The current "school improvement" atmosphere makes it difficult for one to believe that anything is more important to the process than standards. The standards movement developed out of a need to identify those things that a student should accomplish and/or learn in a given classroom during a year of school. Further, standards-based education requires that data be collected, analyzed and used to show the student's individual level of learning at the beginning and end of the course. It is no longer acceptable to state that learning has taken place; one must be able to prove that learning has taken place.

In 1983, A Nation at Risk was published and brought attention to the idea that the American education system needed to be reformed. Though some have questioned its conclusions, it is generally accepted that change was needed in the way that Americans addressed the learning process. Since the publication of A Nation at Risk, state and federal governments have taken great strides to exert control over education in this country. The Education and Secondary Education Act of 1994 and its 2001 update, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, are among the latest federal tools being used to shift control of schools away from local communities. As a result of these acts, schools across the country are facing annual testing of students and having their institutions rated based on student performance on those exams. Additionally, in states like Indiana, principals and others are being held responsible for the level of learning that is taking place in their buildings.

It is unsure how the move to standards-based education will finally effect American students. It is sure, however, those things are changing and that teachers must be part of and help lead that change. Teachers must address the way in which they deliver information, motivate students to learn and the assess levels of learning. In order to do so, teachers must be willing to become active learners, researchers and evaluators. Professional development is a vital component to school reform.

Further, teachers are being offered an opportunity through standards-based education systems to become better instructors. Recent developments in fields such as brain research have changed the ways in which learning is perceived. Teachers in a standards-based educational world should endeavor to understand that all children can learn when learning is approached in a manner that addresses individual learning styles and needs. In a successful standards-based environment, teachers also evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and use that knowledge to improve students’ learning by improving themselves.

The school improvement plan developed as part of Indiana's Public Law 221 process and the North Central Association's accreditation process has concluded that North Newton Jr./Sr. High School students need to improve their writing, critical thinking and problem solving skills. Recent events also indicate that students lack cultural understanding. They do not have the ability to look at the world and understand that even though others may do things differently, those differences are influenced by cultural beliefs, which are not wrong, just because they are different than the cultural beliefs of the student's society. Our students come from a rural suburban district that is almost entirely Caucasian. Newspapers around the world, Montel and Esquire have reported that our students at North Newton lack cultural understanding. We were named the "all-white school with a racial conflict." It is important that our students open their eyes to the differences in others and that they learn to accept those differences as part of a changing society.

Through careful evaluation of the methods I use in the classroom, the World Language Content Standards of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards, I have concluded that my students would increase learning levels through my improvement of specific content standards. In particular, NBTPS standards six (Multiple Paths to Learning), eight (Learning Environment), and eleven (Reflection as Professional Growth) and INTASC standards four (Instructional Strategies), five (Learning Environment) and nine (Reflection).

NBTPS standard six and INTASC standard four states that the teacher should employ a variety of methods in order to reach every student. Over the years of teaching, it is too easy to fall into a set way of doing things. Through the incorporation of NBTPS standard eleven and INTASC standard nine, I will increase student learning by the gathering of data on and evaluation of teaching methods. In this manner, the learning environment can be improved to address the learning styles and needs of individual students and to find the most effective means of delivering information.

NBTPS eight and INTASC principle five increase student learning by creating an environment in which students are active learners and in which they use the target language. The learning environment must also be caring, challenging and inclusive. Again, through the combination of these with the reflection standards, it will be possible to evaluate the ways in which changes in the environment effect student learning.

Through the implementation of an action research plan, I hope to increase student learning by improving the ways that I apply teaching content standards. The action research plan will focus on the improvement of my students’ abilities to use critical thinking skills and problem solving skills that are addressed in our school improvement plan. These skills will be used by the students to evaluate events from the perspective of the target culture society (Indiana Foreign Language Standards five and seven) and in the formation of personal opinions and reactions to cultural differences.

Action research requires that a baseline be established before an intervention is tried. This is done in order to prove that what has been tried did or did not cause students to learn. It is necessary to establish a baseline so that you have a point from which to measure. Any variation from the starting point is the resultant effect of the intervention. It is vital to the reliability and validity of the data that it be gathered and evaluated in the same manner both before and after the intervention has been put in place. Validity refers to the fact that the collected data actually measures the specific item being studied. Reliability is used in reference to the accuracy of the data collected. In order to validate and prove the reliability of results, it is necessary to gather a variety of overlapping redundant data. The gathered data is then triangulated in order to form a truer picture of changes in students' learning. Relying on any one form of data alone or more than others may change the reliability and validity of the study being done. After triangulating the data, it is necessary to reflect on and analyze the results of the action research plan.

The methods that I plan to use for triangulation of baseline data and post-intervention data are evaluation of journals, teacher observation in class discussions and student presentations. These methods should show that the students demonstrate a greater awareness and tolerance to other cultures; an increased ability to use critical thinking and problem solving skills in dealing with other cultures; and that they have increased their ability to view the world through others’ eyes.

The INTASC benchmarks that I have chosen to use to help ensure the success of my content growth plan are:

11. The teacher understands the cognitive processes associated with various

kinds of learning.

12. The teacher understands the principles and techniques, along with

4.2 The teacher understands multiple instructional strategies.

33. The teacher constantly monitors and adjusts strategies in response to learner feedback.

12. The teacher understands how social groups function and influence people,

22. The teacher is committed to reflection, assessment, and learning as an

31. The teacher uses classroom observation, information about students, and research as sources for evaluating the outcomes of teaching and learning and as a basis for experimenting with, reflection on, and revising practice.

1. Students association surveys surveys and journals will be used to help establish current student perspectives and they will serve as one baseline for triangulation of data
2. Use MIT Cultura concept to establish student perspectives
3. Research methods of improving student critical thinking and problem solving skills
4. Use "real-life" situations by having students research current events in French media and write journal entries
5. Use student journals as a tool for self-reflection. Determine if student perspective is changing
6. Establish an environment that facilitates student discussions that contrast and compare reactions to current events in French
7. Evaluate methods, make needed instructional changes and search for information on cultural differences to incorporate in continuing lesson
8. Encourage student discussion through the presentation of watch the film story of J'accuse
9. Incorporate different "paths" to learning by having students write and present skits demonstrating cultural tolerance and understanding
10. Evaluate methods and data to determine what changes in methods are needed
11. Continue unit

• October 2002

By linking my professional improvement goals with my student learning goals, I will be able to successfully implement the action plan portion of my content growth plan. The action steps that I have outlined will also allow me to address the school improvement plan goals. I will hold myself accountable for both the improvement of my teaching abilities and my students' learning. I will continue to do self- reflection and evaluation in order to make necessary changes to my content growth.