Featured image of article: Hodgdon Attends “Deutsche Woche” (German Week)

Hodgdon Attends “Deutsche Woche” (German Week)

At the beginning of August, ConVal’s Cindi Hodgdon took advantage of a professional development opportunity and participated in “Deutsche Woche,” a week-long immersion conference for teachers of German from around the nation. Hodgdon was a discussion leader on the topic of “Backward Design and Integrated Performance Assessments in a Standards-Based German Curriculum.”

The topics that are being discussed at Deutsche Woche are always geared towards immediate classroom use, such as:

  • creating effective integrated performance assessments (IPAs) for interpretive, interpersonal and presentational communicative tasks;
  • discussing the role that technology can play in standards-based teaching and assessment; and
  • analyzing existing curricula in German instructional programs in schools K-16.

In addition to Frau Hodgdon, veterans of the German program at ConVal will also recognize former ConVal German teacher Herr Colin Ashby in the photographs.

“Deutsche Woche” is organized every year by the Maine Chapter of American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) and is held on the campus of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME. In addition to the intensive work devoted to developing strategies for the learning and appreciation of German language and culture, there are also a few opportunities to engage in unstructured activities, such as exploring Acadia National Park and kayaking.