Designing a Proficiency-Oriented Russian Curriculum

This webinar will address the issues of planning proficincy-oriented curriculum for collegel-level Russian programs. Dr. Martin will provide an overview of backward design principles for effective planning at all stages: unit, course, year, and program. We will then discuss how to set reasonable learning goals, how to align these goals with assessment at each level of instruction, and how to coordinate learning outcomes across the curriculum (from beginning to intermediate to advanced). The speaker will also share her strategies and best practices for helping students achieve proficiency targets and maintain motivation for learning.

The webinar is led by Dr. Cynthia Martin (PhD in Slavic languages and literatures, University of Pennsylvania), an associate professor of Russian at the University of Maryland, College Park. Martin’s scholarly interests include second language acquisition and assessment (theory and practice), as well as contemporary Russian culture and art. She is the author of numerous publications and translations, including an intermediate-level Russian textbook, Russian Stage II: Welcome Back! (ACTR/Kendall Hunt, 2001, 2010). She is an active ACTFL OPI certified tester and trainer and is currently involved in a number of national assessment initiatives for academia as well as commercial and government sectors.