Taking Responsibility

“…learning is the responsibility of the learner…”

Harapnuik, Thibodeaux, & Cummings, 2018, p. 43

Indeed, it is the student’s responsibility to learn! However, as Harapnuik, Thibodeaux, and Cummings also point out in Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning, it is the educator’s job to create a learning environment that encourages learning (Harapnuik, Thibodeaux, & Cummings, 2018, p. 43).

As I reflect upon the C.S.L.E+C.O.V.A. approach, I am challenged to find a way of incorporating it into my own high school classes. As a French teacher, I am aware of the real-world applications for my content area. Students may find that they can use their language skills in the business, pharmaceutical, engineering, or diplomacy fields, just to mention a few. How do I create significant learning environments to help my students see the potential for what they are learning? In French IV and AP French Language and Culture, it is relatively easy to make C.S.L.E.+C.O.V.A. a daily part of coursework. However, it has been a difficult to create a significant learning environment and give students choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning experiences in my beginning level courses. I have been successful incorporating C.O.V.A into cultural projects, but I have felt somewhat limited in the choice, ownership, and voice opportunities that I can provide where language skills are concerned. Who is going to choose to learn the agreement of past participles? How do I make it authentic? I hope that my world language colleagues and I will develop ideas to address this challenge as we continue to collaborate on improve learner experience.

Reference

Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning.