Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned...
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Transcript of Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned...
![Page 1: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Leonardo projectEnglish
Progress Report 16th April 2012
![Page 2: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
What has been achieved since the last meeting
• Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness)
• Level 4: Planned, assigned to developers and partly completed
• Level 5: 20 units completed, 20 in planning
• Trained a team of 10 developers, with 3 more starting this month
• Feedback from 20 pilot units incorporated into level 3
![Page 3: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Challenges that have arisen• Many existing units did not have a coherent skills theme.
• Grammar and vocabulary was not being tested and recycled throughout whole unit.
• The material in each level does not cover an adequate range of business skills.
• Material content and style of presentation is not sufficiently engaging for learners
• Language is not suitably graded for the level.
• Developers and uploaders don’t stick to deadlines!
![Page 4: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Challenges we have overcome
• Unit cohesion addressed (skills theme and grammar)
• Quality, style and presentation of material improved.
• Strong team of developers
• The team of developers was constantly reviewed, and new developers sought (some are still in training)
![Page 5: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Unit cohesion• Existing activities were assessed on an individual basis, and any usable activities were re-arranged by skills theme.
• Clear instructions were then given to developers for the content for each activity where a new activity had to be written.
• Each unit theme was given a skills tag. New units were developed to cover skills which had been inadequately covered.
• Developers were instructed to use the grammar and vocabulary throughout the unit. Where existing activities are used, these are modified to include the target language of the unit.
• This also made group speaking classes much easier to write for the units, as the grammar and vocabulary could be more easily practices as was ready-themed.
![Page 6: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Example of old ISUS units
![Page 7: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Example of new ISUS units
![Page 8: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Quality, style and presentation of material
We overcame this challenge by giving Instructions to developers to make material of a more consistent quality and more engaging:
• Guidelines for what each type of activity should and could include were updated.
• Developers were asked add introductions to each activity explaining the relevance to the learner of the material.
• Developers were asked to write in less ‘dry’ language ('chattier' style).
• Developers were asked to add self-study tips, in particular to the vocabulary and listening activities.
• The use of photos and images has been encouraged, e.g. as discussion starters in speaking activities, or as the basis of self-study exercises.
![Page 9: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Example of new ISUS activity
![Page 10: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Example of new ISUS activity
![Page 11: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Which challenges are left to deal with?
• Unit theme: Due to work flow issues, it was not always possible to know the unit theme before e.g. the grammar activities were completed
• The language used in the learning objectives and activities titles needs to be standardised and agreed upon.
• Terminology used in the grammar activities needs to be agreed by everyone (grammar wiki)
• Developers need to be made more aware of the importance of deadlines
![Page 12: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
What’s next: looking ahead
• Getting feedback on level 3 units and incorporating this into levels 4 and 5
• Making suggested modifications to level 3 units, proofing them and having them signed off
•Planning levels 6 and 7
![Page 13: Progress Report 16th April 2012. Level 3: Completed (except the 3 units which had to be reassigned due to developer illness) Level 4: Planned, assigned.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062401/5a4d1b1b7f8b9ab059993797/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Summary• Significant improvement in quality in terms of skills and language theme throughout unit and a more engaging style.
• Clear improvement in range of skills covered at levels 3 and 4.
• Need to plan ahead further in order that the unit themes be decided before any work needs to be done on the grammar activities.