Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Aligning Goals, Objectives, And Assessments: A Multiliteracies Perspective, Kate Paesani, Heather Willis Allen

Kate Paesani

In this session, we show how goals, objectives, and assessments in introductory foreign language (FL) programs can be articulated to reflect principles of the multiliteracies framework. Using the backward design model, we consider how to create instructional goals that reflect linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural dimensions of literacy and how to align objectives with principles of interpretation, collaboration, problem solving, and reflection. We further argue that to effectively measure objectives, assessments should view language and literacy broadly, be multidimensional, and link clearly to teaching and learning. This literacy-based approach thus represents a shift away from the emphasis on acquisition of language …