ASU CI and ADE “Can-Do Statement” Workshop

By Guan Ping

ASU Confucius Institute (ASU CI) and Arizona Department of Education (ADE) co-hosted a workshop “What Can you Do with the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statement” for Arizona world language educators and lead teachers in K-12 Chinese education at ADE on September 22, 2018.

Dr. Deborah Robinson shared the theoretical framework and research that support the NCSSFL Can-Do Statement. Through group discussions, participants learned how to align students’ expectations with resources, where to start to build student autonomy and growth mindset, what to do to ensure common linguistic and cultural expectations and the key steps to develop assessments and rubrics to evaluate the progress. Participants explored the strategies of moving students up on the Can-Do’s ladder and helping learners to personalize their learning goals to move from one proficiency sublevel to the next.

The workshop session was intriguing, practical and inspiring, which was well received. Administrators and teachers reflected upon the importance of using Can-Do Statements as progress indicators for language learners. The more learners are engaged in their own learning process, the more intrinsically motived they become.

Dr. Robinson, an assistant professor at the Ohio State University (OSU), has had extensive experience in developing pre-service and international teachers. After OSU, she served 11 years as World Languages Consultant at the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). Dr. Robinson is a past president of the National Council of State Supervisors for Language (NCSSFL) and she received the honor of 2010 State Supervisor of the Year by the NCSSFL. In past years, she had worked closely with Hanban and College Board and taken key a role in Chinese language teacher recruitment and training.

The workshop was a successful trial of collaboration between ASU CI and ADE. The next workshop is in the plan for Spring 2019.