Project
Background
In 2016/17, six school boards in Ontario collaborated to apply teacher moderation to a variety of written FSL samples from different grades and programs. The goal of this project was to develop a common understanding of student proficiency levels in writing in order to increase coherence across classrooms and schools in the province. With a focus on assessment for learning, these projects offer an excellent opportunity to reinforce the purpose of improving learning and helping students to become independent learners.
In 2017/18, six new school boards volunteered to engage in a similar project; however this time focussing on oral communication samples. Ontario teachers and students produced and moderated over 500 samples to arrive at the final examples. These projects represent the first efforts to combine the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum for FSL with descriptors of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels.
Connection to the French as a Second Language Ontario curriculum
The writing and oral tasks proposed in the project allow students to demonstrate their writing and speaking abilities linked with the programs in Ontario: French as a Second Language: Core French Grade 4-8, Extended French Grades 4-8 and French Immersion Grade 1-8 (2013) and French as a Second Language: Core French, Extended French, and French Immersion (2014). Each of the tasks, learning goals and success criteria are based on overall and specific expectations developed from the curriculum and are noted in the guide for each project.
We would like to thank the following individuals for their important contribution to this project:
- Annick Brewster, Principal, Superior-Greenstone District School Board
- Dominique Bertrand, Principal, Upper Canada District School Board
Works Cited
Harmonisation des travaux d’élèves en français langue seconde. September 2017.
Harmonisation des travaux d’élèves en français langue seconde, Phase 2. August 2019.
Principals as Co-learners: Supporting the Promise of Collaborative Inquiry, Capacity Building Series. Ministry of Education, August 2014.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_PrincipalsCoLearners.pdf
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Council of Europe, 2001.
From Awareness to Action Issue 2: The Common European Framework of Reference and its role in second-language teaching and learning. June 2014.
https://transformingfsl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FSL_document_01_CEFR_WEB_VERSION.pdf
Exploring the CEFR. September 2013.
https://transformingfsl.ca/en/resources/exploring-the-cefr/
Intentional Interruptions. Katz and Dack, Corwin, 2013.
In conversation: Know Thy Impact: Teaching, Learning and Leading. Spring 2013.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/leadership/spring2013.pdf