I typically keep track of my goals with tasks on Thunderbird, but I would also like to periodically update this page, in order to hold myself a bit more accountable. Given that the internet is public-facing and archived, however, this is by no means an exhaustive list, and some goals have been anonymized.
I’ve split the goals into the following three categories:
- Teaching
- Research & Writing
- Professional
The majority of my goals involve pushing the boundary with incorporating games and technology in the classroom. There’s also a heavy helping of Connectivism and Personal Learning Network curating. In brief: I plan to continue modifying my instruction to reflect antiracist practices, as well as the affordances of the current technology and the information age.
Teaching Goals
My overarching teaching goal is to get my students doing more meaningful creation, rather than rote memorization and test-taking. I like to leverage digital tools to empower students to produce and publish deliverables which evidence their competencies better than any exam ever could. Ideally, I think we can automate a lot of feedback for students performing rote activities, and assign that sort of work as optional. Previously, this has been done with question banks, but more AI tools have made it effortless to automatically generate these types of questions. Students can start with and reinforce the lower-order thinking skills if they need to, but we need to shift our in-class focus to the higher-order thinking skills, through flipping the classroom, providing automated digital feedback for things like memorization, and then guiding them through tasks which apply the skills and knowledge we’re supposed to be helping them acquire.
I’d love to shift away from the implicit treatment of the textbook as the final-word compendium on a given subject, and start treating knowledge more realistically: as emergent and connected. This involves connecting my students with external resources, and teaching them how to use them effectively. This can also encourage my students to engage with larger discourse communities, which directly addresses ACTFL’s elusive “5th C” (Communities).
- [X] Design and launch an open online course
- [X] Launch companion podcast for course
- [ ] Shift to portfolio-based grading for Intro French
- [ ] Run a global simulation / Reacting to the Past course for world languages students
- [ ] Incorporate Augmented Reality into a course
Research & Writing Goals
I have some writing deadlines looming on the horizon that I’ve made good headway on, but, just like any academic, I fall into the trap of waiting for Summer for the big chunks of time. For anyone looking to up their writing game, I recommend How to Write a Lot, by Paul J. Silvia, which offers very practical advice for avoiding such pitfalls. My short-term writing goals involve meeting these deadlines by leveraging the newly-open slots in my workday for more research and writing. Longer-term goals involve the curriculum projects I’m slowly working on.
- [ ] Pragmatics research in L2 Latin role-play
- [ ] Write a GS/RttP curriculum
- [ ] Pragmatics research in online-based role-play course (manuscript in preparation)
Professional Goals
In addition to the gargantuan reading list I’ve compiled, I’m working on the aforementioned intentional curation of my personal learning network. The individualist worldview inculcated in Americans from birth raised me with the false impression that learning is a solitary endeavor (and it’s not), so some of these goals below are my way of unlearning that ideology. One of the major benefits of the internet is the extended networking we can do to engage with a wider community of learners and experts; this is the future of education.
Profile & Identity
- Ongoing networking (Don’t be a stranger!)
- Maintain EduLingua website
Professional Development
- Ongoing Latin reading group
- Online conferences and workshops
- Check-ins with mentors and colleagues
Originally published 11 May, 2021. Last updated 5 June, 2023