[etni] Fw: re: levels

----- Original Message ----- From: Nira Artzy - arnira@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [etni] Fw: re: levels

Dear Jennifer,
I'd like to comment on project work. I agree that many teachers don't know how to deal with projects. However, even those who took all the NBA courses offered in the last 4 years (like my colleagues and I), are very skeptical about the benefits of doing projects.

We began working on projects 4 years ago (grades 10-12). At first, it was supposed to be a research question and it took many lessons to explain that, find a question, work in the computer lab to find sources, teach computer skills and summarizing, check the drafts, etc. We did it willingly, because we thought it was worthwhile and interesting. I was lucky enough to begin it with a 5 points class, which probably made it a bit easier for me.

However, we found that these activities were suitable only for the strongest, most motivated students. The rest found the work too difficult, boring and frustrating. The research requirement had been dropped, eventually, and we've tried to make the instructions as simple as possible and give a lot of help, but the results are still the same:

1. Students surf the net in the computer lab to find chats, games and/or porn. When you have more than 30 students in the lab and you have to sit with some and explain, it's impossible to prevent such "fun" activities.
2. Students use "cut and paste" instead of summarizing, no matter how many times they have been found out.
3. Pair work: there is usually one who works while the other is a "free rider", doing nothing but adding his/her name to the products.
4. Absence: students don't think the project is as important as exams or claim they can work on their own at home, so they are often absent from computer lab lessons.
5. Many find the whole thing above their heads and simply give up, not even bothering to hand in anything. They get a lower end-of-year grade, but the grade is raised, inevitably, before they sit for their Bagrut exam. That's because the pressure on teachers preparing for Bagrut is so great, that none will dare give a low final grade just because a student hasn't handed in a project. It might lower the student's Bagrut grade and the teacher will be accountable to the principal.

After trying for 4 years I've reached the conclusion that project work could be great in an ideal education system, where the lab groups are very small, quite homogeneous and controllable, photocopying is not strictly limited, students can only enter suitable Internet sites and are willing to work hard to get a good grade without resorting to cheating. Knowing the Israeli education system, that's realistic (?) in very few schools.

We still devote some time to projects (mainly giving instructions and working with students individually when they need help), but we've limited the number of computer lab lessons and we do let students work mostly at home. Plagiarism is very frequent and whenever I find it, I cancel the grade. Frankly, the students don't even care...

As for testing grammar - according to the NBA, coordinators are supposed to monitor exams and allow grammar testing only in quizzes. The exams are supposed to include only Bagrut type items.

Nira



Jennifer wrote:
Several teachers have responded to my posting about levels, usually telling 
me/the list how they deal with the problems I mentioned.  As I think I said
in my posting, and if not I will say it now, most of the people on this list
are much more aware of the requirements of teaching English than are many
others out there in the field.  It is these teachers who are in desparate
need of guidance.  So many approach me asking what material is appropriate
for such and such a grade.  They are confused by the new curriculum, and
need concrete guidlines as to what tests for each grade should look like. I
know that this is made more complicated by the 'wizz kids' - those who seem
to have sucked in English with their mother's milk.

As to grammar, students arrive saying that the test includes, say, present
simple/ present progressive.  I immediately ask for how many points.  Many
students are not told.  If it is 10 points, I will devote a short time to
it, and tell them to rather lose the 10 points than spend 2 lessons going
over it!!.  But often it is as much as 40 points, or the students don't know
how many points have been alloted.  I hate having to do this kind of work
with them.

Let me reiterate that I do think that grammar is important, but that it
shuold be approached with the utmost caution. Someone who creates marvelous
and meaningful excercises is Ronald Green.  And I always check to see if
they know the vocabulary of an excercise, too.

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