Evaluating and improving language programs

Three teachers of Indonesian meet to evaluate an assessment task that they have attempted to adapt from a previous unit of work. The assessment task has been reused within a new unit on ‘friendship’ which has as its underpinning, the development of intercultural understanding. The teacher, who is a curriculum leader at the school as well as a classroom teacher, wants to ensure that the task enables students to achieve anticipated linguistic and intercultural outcomes.

This illustration captures footage of the team of teachers at Macarthur Anglican School, Cobbitty, NSW, as they undertake a collaborative evaluation of a completed unit of work for Year 8 Indonesian. The teachers are able to draw upon feedback from students and student assessment data to effectively evaluate the task’s effectiveness for teaching and learning. In evaluating the task, they informally discuss a range of criteria. When analysing the data, the teacher is able to identify aspects such as student engagement and enjoyment, and distinguish between intercultural knowledge and understanding.