On April 25th 2016 I gave a workshop to the Saitama City ALTs at the Municipal Institute of Education. This was the first ALT workshop of the 2016-2017 school year.
The ideal Program
The ideal Global Studies program is a unit of lessons (in junior high school) in which Global Studies Teachers and ALTs instruct students and give them the opportunity to develop the ability to perform a communicative function or task. For example, introducing a famous landmark within the city to a foreigner. Over the course of the program the ALT, textbook, and other resources are used strategically to meet the goals of the program. The program also includes both formative and summative assessments for each of the four areas of assessment including a performance assessment.
Understanding Change
Over the last year I had given a series workshops to ALTs in order to prepare them for the implementation of Global Studies. A majority of those trainings was focused on developing an understanding of the program as it is intended to be taught. This workshop now focused on helping schools transition to the ideal, with full recognition that such changes would take time and be met with a number of challenges. Through multiple workshops I have continuously asked teachers to understand that school change would bring the following:
- Feelings of challenge to one’s competency
- Confusion
- Conflict
- Feelings of loss
Transitional tasks for ALTs
In order to guard against these and lessen the impact of negative affects of school change, ALTs can play a vital role in junior high schools. First they need to understand that change in curriculum must also be accompanied by change in teachers and students. These changes are strongest and most productive when they happen internally for each individual. Therefore, one of the most important roles ALTs can play is that of ambassador for the program. The following is a list of ways in which ALTs can do this.
- Study the curriculum
- Modify the programs
- Support the teachers
- Support the students