1. Conscientious Objective Statements and Collaborative Teaching Methods
MSLU Teaching Trends Seminar
Katie Subra, English Language Fellow
Kieran Ficken, English Teaching Assistant
14 May 2014

2. I. Theoretical framework for co-teaching and creating conscientious objective statements II. Techniques for professional peer critiques III. Co-teaching: Best Practices A. Department Collaboration – setting trends B. Cross-departmental Collaboration – adaptation C. Supplemental Virtual Classrooms – MOOCs -Purpose, Adaptations, and Practice IV. Questions

3. How are Conscientious Objective Statements related to collaborative teaching? They are…
Active goals for your students: SWBAT Theory
Co-constructed benchmarks for teachers & students
Opportunities to pause & reflect on why you do the things you do in the classroom
A two-way street – We should set expectations for ourselves and our students. Our students should do the same for us.

4. Linguistic Scaffolds for Writing Effective Language Objectives
From Kate Kinsella, Ed.D (2011) handout:
Stems from the linguistic demands of a standards-based lesson task
Focuses on high-leverage language that will serve students in other contexts
Uses active verbs to name function/purposes for using language in a specific student task
Specifies target language necessary to complete the task
Emphasizes development of expressive language skills, speaking and writing, without neglecting listening and reading

5. Sample Language Objectives & Frames
Cont'd From Kate Kinsella, Ed.D (2011) handout:
Students will articulate main ideas and details using target vocabulary: topic, main idea, detail.
Students will describe a character's emotions using precise adjectives.
Students will revise a paragraph using correct present tense and conditional verbs.
Language Frames:
Students will (function: active verb phrase) using (language target OR
Students will use (language target) to (function: active verb phrase).
Ask participants to provide 1-2 examples. Give Kinsella handout.

6. Co-constructing Objectives Creates Buy-In (Intrinsic Motivation)
What do you want to teach your students?
How can you teach it given your skills & setting?
What do your students need to learn in order to apply their lessons to authentic tasks?
How much time do you have to accomplish these goals?

7. Teaching Objectives - Methods - Collaboration
Hoffmann Conseho courses ( Professional Management) provide the following techniques using Andragogy for adult learning:
Idea – Internalize a concept.
Simulate – Immediately apply it. 
Reflect – How did this help me?
Discuss – Why did it help?
See more at:

8. Collaborative Teaching Methods
Share Lesson Plans and Teaching Journals
Try Peer Mentoring or Coaching
Form a Teacher Support Group/Join a network
Participate in Workshops or Conferences (Virtual & Face-to-Face)
Complete Peer Critiques
Co-plan lessons and curriculum
Peer insight
Scaffolding across classrooms and departments
Co-Teach (with or without a lead teacher role)
Ask participants to share their personal experiences.

9. Professional Peer Critique Process
After reflecting on your own practices, write down a few questions you have about your own classroom manner and techniques.
Ex: Does the teacher engage with all students? How?
Give these questions to your peer and have them sit in on one of your class periods to observe you while taking notes.
Meet with your peer to discuss their insights. Be open to constructive criticism.
Return the favor.
Survey your students for further reflection.

10. Reading Course Feedback Sample Instructions: Please finish each sentence below. Explain your sentences and be honest. You will not be graded on your answers and you do not need to write your name. I will be using your responses to evaluate my teaching. 1) What I like about Katie’s teaching is… 2) What I don’t like about Katie’s teaching is… 3) The feedback that Katie gives me on my writing is… 4) I wish that Katie would… more often. 5) I wish that Katie would… less often. 6) As a result of this course, my reading vocabulary has improved: Not at all Very Little Somewhat A lot 7) As a result of this course, my reading speed has improved: Not at all Very Little Somewhat A lot (…)

11. Co-Teaching Take the opportunity to become a mentor
Ask for mentorship and collaboration (even if you are an experienced teacher)
Co-publish & co-present
Participate in online teaching communities
Ex. American English Series: Shaping the Way We Teach ; University of Oregon
Use MOOCs to supplement class materials (self-study, extra credit, integrating into your course, add-on to the course)

12. Why use MOOCs as a Classroom Platform?

13. Sharing the Work Planning the lessons Following online discussions
Responding to student posts
Giving individualized feedback
Preparing face-to-face facilitated workshops
Facilitated by professional peer collaboration (co-teaching)
Fostering peer collaboration (peer review)

14. Example Lesson – Applying Course Materials
Thesis Statement Lesson Plan:
Online instruction from the MOOC – theory
Online assessment – selecting thesis statements
Facilitated workshop Objective: Students will be able to select strong thesis statements and practice writing them for sample writing selections as well as their own projects (essays)
How would you adapt this lesson?
Sharing the work

15. Mentorship and Feedback
What objective is being obtained through Mentorship and other collaborative efforts?
What does peer feedback do? What does it look like?
Kieran describes her experiences with mentorship & feedback during the MOOC and other course experiences in general

16. Resources
Andragogy by Malcolm Knowles Coursera EdX Kinsella, K. & Singer T.W. (2011). "Linguistic Scaffolds for Writing Effective Language Objectives." Murray, A. (2010). "Empowering Teachers through Professional Development." Forum Website: elfbelarus.wordpress.com