Building Partnerships between High Schools and Colleges
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A Project of the Maryland-Nova-DC Chapter of the AATG
Our working group took its impetus from the Spring 2002 AATG Newsletter, in which the Executive Council reported on their new strategic plan and identified nine issues of critical importance to the AATG and the German teaching profession.
Among these nine issues, Articulation and Communication was listed with the stated goals:
1) improve and support articulation between levels and institutions over the entire career of students studying German; and
2) improve and support communication among AATG members who instruct German language, literature and culture at the various levels and institutions.
As members of our local chapter of AATG, the MD/NOVA/DC chapter, we discussed the lack of engagement between high school and college professionals. We observed a disconnect reflected in part in the types of activities our organization sponsored, the goals of the local organization and the participation levels in sponsored events or lack thereof among high school vs. college teachers. We decided to seize upon the call for local action and formed a “Working Group on ‘Articulation’ and communication” and to sponsor a session at NECTFL to help us structure our efforts as well as to have a forum for exchange.
In May of 2002 our working group was launched. It immediately became apparent that the topic of ‘articulation’ was a diffuse one with contradictory and unclear definitions as well as attainable goals. The mere fact that within our group the use of the word “articulation” became an important issue is reflective of the broad understanding of what ‘articulation’ can mean.
What is Articulation?
“the continuity of learning, the linkage of curriculum (goals, content, instruction, and assessment) within and across educational levels” (Lange)
“the smooth and efficient transition from one level of language study to the next.” (Lally)
“well motivated and well designed sequencing and coordination of instruction toward certain goals” (Byrnes)
“Vertical articulation requires continuous and open communication with teachers at all levels”(Wilson)
It is heartening to note that much is being written, discussed and studied in the area of articulation. Colleagues such as Heidi Brynes provide theoretical and practical guidelines for curricular articulation, others are reporting on questionnaire studies which attempt to provide an empirically based framework around the myriad perceptions and issues at the two levels. The issues are not new but they are receiving renewed attention based on the realities of US foreign language education today.
Nonetheless, we felt it was important first to bring professionals in the German teaching profession in the area together simply to begin listening to each other, to identify the different perspectives at high school and college, to gain insight into the vastly different cultures and curriculum goals at the two levels. To this end, Maureen drafted a document which she will share with you to identify the main differences as she encounters them in her own experience as both a high school teacher and professor at the community college. Our group is not focused specifically on curricular reform within a program, but rather on communication. Our shift is reflected in the fact that our group calls itself “Building Bridges”
We have a long way to go to achieve our long-term goal of creating a sustained mechanism for communication and partnerships between local high schools and colleges in our area. Today, we will outline our modest accomplishments so far, our plans for the future and sources of ideas from other projects. Finally, we invite your thoughts, insights and previous experiences.
Early discussions helped us identify 3 areas of concern to teachers:
1) Maintaining student interest in language study so that they continue both in high school and then into college.
2) Identifying and disseminating information on language placement policies
3) Identifying curricular overlaps in high school offerings and college intermediate courses.
Results:
1) Maintaining student interest. The recent AATG report on a nationwide survey highlights the need for continuity and length of study across many years for students to be successful. However, there are many reasons why students continue and why they do not. We have excerpted this table from the report to show that one of the main factors is having the sense of accomplishment and making progress.
Our chapter purchased the CLEAR Video Foreign Languages: Doors to Opportunity to make available to our members for parent meetings and to show in the classroom to help students understand the need for many years of contact with the language for success.
2) Information on College Credit Policies.
The question of College Credit for high school work is an issue of persistent concern and importance for high school teachers as well as students & parents. The impact of this is often barely considered by university departments beyond the stated policy of credit allowance.
We contacted 17 universities and colleges in the area and created an overview of the placement policies as well as the credit policies for the AP and IB exams. A simple compilation of this kind of information had not been done previously and although a straight-forward matter, we feel that it is immensely helpful in creating better communication among our high schools and universities. This information can be accessed from our local website.
Basically, we found that 13/17 universities have placement tests upon arrival, that 16/17 institutions accept AP and/or IB toward fulfilling language requirements but that each institution did have different criteria based on score achieved and how many credits would be awarded. Since the AP exam commands a certain high profile among high school teachers, students as well as parents, we feel that this information is vital to have. The issue of retroactive credit independent of AP testing was raised. This type of work is outside of the purview of our group, but it is one of the suggestions that I feel can be listed on the website as well.
See the information about college placement: