Rachel Broudy has over 10 years of experience as an English teacher in DC Public Schools. She currently teaches AP English Literature and Composition at McKinley Technology High School. She has a dual Bachelor's degree in Literature and Secondary Education from American University. Ms. Broudy has received several awards for her highly effective teaching and has taken on leadership roles such as English Department Chair and curriculum writer for DCPS.
Assessment is a critical part of teaching and learning so it is important to help students engage with it and see the wider benefits (Boud, Elton, Shohamy). The Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) at the University of Leeds redesigned its model of assessment for modules at CEBFR B1-B2: this was partly in response to the need for ‘less assessment done better’ but also to design the assessment in such a way that it enables students to evidence their linguistic skills and intercultural awareness and the academic skills developed on a credit-bearing language module. We introduced a group speaking task in Semester 1. By encouraging students to use digital media for the assessment, they can add a link to the task to their CV and their digital profile, thus evidencing their skills and abilities for a prospective employer. This presentation demonstrates the outcomes of the new model of assessment and how it underlines to students the added value of taking a language module in enhancing their employability.
The Modern Language Centre at King’s College London offers an ongoing internal Professional Development (CPD) Training Programme for its language teachers across different languages and addressing different career stages. The Programme comprises pedagogical training focused on exposing teachers to new approaches and methodologies in SLA, as well as training on intercultural competence and specific professional skills. The MLC staff is broadly multi-skilled and equipped to face the challenges and opportunities deriving from working and adjusting to a highly differentiate and international student population, presenting specific needs and frameworks.
The Training Programme is organized in different overarching themes, including: working with international students and differentiating pedagogical practice; setting courses and class activities around authentic cultural resources; feedback and assessment. Among those, ‘the international classroom’ has been the focus of a consistent training path, through various departmental events. The international classroom project aims to raise awareness and pedagogical expertise in approaching and teaching a multicultural student body and acting as a cultural mediator.
As well as raising the professional profile and expertise of individual teachers, the ongoing Training Programme aims to create an inclusive and collaborative staff community. A number of workshops offered are indeed staff-led, in order to foster sharing of good practice, peersupport among professionals and enhance reflectivity. Others events involve experts from other departments and external speakers. The variety of learning opportunities contributes to shape a strong professional community where individual members feel positively challenged and empowered. The Training Programme is also a key departmental strategy to comply with the requirements of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), offering MLC teachers an opportunity for further professional accreditation.
Assessment is a critical part of teaching and learning so it is important to help students engage with it and see the wider benefits (Boud, Elton, Shohamy). The Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) at the University of Leeds redesigned its model of assessment for modules at CEBFR B1-B2: this was partly in response to the need for ‘less assessment done better’ but also to design the assessment in such a way that it enables students to evidence their linguistic skills and intercultural awareness and the academic skills developed on a credit-bearing language module. We introduced a group speaking task in Semester 1. By encouraging students to use digital media for the assessment, they can add a link to the task to their CV and their digital profile, thus evidencing their skills and abilities for a prospective employer. This presentation demonstrates the outcomes of the new model of assessment and how it underlines to students the added value of taking a language module in enhancing their employability.
The Modern Language Centre at King’s College London offers an ongoing internal Professional Development (CPD) Training Programme for its language teachers across different languages and addressing different career stages. The Programme comprises pedagogical training focused on exposing teachers to new approaches and methodologies in SLA, as well as training on intercultural competence and specific professional skills. The MLC staff is broadly multi-skilled and equipped to face the challenges and opportunities deriving from working and adjusting to a highly differentiate and international student population, presenting specific needs and frameworks.
The Training Programme is organized in different overarching themes, including: working with international students and differentiating pedagogical practice; setting courses and class activities around authentic cultural resources; feedback and assessment. Among those, ‘the international classroom’ has been the focus of a consistent training path, through various departmental events. The international classroom project aims to raise awareness and pedagogical expertise in approaching and teaching a multicultural student body and acting as a cultural mediator.
As well as raising the professional profile and expertise of individual teachers, the ongoing Training Programme aims to create an inclusive and collaborative staff community. A number of workshops offered are indeed staff-led, in order to foster sharing of good practice, peersupport among professionals and enhance reflectivity. Others events involve experts from other departments and external speakers. The variety of learning opportunities contributes to shape a strong professional community where individual members feel positively challenged and empowered. The Training Programme is also a key departmental strategy to comply with the requirements of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), offering MLC teachers an opportunity for further professional accreditation.
CCRS, ELs, and the Changing Roel of the ESL EducatorJohn Segota
The development of College- and Career-Ready Standards (CCRS) presents a new educational paradigm in the United States. However, many questions remain about the impact upon English learners (ELs) and English as a Second Language (ESL) educators. This presentation highlights the work of TESOL International Association in exploring this issue, and examines the changing role of ESL educators in this new era that presents opportunities for ESL and bilingual specialists. Presentation from the 2016 International Literacy Association Conference.
Common Core, ELLs, and the Changing Role of ESL EducatorsJohn Segota
The development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) presents a new educational paradigm in United States education policy. However, many questions remain about the impact upon English learners. Moreover, ESL educators have too often not been at the table in regards to CCSS implementation. This presentation will examine the changing role of ESL educators in this new era, and discuss how the CCSS presents opportunities for ESL-trained specialists. - Presentation at the 2015 NCTE annual conference.
Advancing Teacher Leadership Through Advocacy - Ohio TESOL 2015John Segota
All educators play a critical role in improving the lives of their students, however this is especially true for educators in the TESOL field. Advocacy is at the core of being a TESOL educator, but what is the best way to be an effective advocate for students and programs? This presentation will discuss how TESOL educators can answer the call for advocacy, and identify ways that educators can shape the policies that impact their programs, their jobs, and their students’ lives.
Highlights from the ESL STEM Success Grant, Year 3 (2013-2014)kristinlems
Enjoy this powerpoint highlighting activities performed in Year 3 of our ESL STEM Success Grant at National Louis University, a national professional development grant of the Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Dept. of Education. Professors Kristin Lems and Jason Stegemoller co-direct the grant.
Technology is in all walks of our lives and young people are often defined as the web-generation. It has now become a challenge to embed technology into the modern teaching and learning of foreign language classrooms and harness students’ enthusiasm in ICT.
Research has indicated that technology benefits those who use it as a pedagogical vehicle of productive tasks. (Michael Evans, 2009)
My project embraces this challenge and enhances students’ learning by using digital tools to develop student independence. It encourages them to become creators of their own learning by setting out their own website to present a topic of their choice related to a cultural aspect of Italy. They need to research and present the topic using the project guidelines. They are encouraged to engage with all four language skills to communicate and are invited to share their work with others to benefit from feedback and learn from each other.
This task based project allows students to cover a number of topics specifically tailored to their ability and interest. Moreover, it works well alongside the aims and the learning outcomes of the module. The “real life” situation, proposed in the project, motivates students to use the language for a purpose and promotes other skills such as: team work, peer learning, time management, organisation and digital communication. These skills bode well for the students as they are the basic requirements that employers look for when recruiting.
The scope of the project has a multicultural and multidisciplinary application. It can be adopted and adapted by any subject area and be considered as an alternative interactive form of assessment which by its nature would be important to the student employability.
Among the many challenges of language teaching in Higher Education there are the constraints imposed by the Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education (FQHE). This requires that students – regardless of their linguistic abilities - use higher order cognitive skills and learn independently. With limited contact hours available in an IWLP setting there is a great tension between delivery and practice.
How can this tension be eased? Can beginner students use higher order cognitive skills in the language classroom? As we develop transferrable skills is there still room left for creativity?
This presentation will explore such questions by analysing the principles of the flipped classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Lockwood, 2014) and Enquiry Based Learning (Kahn&O’Rourke, 2004) and how they have been applied to a beginner Italian module. It will examine the challenges in introducing aspects of these methodologies including how students react when invited to be increasingly responsible for their own learning and how the relationship with the teacher is affected. The use of some online resources and collaborative spaces will also be considered.
It is possible for librarians and content area teachers to make connections and find common ground when writing and delivering curriculum.
Presented to IU 8 (webinar)
Findings from the research project Horizon on "Student-centered learning approaches in teaching and engineering education - characteristics and challenges" (in English)
The growing recognition within current educational literature that student engagement and motivation are essential to successful learning (Coates, 2006; Zepke and Leach, 2010) supports a student-centred approach to Teaching and Learning. Cognitive and more particularly constructivist views of student learning suggest that learners’ active and independent/ interdependent involvement in their own learning increases motivation to learn (Raya and Lamb, 2008; Hoidn and Kärkkäinen, 2014) and develops their autonomy (Benson, 2011). Furthermore, the ability to influence one’s own learning has been associated with improved academic performance (Andrade and Valtcheva, 2009; Ramsden, 2003). The shift to a more student-centred curriculum and the need to align assessment with Learning and Teaching practices (Biggs, 2003) has prompted the development of new approaches to assessment in all sectors of education, including higher education. Assessment for and as learning approaches recognise the role of assessment as a vehicle for learning as well as a means of measuring achievement (Gardner, 2012; Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick, 2006). The active use of assessment in learning necessitates engagement both within and outside the classroom.
This paper will examine the use of assessment for and as learning as a means of fostering learner engagement both in and out of the classroom, based on the qualitative analysis of undergraduate students' learning logs as well as peer individual and group feedback. It will conclude with a consideration of the assessment design principles associated with this approach, and its contribution to the development of learner autonomy and engagement.
Oral Presentation Tasks: Making use of the Trojan horsePeter Levrai
This presentation looked at the benefits of using oral presentation tasks and what the expectations should be of academically sound presentations. It then discussed different activities and strategies that could be used to exploit presentation tasks to their fullest.
CCRS, ELs, and the Changing Roel of the ESL EducatorJohn Segota
The development of College- and Career-Ready Standards (CCRS) presents a new educational paradigm in the United States. However, many questions remain about the impact upon English learners (ELs) and English as a Second Language (ESL) educators. This presentation highlights the work of TESOL International Association in exploring this issue, and examines the changing role of ESL educators in this new era that presents opportunities for ESL and bilingual specialists. Presentation from the 2016 International Literacy Association Conference.
Common Core, ELLs, and the Changing Role of ESL EducatorsJohn Segota
The development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) presents a new educational paradigm in United States education policy. However, many questions remain about the impact upon English learners. Moreover, ESL educators have too often not been at the table in regards to CCSS implementation. This presentation will examine the changing role of ESL educators in this new era, and discuss how the CCSS presents opportunities for ESL-trained specialists. - Presentation at the 2015 NCTE annual conference.
Advancing Teacher Leadership Through Advocacy - Ohio TESOL 2015John Segota
All educators play a critical role in improving the lives of their students, however this is especially true for educators in the TESOL field. Advocacy is at the core of being a TESOL educator, but what is the best way to be an effective advocate for students and programs? This presentation will discuss how TESOL educators can answer the call for advocacy, and identify ways that educators can shape the policies that impact their programs, their jobs, and their students’ lives.
Highlights from the ESL STEM Success Grant, Year 3 (2013-2014)kristinlems
Enjoy this powerpoint highlighting activities performed in Year 3 of our ESL STEM Success Grant at National Louis University, a national professional development grant of the Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Dept. of Education. Professors Kristin Lems and Jason Stegemoller co-direct the grant.
Technology is in all walks of our lives and young people are often defined as the web-generation. It has now become a challenge to embed technology into the modern teaching and learning of foreign language classrooms and harness students’ enthusiasm in ICT.
Research has indicated that technology benefits those who use it as a pedagogical vehicle of productive tasks. (Michael Evans, 2009)
My project embraces this challenge and enhances students’ learning by using digital tools to develop student independence. It encourages them to become creators of their own learning by setting out their own website to present a topic of their choice related to a cultural aspect of Italy. They need to research and present the topic using the project guidelines. They are encouraged to engage with all four language skills to communicate and are invited to share their work with others to benefit from feedback and learn from each other.
This task based project allows students to cover a number of topics specifically tailored to their ability and interest. Moreover, it works well alongside the aims and the learning outcomes of the module. The “real life” situation, proposed in the project, motivates students to use the language for a purpose and promotes other skills such as: team work, peer learning, time management, organisation and digital communication. These skills bode well for the students as they are the basic requirements that employers look for when recruiting.
The scope of the project has a multicultural and multidisciplinary application. It can be adopted and adapted by any subject area and be considered as an alternative interactive form of assessment which by its nature would be important to the student employability.
Among the many challenges of language teaching in Higher Education there are the constraints imposed by the Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education (FQHE). This requires that students – regardless of their linguistic abilities - use higher order cognitive skills and learn independently. With limited contact hours available in an IWLP setting there is a great tension between delivery and practice.
How can this tension be eased? Can beginner students use higher order cognitive skills in the language classroom? As we develop transferrable skills is there still room left for creativity?
This presentation will explore such questions by analysing the principles of the flipped classroom (Bergmann & Sams, 2012; Lockwood, 2014) and Enquiry Based Learning (Kahn&O’Rourke, 2004) and how they have been applied to a beginner Italian module. It will examine the challenges in introducing aspects of these methodologies including how students react when invited to be increasingly responsible for their own learning and how the relationship with the teacher is affected. The use of some online resources and collaborative spaces will also be considered.
It is possible for librarians and content area teachers to make connections and find common ground when writing and delivering curriculum.
Presented to IU 8 (webinar)
Findings from the research project Horizon on "Student-centered learning approaches in teaching and engineering education - characteristics and challenges" (in English)
The growing recognition within current educational literature that student engagement and motivation are essential to successful learning (Coates, 2006; Zepke and Leach, 2010) supports a student-centred approach to Teaching and Learning. Cognitive and more particularly constructivist views of student learning suggest that learners’ active and independent/ interdependent involvement in their own learning increases motivation to learn (Raya and Lamb, 2008; Hoidn and Kärkkäinen, 2014) and develops their autonomy (Benson, 2011). Furthermore, the ability to influence one’s own learning has been associated with improved academic performance (Andrade and Valtcheva, 2009; Ramsden, 2003). The shift to a more student-centred curriculum and the need to align assessment with Learning and Teaching practices (Biggs, 2003) has prompted the development of new approaches to assessment in all sectors of education, including higher education. Assessment for and as learning approaches recognise the role of assessment as a vehicle for learning as well as a means of measuring achievement (Gardner, 2012; Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick, 2006). The active use of assessment in learning necessitates engagement both within and outside the classroom.
This paper will examine the use of assessment for and as learning as a means of fostering learner engagement both in and out of the classroom, based on the qualitative analysis of undergraduate students' learning logs as well as peer individual and group feedback. It will conclude with a consideration of the assessment design principles associated with this approach, and its contribution to the development of learner autonomy and engagement.
Oral Presentation Tasks: Making use of the Trojan horsePeter Levrai
This presentation looked at the benefits of using oral presentation tasks and what the expectations should be of academically sound presentations. It then discussed different activities and strategies that could be used to exploit presentation tasks to their fullest.
Professional Learning Communities and Collaboration as a Vehicle to School Transformation - presented by Partners in School Innovation and Alum Rock Union Elementary School District at the California Department of Education Title 1 Conference in March 2014.
1. Rachel Broudy
941 Randolph St. NW| Washington, DC 20011
Phone (610) 675-7505 | E-mail Rachel.Broudy@dc.gov
EDUCATION
Dual Bachelor of Arts | American University | May 2007
• Literature and Secondary Education (grades 6-12)
• Secondary English Education Certification
EXPERIENCE
English Teacher: AP English Literature and Composition | DC Public Schools - McKinley Technology High
School
Washington, DC | August 2012 - present
• Design rigorous, common core aligned, college level preparatory classes in AP Literature using College Board standards;
Invest students in college preparedness and readiness utilizing Socratic and Paideia seminars and higher level questioning
techniques
• Invest students to make significant achievement gains; improve AP passing rate from 5%-10% SY 2012-2014
• Develop school wide AP Literature syllabus used for backwards mapping for all English teachers at
MTHS
• Collaborate with all English teachers and History teachers for effective vertical alignment of skills
English I, English II, English II Honors and English IV 2007-2011
• Design unit and lesson plans aligned with Common Core standards for English I, English II, English II
honors, and English IV; emphasis on close reading strategies and Understanding By Design
• Demonstrate effectiveness; move class proficiency rate from 72% in 2009 to 88% in 2010 DC CAS
• Collaborate through PLC’s to move student achievement significantly; from 46% to 90% mastery in 5
years resulting in DCPS Blue Ribbon School
• Utilize ongoing informal and formal observation assessments in order to measure effectiveness of
instructional strategies
• Utilize online learning applications such as Engrade to engage students with content and close digital
divide; emphasize technology infused within curriculum and assessment
• Responsible for backwards mapping of assessments and aligned curriculum and differentiating lessons to
meet the needs of students
DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
English Department Chair | McKinley Technology | May 2013 – present
• Facilitate Department Meetings that center on analyzing student work and data, instructional strategies
and best practices. Lead collaborative efforts on expanding literacy throughout the school through
Summer Reading Initiatives and interdisciplinary projects. Conduct informal observations of peer English
teachers and provide feedback and support to fellow teachers. Implemented a portfolio assessment
initiative within my department to analyze student growth and increase rigor and student engagement in
their learning process. Serve on Academic Leadership Team, supporting teachers and coaching colleagues in using data to
inform instruction.
One World Education 12th Grade Curriculum Writing | One World Education | June 2014-June 2015
• Construct an argumentative writing unit for 12th grade English centered around common core state
standards. Facilitate Professional development around implementing the curriculum to DCPS 12th grade
2. ELA teachers and participate in reviews of the curriculum for revision. Collaborate with a team on the
implementation and construction of the curriculum along with lesson plans that target common core
initiatives for argumentative writing in 12th grade in preparation for student panel presentation.
Poetry Team Sponsor | McKinley Technology | August 2012 – present
• Coordinate poetry writing workshops with students from grades 9-12 that center on global and community
issues with emphasis on using literary devices in self expression. Act as liason with Split This Rock
Foundation and Louder Than a Bomb to bring spoken word poetry to the competitive Slam world.
Curriculum Writer and Reviser | DC Public Schools | February 2011- May 2012
• Collaborated with teachers and Master Educators from throughout the district to select rigorous texts for
curricular units for tenth grade English, including recommended supplemental texts, differentiated lessons
demonstrating best practices, writing based assessments, connections to global issues and suggested
instructional strategies with exemplars.
Teacher Selector Ambassador | DC Public Schools | January 2010 – June 2010
• Play an integral role in the teacher selection process for DCPS by interviewing teaching candidates,
participating in professional development that focuses on interview skills, rubric interpretation, and scoring,
as well as, serving on an interview panel, responding to candidates’ questions, and scoring candidates’ sample
lessons using the IMPACT rubric.
Teaching and Learning Framework Fellow | DC Public Schools | August 2009 – June 2010
• Facilitated and collaborated with a team of teachers across the city to create toolkits including sample
lessons, assessments, supplemental materials and differentiation techniques to aid other teachers in DC Public
Schools
STEM PLC Member and Teacher | McKinley Technology | April 2009 – 2011
• Collaborated with STEM teachers to design a new school within a school and created a new pedagogy
model for STEM with new structured behavorial and academic intervention programs for students
• Wrote the Humanities Curriculum for History teachers using project based learning
Class Sponsor | McKinley Technology | August 2009 – June 2011
• Fundraised over $20,000 for the senior class through various fundraisers over three years. Planned senior
events such as Prom, Senior Night, The Class Trip, Senior Awards Ceremony and Senior Class Ring
Ceremony.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
• One World Global Educator Award for 2015
• Honored as “Highly Effective” educator SY 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015
• Achieve placement on the Expert LIFT scale
TRAININGS AND COURSES
• AVID Conference | Atlanta, Georgia |Summer 2008
• AP Literature Training Summer 2012, 2013, and 2014
• Graduate Courses in Education Leadership, Adolescent Psychology and Curriculum Development |
Augustana University | Summer 2012 and 2013
3. REFERENCES
Dr. Louise Jones | Principle | Louise.Jones@dc.gov
David Pinder | Former Principal | David.Pinder@dc.gov
Shira Fishman | Colleague | Shira.Fishman@dc.gov
Desiree Raught | Colleague | Desiree.Raught@dc.gov