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==**Clear goals are imperative for both students and teachers; shared ownership will develop buy-in and commitment. Students should be given opportunities to choose how they are going to evidence that they met their goals. Classroom relationships rely on teacher voice and student voice being equal partners in the process. There needs to opportunity for meaningful student collaboration. Impact on future decisions: professional development to support teachers in the shift to student-centered learning. #2 Curriculum is a roadmap which provides proficiency-based learning targets. Performance-based learning makes us focus on the target and be conscious of student motivation which influences the materials to be used and how the teacher interfaces with the textbook. Professional development, PLCs and common assessments can guarantee a consistenly implemented curriculum. Performance-based learning influences curriculum by looping back, providing the data for improvement. #3 - Strategies need to be motivating and appropriate, but most importantly, they need to be aligned to the goals and the assessment. Students should communicate in a variety of ways - how cool to be able to Skype with students in another country. Strategies should include higher order thinking at all levels with differentiated means of responding. Differentiation is important, but it is a challenge for teachers. We understand because it is a challenge for us to differentiate for teachers according to their needs. We need to give teachers the freedom to take risks and try new strategies.**== ==**#4 Student and teacher collaboration is important. Teachers are no longer the sole purveyors of content and assessment. Self-assessment and Linguafolio are very necessary for learners. Students stay motivated when authentic assessment is not intimidating and serves a purpose. Students will answer on different levels, teachers can alter instruction. Use of realia and authentic conversation is produced by students, they are not memorizing dialogue, but creating real conversation. Teachers can assign motivating tasks such as creating a video greeting that you can post on You-Tube. Students can see their own growth and compare it to their own learning throughout the year/ class. It is no longer just about the student who is best at communicating, grammar, etc. Students look for real world opportunities to communicate. Presentational mode can be used by assigning a short film assignment and then have the rest of the class use the interpersonal mode by offering comments and asking questions in the target language. Open-ended assignments allow for more freedom with final product. Using a rubric allows for analysis with the opportunity to be creative on the part of the student. Using aligned proficiency levels allows for students to understand what level they are at and what the expectations/ standards are to reach another level. What about expectations that vary from school to school, district to district, etc.? Common benchmarks- within a district, well-written common assessments help teachers gage where their students are in language acquisition. Assessments need to demonstrate not just receptive skills, but productive skills as well. Different formats are needed for logistical reasons and for best practice. Ongoing observation, interview format, and other opportunities for presentational and interpersonal assessments are formative that help prepare for the summative assessments.**==