an By now you all know I love I Can Statements. Right now I am feeling motivated to try new ideas and expand on ideas I am already using in my classes so I can communicate goals to students. One topic of conversation I keep having with teachers is ASL I Can statements. There are great ideas about how to implement the can-do statements into an ASL class and a variety of ways teachers can use them with students. I am a big proficiency-based learning “preacher.” I think that sharing outcomes with students enhances their ability to communicate, broadens individual skills, and encourages growth in the language.
ACTFL
ACTFL’s Can-Do statements are a tool for students to self-assess their progress and learning. I use them as a checklist for ASL students to evaluate their progress in any given unit. The checklist allows students to show what they “can do” at various times during the unit using the different modes of communication. Interpretive (comprehension and understanding), Interpersonal (unrehearsed communication with others), and Presentational (rehearsed and practiced language use).
ASL I Can Statements serve the purpose of sharing learner outcomes and expectations with students. Also, they are a way for students to monitor their language development. I Can Statements also serve the purpose of helping teachers build and design curriculum. They can be used to evaluate students by using them as performance indicators.
ASL I Can Statements
Implementing the ASL I Can Statements takes little time to create (about 20 minutes a unit) and are teacher and student-friendly. Statements provide clear guidelines and descriptions to assess student learning. Here is an example of how I share the can-do statements with my students:
The statements show skills from interpersonal, presentational and interpretive capabilities specific to the unit (expressive, receptive, and comprehension).
- Thumbs up = I know this so well I can teach others
- Thumbs down = I don’t know this concept or how to do this task
- Thumb up and down = I can complete this task with some accuracy but I need more practice
I give this out as a handout at the start of a unit and allow students time to read through it. As the unit progresses, I will randomly say “take out your I Can Statements, turn to your partner and _______________ (insert a skill here).” Students will turn to a partner and perform the skill. Then they find the same skill on their document and rate themselves according to how they feel they did. We do this several times throughout the unit. At the end of the unit, students will self-evaluate while I am testing students on communication skills (interpersonal). They turn this in for credit. What I should see in the document is writing and changed ratings of self. Because at first if they don’t get it, then later they should have worked on the skill, improved and rated themselves differently. The end reflection would look this:
Reflection for the unit:
Quiz score: __________________ Quiz score: __________________
Test score: __________________ Presentation score: ____________
Write your reflection:
So I hope after reading this, you will try to implement and use the ACTFL Can-Do Statements with your students (that is if you don’t already). If you do use the statements, I hope you will find a new way to use them with students.
How do you use I Can Statements in your classroom?
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