russian. The material taught in all four Russian courses has been redistributed to give RUS 111 students two weeks instead of one to work purely on the Russian alphabet (a significant number of students struggled during previous semesters to learn all the letters and later that interfered with their ability to read in Russian and slowed down their progress in class overall) and to allow for more conversation practice in all classes to help students develop better oral skills, as promised in the course descriptions: Emphasis is placed on speaking. Finally, after MOPI (Modified Oral Proficiency Interview) and IPA (Integrated Performance Assessment) training, rubrics for weekly written and oral responses have been updated to shift the focus from individual errors to student overall ability to communicate in the language. Among other good news, in fall 2014, two students graduated from the Russian program after completing all four Russian courses offered at CSN. One of them completed her Associate of Arts Degree with International Languages Emphasis (Russian) requirements and has transferred to UNLV this semester. Currently there are three students in RUS 212 who are finishing their fourth Russian course at CSN. One of them is working towards her Associate of Arts Degree with International Languages Emphasis (Russian). Two Russian students applied for a Critical Language Scholarship, which would allow them to spend two summer months in Russia studying Russian. One of them has already been informed that she hasn t been selected, but the other has been told that she has passed the first phase. She is waiting for the final decision. RUS 111 consistently fills up both online sections and one in-person section, and the online RUS 112 has had the biggest number of students this semester (15 vs 10 in previous semesters). Since Fall 2012, the Russian program hasn t had fewer than students, while the average number before that was

4 The old Writing Response Rubric: The new Written Response Rubric:

5 The old Oral Response Rubric:

6 The new Oral Response Rubric: ИМЯ: УСТНЫЙ ЭКЗАМЕН 1. Completion of task. Does the student complete the task assigned? In this case, does the student speak for the time specified, giving a reasonable amount of information with the learned vocabulary? (3 of 10 points) 3 Task completed in full. Speaker held the floor for the required time and gave the appropriate amount of information. 2 Task largely completed. Speaker may have missed one important point or not spoken for the required amount of time. 1 Task largely uncompleted. 0 Task uncompleted. 2. Grammatical/logical coherence. Is the presentation coherent logically and grammatically? Is the information understandable and does it flow logically? (3 of 10 points) 3 Coherent enough so that a native Russian unused to foreigners would have understood without difficulty. 2 Some difficulty in following the presentation. 1 Great difficulty in following the presentation. 0 Incomprehensible. 3. Pronunciation and stress. Does the speaker s pronunciation and stress pattern allow the listener to follow the presentation with ease? (2 of 10 points) 2 Understandable to native Russian unused to foreigners. 1 Understandable to Russian teacher. 0 Virtually incomprehensible

7 4. Fluency. Is the presentation delivered at a natural tempo? Does the speaker manage to avoid the appearance of mechanical memorization? (2 of 10 points) 2 Native listener would have found the delivery pleasing. 1 Native listener would have found the delivery halting or flat, but would have been willing to listen through to the end. 0 Native listener would have not wanted to follow the presentation to the end. ОЦЕНКА: /10