INDIANA PROGRAM REVIEW
World Languages
Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne
Document # 1
A. UNIT SUMMARY
Program Description
The mission of the Department of International Language and Culture Studies encompasses
teaching, research/creative endeavor, and service. The department aims to provide students with
linguistic and critical thinking skills as well as cultural knowledge that will enable them to
understand and appreciate the uniqueness of other language groups and prepare them to function
in other language settings. The department embraces a broad understanding of
scholarship/creative endeavor, consistent with Boyer's view that knowledge is created through
research, through synthesis, through practice, and through teaching (1990, p. 24). All of the
department's faculty will contribute to knowledge in one or more of these areas. The
department's faculty will contribute to the effective functioning of the campus through
participation in faculty governance and through leadership on behalf of language and culture
studies. The department's faculty will contribute to the community and to the profession through
service that draws on their expertise in the discipline and/or the classroom.
The department is committed to enabling students to become proficient speakers of the
language(s) they study and sensitive to cultural differences. Rigorous study of literary and nonliterary texts, including film and other media, is the basis for achieving these goals. Students
who complete a four-semester language requirement (or equivalent) will have a basic functional
knowledge and a solid basis for further study in the language. Majors will acquire a broad
foundation in language, literature, and culture in preparation for graduate studies or for a career
where proficiency in a foreign language and international perspectives are important assets.
After completing the first four semesters of a language, students should demonstrate speaking
proficiency at the survival level as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages. Majors are expected to achieve the intermediate-high level in speaking and to
demonstrate the ability to recognize and analyze grammatical and usage errors in their own and
others' writing. Students will develop increased understanding of what it means to belong to a
culture, awareness of how culture affects other interconnected issues of identity such as gender,
race, class, ethnicity and religion, and how these categories intersect and overlap, the ability to
think critically about these issues and how they shape intercultural communication.
Candidates who complete the first four semesters of a language will learn to examine
stereotypes and to respond in culturally appropriate ways in everyday situations in the target
culture. Candidates will be prepared to participate in an educated non-specialist discourse
regarding the history, geography, social institutions, politics, literary and other artistic traditions
as well as popular culture of the language group(s) they study. Candidates who focus on a
Spanish teaching major complete 53 credits in the content area, 45 general credits, and 34
credits of professional teacher education courses. Candidates who focus on a French teaching
major complete 46 credits in the content area, 45 general credits, and 34 credits of professional
teacher education courses. Candidates who focus on a German teaching major complete 44
credits in the content area, 45 general credits, and 34 credits of professional teacher education
courses.
IPFW School of Education Conceptual Framework
In support of our School of Education Conceptual Framework, the World Languages
Teacher Education Program in the Department of Educational Studies emphasizes the
interrelated aspect of each of the six core components within its curriculum and program
delivery. While individual courses may focus on some aspects of the framework more than
others, we are confident that our courses and programs as a whole, embrace this central core of
teacher training and development. Due to the current national testing and assessment
movement, content Knowledge is critical for effective educators to comprehend. Educators
need to understand how knowledge is constructed, how the processes of inquiry are applied,
how domains of knowledge are established, how disciplines can be integrated, and how this
information can effectively be communicated to students. Understanding content knowledge is
critical however, it cannot be viewed in isolation from the other five components. Democracy
and Community is the second key component that we encourage in the Department of
Educational Studies. Educators need an understanding of the moral, cultural, social, political,
and economic foundations of our community and society in order to foster democratic concepts
within the school community. Effective educators understand that knowledge alone is not
sufficient. Within the third component, Habits of Mind, our students practice critical reflection
within the context of a compassionate, caring community with the goal of fostering these habits
to engage learners in the critical aspects of the learning process. Without an understanding of
Pedagogy, our students would not understand the multiple roles of the teaching such as
facilitator, guide, role model, scholar, and motivator. Without an understanding of pedagogy,
educators would not understand the diverse perspectives of learning and understanding and the
social circumstances that they and their students bring to the educational setting. Without rich
Experiences both in and out of the traditional classroom, candidate skills would lie dormant and
unrefined. The last component, Leadership, provides our candidates the educational and social
vision necessary to inspire others, both students and colleagues, to accept the educational
challenges of the twenty-first century.
The Unit Assessment System
The Unit Assessment System (UAS) in the School of Education at Indiana University –
Purdue University at Fort Wayne was created in response to a professional responsibility to
ensure that our programs are of the highest quality. This dynamic assessment system is
continually evaluated to insure that 1) instruction and curriculum are aligned with professional,
state, and institutional standards (e.g., the Conceptual Framework and Mission Statement); 2)
courses, field experiences, and programs are efficient; and 3) content knowledge and the
demonstration of teaching that leads to a student teaching experience that reflects the attainment
of core concepts.
A key component of the UAS within the World Languages Teaching Program is the
systematic review of the on-going teacher candidate portfolio. This portfolio is introduced in
our Invitation to Teaching course (F300) and students are provided a copy of the Guidelines for
Preparing a Portfolio that they continually refer to as they progress through our program.
Instruction in the World Languages Teaching Program professional course sequence is a faculty
team effort. Professional Teacher Education courses are currently offered in two clusters with a
culminating experience of 16 weeks of a student teaching experience. Faculty teaching in these
block courses normally meet at the beginning and end of each semester to discuss levels of
organization and changes that need to address emerging issues and improvement of the
program. Portfolio checkpoints are located at four distinct locations within the program: F300,
at the conclusion of Blocks I, II, and at the exit portfolio during the student teaching semester.
At each portfolio checkpoint, candidates are provided feedback to allow them to continually
build and revise their portfolios up to their student teaching experience. The World Languages
Teaching Program Program engages in a continuous review process and the School of
Education Unit Assessment Taskforce receives data from the unit assessment system on an
annual basis for review.
The School of Education Assessment System
A candidate record or file is established for all applicants to the School of Education teacher
education programs. This school-wide assessment system is structured around several data
gathering components. All candidates are assessed at several benchmark points 1) admission to
teacher education with minimum grades in specific course, minimum completion hours,
minimum grade point average, and passing scores on the Praxis I exam, 2) retention in teacher
education based on minimum grade point average, 3) eligibility to student teach, 4) eligibility to
graduate and/or complete requirements for licensure (including passing scores on the Praxis II
exam), 5) completion of a successful student teaching experience, and 6) the completion of a
passing exit portfolio discussed above.
Teacher Education Courses
Below is a list of teacher education courses required of all World Languages Teacher
Education candidates. Required content specific pedagogy courses are located in Document # 2.
See the following link for campus course descriptions.
http://bulletin.ipfw.edu/content.php?catoid=1&navoid=5
EDUA F300
EDUC H340
EDUC K201
EDUC K206
EDUC M101
EDUC M201
EDUC M445
EDUC M470
EDUC M480
EDUC M501
EDUC P250
EDUC P253
EDUC W200
EDUC X401
Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the
INTASC Standards.
Program Field Experiences Chart
Course #/Title or
Program
Requirement
M101 (with W200)
Purpose of Field
Experience
M201 (with P250)
Supervised field
experience during
which candidates
apply knowledge
gained in the college
classroom.
Facilitate the use of
technology hardware
and software with
children.
Number of Required
Hours in P-12
Classroom
3
30
Candidate Required
Tasks
Plan, implement, and
reflect on using
technology (internet
activities and software)
with children.
Use observational data
to experience and
address the candidates’
understanding of the
physical, social, and
intellectual
environments of
M201 (with P253)
Supervised field
experience during
which candidates
apply knowledge
gained in the college
classroom.
30
M401 (with M445)
Supervised field
experience during
which candidates
apply knowledge
gained in the college
classroom.
30
M470 (ms practicum)
Demonstrate the
knowledge, skills,
and dispositions of a
beginning teacher as
outlined by the
INTASC Standards.
6 weeks FT
M480 (student teach)
Demonstrate the
knowledge, skills,
and dispositions of a
beginning teacher as
outlined by the
INTASC Standards.
10 weeks FT
secondary classrooms.
Demonstrate evidence
of applying INTASC
standards as well as all
information gained in
coursework.
Use observational data
to experience and
address the candidates’
understanding of the
physical, social, and
intellectual
environments of
secondary classrooms.
Demonstrate evidence
of applying INTASC
standards as well as all
information gained in
coursework.
Plan and implement
content experiences;
perform formal and
informal assessments;
other tasks as assigned
by Cooperating Teacher.
Demonstrate evidence
of applying INTASC
standards as well as all
information gained in
coursework.
Candidates engage fully
in the planning,
implementing, assessing
(e.g., student learning),
and evaluating of the
effectiveness of their
teaching. Demonstrate
evidence of applying
INTASC standards as
well as all information
gained in coursework.
Candidates engage fully
in the planning,
implementing, assessing
(e.g., student learning),
and evaluating of the
effectiveness of their
teaching. Demonstrate
evidence of applying
INTASC standards as
well as all information
gained in coursework.