Setting Higher Expectations

Creating Successful Transitions from High School to College Language

Programs

Dygo Tosa, Department of Classicsdygo@utexas.edu

My Teaching Experience

• Graduate Student at UT– Teaching Assistant for 5 different lecture-style courses in Classics– Assistant Instructor for LAT 506 and 507 (1st and 2nd semester Latin)

• Student Teaching through UTeach Liberal Arts– Taught lessons at Windermere Elementary (Pflugerville ISD), Small

Middle School (Austin ISD), and Westlake High School (Eanes ISD)– Full-time student teacher Fall 2012 at Westlake High School focusing

on Latin II and III– Certified for AP Latin through AP Summer Institute (2012)

• Current Lecturer at UT– LAT 507 and 601C (Intensive accelerated Latin)

• Future Latin teacher at Vista Ridge High School (Leander ISD)!

In this talk…

1. How are students being prepared in high school today, especially with the CollegeBoard AP exams?

2. What are trends in secondary education that college instructors can learn from?

3. How can we set higher expectations in order for students to successfully transition from high school to college language programs?

AP exams and high school: what are they and how do they affect language instructors at UT?

Advanced Placement or AP Exams

• Administered by CollegeBoard.• Scored as 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1, where 5 is the

highest/most qualified.• Multiple sections (Multiple choice, essays,

translations).• Can be used to obtain college course credit.

AP Classes in High School

• Generally for languages, 4th year of instruction ~ “AP level”.

• Some schools have a “pre-AP” 3rd year as pre-req.• Schools offer “AP” grade point multipliers for difficulty.• Teachers must be certified and submit a syllabus of

their AP level course to CollegeBoard.• Some schools have “stacked” classes where 3rd and 4th

year students are in the same classroom.• Taking the AP exam is not a requirement to complete

an AP level course.

Credit Awarded by UT for AP scores

• Center for Teaching & Learning Website:• http://ctl.utexas.edu/programs-and-services/s

tudent-testing-services/search-for-exams-by-subject-area/#14

• For example, for AP Latin:

Score Range Courses

5 LAT 506, 507, 311, 312K

4 LAT 506, 507, 311

When students get a 4 or 5 on the AP:

• Self-selected group of motivated students who have taken a structured, challenging class in high school.

• Most have taken a language for at least 3 years.

• Demonstrated achievement and possess strong language and translation skills.

Students taking language courses in high school:

• Have had a primary focus on language and cultural content; in spoken languages, emphasis on communication.

• In Latin, students spend majority of time on translation in their 4th year.

• Major shift across all languages to themes and essential questions on the AP:– Describe larger relationships between individuals,

customs, and identities.– Making comparisons within and between cultures.

AP: Themes and Essential Questions

• For Latin:– Literary Genre and Style– Roman Values– War and Empire– Leadership– Views of Non-Romans– History and Memory– Human Beings and the Gods

Source: College Board http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/AP_LatinCED_Effective_Fall_2012_lkd.pdf

The goal of learning a foreign language is to be able to understand an author in his or her own

words.

A college language course ought to make students better critical thinkers.

AP exams and high school: what are they and how do they affect language instructors at UT?

• AP exams are introducing students to large amounts of content material.

• At the college level, we should be asking our students to defend their interpretations based on evidence.

• Provide opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate critical thinking skills beyond just reading comprehension.

What are trends in secondary education that college instructors can learn from?

What are some of the challenges high school teachers face today?

• Increased class sizes and number of classes taught.

• Less class time due to mandated standardized testing.

Group and peer driven exercises, collaborative learning.

Making the most out of class time through active learning.

Setting daily expectations

• High school teachers are assigning less homework, due to large class sizes and competition for students’ time.

• But they do develop meaningful daily routines for language instruction.

College instructors need to make their expectations clear and provide incentives that lead to participation.

Provide opportunities for all students to participate together.

How do we set higher expectations in order for students to successfully transition from high

school to college language programs?

Become more aware of our students’ needs

Vertical Alignment– Each level, year, or semester of a language program

needs to have clearly articulated objectives for students’ knowledge of content and skills.

– Teachers and instructors often are not aware of what students will need at the next level, especially if they do not teach at that level.

– Every level has its own challenges and teachers ought to work as a team to develop solutions together.

Set our own expectations higher for our students

• Recognize that students can succeed in all kinds of different and surprising forms of instruction and assessment.

• Some of the most effective lessons are those in which you try something new.

• Enthusiasm, especially for languages, is contagious!

Look beyond college level programs

• What will a student do with four semesters of college level Latin?

• Will they be better readers and writers after this course?

• What do we want to teach them, and just as relevant, what will they actually remember?

Stories stick, facts fade

In Conclusion

• Bring active and collaborative learning to college language classrooms.

• We can create successful transitions by setting clear, higher expectations for ourselves and our students.

• We must have awareness of what each level requires in order to succeed at the level we teach.

Gratias vobis ago!

That’s “Thank you!” in Latin!

Dygo Tosa, dygo@utexas.edu