Since 2009, I have assigned my 6th students a final, summative project that allowed them to bring together the various grammar points and vocabulary acquired in that year. Throughout the years, I realized the challenges the students encountered in the areas of conducting the necessary research and their limitations of their language skills. In my discussions with my colleagues, we came to the conclusion that this project would be better served in the 8th grade curriculum.

I have taught Spanish at Burke’s since the winter of 2007. I worked on this summer grant with my colleagues in French and Mandarin: one day remotely and the other day in person. In our collaboration, we revamped and brought new purpose to this project. We moved it to a more appropriate grade level and reworked the scaffolding of its two large elements: the text and the creative medium. Our goal was to create resources and a viable timeline for the students. My big takeaways were two: the first is the joyful experience of working with department colleagues and second, the realization that long established projects are in need of frequent evaluation and revision. Every year I have at the forefront of my preparation the desire and intention of highlighting cultural topics in conjunction with building Spanish language skills; this is in direct connection with my yearly goals. I am always happy and enthusiastic about collaborative endeavors. I would wholeheartedly recommend to my colleagues the importance of collaboration with department and non department members. PD experiences have always provided me with renewed enthusiasm and the opportunity of using different lenses in this important work.

Anthony Sabedra