When doing "new" work or when teaching differently, it is important to have your weapons ready. I was caught with my tongue tied and my Affective Filter high when meeting with my supervisor.
There was one important discovery made: my method was compared to a "whole language" approach that apparently did not work in English Language Arts. I've heard of this method only briefly but TPRS or TCI is should not be tainted by shoddy pedagogy.
TPRS and TCI is based on second language acquisition research in particular by Stephen Krashen, Asher and is now advocated by VanPatten.
What does this mean to someone like me who is going through California's BTSA program?
It means proving a point to the degree that shouldn't be necessary. This is because language programs are NOT designed according to the way humans learn language. Have your SLA/TPRS/TCI literature printed and ready to hand to your supervisor. Be prepared to perform for your evaluations and observations.
Yet, it also means choosing your battles.
My purpose with this blog is to document how a California teacher going through BTSA can be successful teaching with Comprhensible Input and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency though Reading and Storytelling).
This means having to look at California Standards, using a text book as a resource, and a designing "units". For all of this, it also elicits questions on choosing standards, when and why to use a text book and what is an effective "unit". We have to test the parameters to make them work for us.
This is the challenge that I have set before me. To not only survive but to thrive and swim in the philosophy of TCI/TPRS. I need to remind myself, "defend the fundamentals".
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