MSI Press Blog

      Available for download, article from JDLS 8: " Protocol-Based Formative Assessment: Evolution and Revolution at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center" (Andrew R. Corin and Sergey Entis) . Abstract: Protocol-based formative assessment (PBFA) can be a powerful tool for enhancing learning and diagnosing learning challenges. Yet there is an inherent tension between effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of PBFA. This can be addressed through a variety of strategies: “rationing” PBFA to instances of individual learning difficulties; applying PBFA to all students but in fewer instances; or by engineering greater efficiency into the protocol. Regardless of the strategy adopted, it is taken for granted that PBFA should be maximally integrated with instruction-based formative assessment (IBFA) as an integral component of day-to-day classroom instruction. This article articulates the dilemma as it developed at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Lang...

      Available for download, article from JDLS 8: " On the Cusp:  Zone of Proximal Development Tables to Guide Formative Assessment "  (Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, MSI Press LLC) Abstract: The chasm between the successive proficiency levels (ILR 1, 2, 3, 4/ACTFL Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Distinguished) is large. The Cusp Tables, developed with the support of the National Foreign Language Center, with input from large numbers of Level-4 language users and informed by proficiency testing instruments in use at the time, articulate proficiency elements believed to be most critical for passing from one level to the next. They suggest how to use this knowledge, along with formative assessment, to determine best next steps for individual learners based on their zones of proximal development (Vygotsky). The tables provided in this article for English, Russian, and Heritage Spanish can be used to guide the development of similar tables for other languages. Order HERE . ...