Observations: •Journaling encouraged my L2 students to apply their French in full-sentence contexts, which contributed to their ability to fluidly and confidently integrate French vocabulary into their oral expression.

•I was better able to diagnose and assess my students’ level of comprehension after asking them to re-teach me concepts in their Journal d’Apprentissage.

•Cognitive Journaling is a key strategy for creating a learner-centred environment.

•I was able to assess their French without needing to wait until I could assign a project.

•There are key pieces of information about my students (for example, in regards to their learning styles, their home life, their confidence in the classroom, or lack thereof) that I never would have otherwise discovered.

•The journals allowed for direct, personalized feedback between teacher and student.

•My students appreciated learning about my own memories of being in highschool, as well as discovering how I learn because it allowed them to relate to me while feeling like it’s okay to be different.

Key Tactics: •encouraged educated guessing and risk-taking in the classroom. Qui pense qu’il sait la réponse? Lève la main!

•asked students to re-explain concepts out-loud so as to model differentiated thinking to the whole class.

•openly discussed the multiple intelligences.•practiced open questioning involving classroom polls: “Raise your hand if you think everyone’s brain works differently. Can you give me some examples how your brain works best?”

•allowed and encouraged students to reflect on my teaching. What do you like about how Mme Jarvis teaches? What could she do better?

•developed a comprehensive rubric that commented not only on language use, but also foregrounded the importance of forward & backwards-thinking, critical judgements of classroom material, depth of thought and overall expressiveness.

METACOGNITION IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOM

LA RÉCHERCHE ACTION

Secondary Core French, Immersion, English Language Arts

C: (604) 862-2045 E: mme.jarvis@gmail.comW: http://www.bit.ly/MmeJarvis

NICOLE JARVIS EDUC 405: NOVEMBER 29TH, 2011PFP MODULE

Works Consulted

Draft Curriculum. BC Ministry of Education. 2011.

Les Stratégies d’Apprentissage:àÉtablir des buts personnels réglés dans des capacités linguistiques et surveiller leurs progrès

Connexions aux RAP, à l’approche expérientielle - communicativeà“encourager l’élève à planifier, à échanger, à faire des choix, à faire preuve d’initiative, bref à être responsable de son propre apprentissage.”

“Teach Metacognition Skills to Build Executive Functioning Skills.” BitsofWisdomforAll.com. 14 Nov. 2011. http://bitsofwisdomforall.com/2011/03/10/teach-metacognition-skills-to-build-executive-functioning-skills/

LTS:metacognition. Prof Stephen Heppell. 12 Nov. 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OsQ7ENMquM&feature=related

Introduction to metacognitive strategies. Rodrigo Bedoya. 12 Nov 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrupmtzrZyk&feature=related

“Cognitive Strategies” Instructional Strategies for Engaging Learners. Guilford County Schools TF, 2002. 15 Nov. 2011. http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/strategies/cognitive.htm.

2-3 80-minute blocks per week

CORE FRENCH 8! BLOCKS C, F Students wrote in a “Journal d’Apprentissage” which was marked on a rubric for depth of reasoning, communication and French usage. •I encouraged them to go back and edit older journal entries with different-coloured pens, which foregrounded their progress and achievements.•The journals provided an ideal platform for pair-sharing while also supporting the teacher-student relationship. •The journals encouraged risk-taking and honesty in the classroom, especially enabling less confident learners to express their uncertainties on a private level. I was better able to differentiate & help them.•Students used checklist project criteria sheets, auto-evaluation sheets and checklist unit study guides with “can-do” statements.FRANÇAIS LANGUE 8 ! BLOCK H

Students discussed and debated issues relevant to their age group. They also explored learning strategies

and group dynamics before applying self-assessment. Example: Rédactions dans leur journal intitulés. . .

“La Nouvelle Enseignantes,”

“Comment gérer un débat / La méthodologie de l’argumentation,”

“Mes stratégies d’apprentissage.”

CORE FRENCH 11 BLOCK A

Students were assigned notes, to be taken outside of school time from the source of their choice.

COMM 12 BLOCK E

Communications students engaged in a meta-cognitive Process-Writing intensive unit which involved brainstorming, drafting, revision, self and peer evaluation, and reflection.

Topic: How can I help my students... •become more critically-minded and confident learners? •retain more information? •better synthesize and process information? •become responsible for their own learning? •give me useful feedback on how to improve?

Hypothesis: Meta-cognition is a useful tool for effective classroom teaching. Reflective journaling is an effective means of incorporating meta-cognition into my lessons.

Method: Cognitive Journaling, paired with open classroom discussion and questioning.

RESEARCH GROUPS

Fact: 80 % of my 46 L2 students voted that I should continue using learning journals in my classroom.

Gen

erat

ed b

y C

amSc

anne

r

My students’ journals

reminded me to constantly

seek to improve my

practice as their teacher.

-Grade 8 Core French Student Burnsview Secondary, Delta

Daily Practices: Open conversations, rewards for educated and ambitious guessing, key phrases such as “strain your brain!” , “do what feels right,” “what do you think?” “Qui a compris? Lève la main”, “Thumbs up / thumbs down to show Mme how you comprendre,” “Pourquoi would Mme Jarvis do this with you?”