The Golden Combination

1
The Golden Combination Language-Immersion with
Internationally-focused and Inquiry-based
Curriculum Framework -- Bonnie Liao, Ph.D.
(??) Lead Founder Board Chair Princeton
International Academy Charter School www.piacs.or
g -- Principal, YingHua Language
Schoolwww.yinghua.org -- Head of School,
YingHua International Schoolwww.yhis.org
2
Princeton International Academy
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• What is the Mission?
• To nurture and enable young people to acquire
  dual language fluency in Mandarin Chinese and
  English within the International Baccalaureate
  curriculum framework.
• To inspire and challenges its students to excel
  as inquisitive and compassionate young leaders
  through a rigorous, inquiry-based education
  program that fosters
• gt Academic, college-access, and career
  development
• gt Ethical, emotional, linguistic, and
  social/cultural development
• gt Physical development

3
Who are the founders?
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org
A diverse group of parents, teachers and
administrators with a common belief We can and
must prepare our children to enter a global
economy with new challenges and opportunities in
the 21st Century. Read the founders
statements of interest at www.piacs.org
4
PIACS Curriculum How do we get there?
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Two Unique Features of the PIACS Curriculum
• Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
• International Baccalaureate Program

5
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org
Academic Objectives English Language Arts

• 85 of PIACS students will score Proficient or
  Advanced on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills
  and Knowledge (NJASK) Language Arts Literacy
  tests for every grade level that the tests are
  administered to PIACS students.
• Researches show that immersion students may
  initially lag behind their counterparts in a
  monolingual setting on measures of English
  language proficiency. Longitudinal studies show
  that not only do immersion students catch up, but
  they also often surpass their monolingual peers
  both academically and linguistically. The nature
  of Mandarin Chinese also contributes to the
  initial lag of performance in English language
  arts literacy Chinese is a tonal language with a
  logographic writing system, which is vastly
  different from a language such as English that is
  based on the Latin alphabet.
• Source DoE Approved PIACS Charter, Part 1 Sec 2
  (available at www.piacs.org)

6
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org
Academic Objectives Mathematics

• 95 of PIACS students will score Proficient or
  Advanced on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills
  and Knowledge (NJASK) Mathematics tests for every
  grade level that the tests are administered to
  PIACS students.
• PIACS will employ the most successful methods of
  teaching mathematics, such as Singapore Math, to
  ensure that students achieve the highest possible
  international standards, while meeting and
  exceeding state standards .

Source DoE Approved PIACS Charter, Part 1 Sec 2
(available at www.piacs.org)
7
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org
Academic Objectives Mandarin Language Arts

• 95 of students will demonstrate Chinese language
  acquisition with proficiency measured and
  documented throughout each year using
  norm-referenced assessment as the Early Language
  Learning Oral Proficiency Assessment (ELLOPA)
  (conducted in Chinese), the National Online Early
  Language Learning Assessment (NOELLA) (conducted
  in Chinese), language samples, storytelling/re-tel
  ling, observations, and teacher assessments..

Source DoE Approved PIACS Charter, Part 1 Sec 2
(available at www.piacs.org)
8
Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• What is immersion?
• Immersion programs are the most effective type of
  world language program currently available in
  U.S. schools.
• The target language is taught as a subject AND
  used as an instructional language.
• Most effective type of Immersion Program 90-10.

9
Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• 90-10 Immersion Model at PIACS
• Kindergarten - 100 Mandarin
• Grade One - 90 Mandarin, 10 English (LA
  reading)
• Grades Two and Three - 75 Mandarin, 25 English
• Grades Four and Five - 50 Mandarin, 50 English

10
Immersion vs. other language Programs
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Immersion
• Tonal language with logographic writing system -
  best suited for early immersion
• Simultaneous learning of culture and language
• High level of fluency
• Motivated

• Non-immersion
• Limited contact time (typically 30-50 min. per
  lesson, 1 3 times per week)
• Taste of language and culture
• Not functional or fluent after a few years
• Motivation issue

• Immersion has been proven to be the most
  effective in language acquisition.

11
Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Academic/Educational Benefits
• Students achieve high level of functional
  proficiency in Chinese AND achieve academically
  at or above their non-immersion peers on
  standardized tests administered in English
• Schooled through Chinese, students acquire the
  language skills as well as the content knowledge
  without needing to allocate additional
  instructional time at the expense of other
  subject areas
• Effective model for third language children
  because it offers a learning environment that
  levels the playing field

12
Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Linguistic Benefits
• Contrary to concerns about the negative effect on
  English language development, immersion students
  demonstrate enhanced levels of English language
  skills and of metalinguistic awareness (knowledge
  about language)
• Bilingual students display greater facility in
  learning a third language than monolinguals

13
Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Cognitive Benefits
• Research has shown that immersion students have
  greater cognitive flexibility and nonverbal
  problem-solving than their monolingual
  counterparts.
• Socio-cultural Benefits
• Immersion students develop higher levels of
  intercultural sensitivity and demonstrate greater
  openness to members of the target culture
  relative to non-immersion.

14
Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Two-way Immersion
• This model integrates English-speaking students
  and Chinese-speaking students in an academically
  challenging learning environment so that they
  learn from and with each other.
• For Chinese-speaking students, first language
  literacy and formal schooling through a childs
  first language constitute key predictors of
  success in academic achievement and the
  development of academic English.
• Becoming bilingual and bicultural in a heritage
  language promotes positive ethnic identity
  development.

15
What are our language teaching techniques?
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Integrate language, content, and culture
• Promote continuous language growth and improve
  accuracy
• Make information understandable
• Create a rich language learning environment
• Communicate with the students clearly and
  effectively
• Provide opportunities to practice the language
  verbally
• Provide support for diverse learner needs

16
Curriculum Framework at PIACS
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• The PIACS curriculum, following the IB framework,
  addresses all nine NJ Core Content Curriculum
  Standards
• English Language Arts Literacy
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social Studies
• World Languages
• Visual and Performing Arts
• Comprehensive Health and Physical Education
• Technology 21st Century Life and Careers

• Five components are emphasized within all content
  areas

17
Curriculum Framework at PIACS
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Five components are emphasized within all content
  areas
• Concepts
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Attitudes
• Action

18
Comparisons with Traditional Curriculum-
Character Education
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Traditional Curriculum
• No systematic guidelines
• Teachers base character education on their own
  values

• Our Learners profile
• Inquirers
• Thinkers
• Communicators
• Risk takers
• Knowledgeable
• Reflective
• Well-balanced
• Open-minded
• Caring
• Principled

19
Comparisons with Traditional Curriculum-
Professional development
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Our Framework
• Teachers have weekly planning meetings both by
  grade level and content area
• Teachers of all subjects support and complement
  each other to deliver an integrated curriculum

• Traditional schools
• Teachers are independent (teaching behind closed
  doors).
• Teachers of different grade levels and subjects
  do not regularly or systematically communicate
  with one another.

20
Comparisons with Traditional Curriculum- Depth
vs. width
Princeton International Academy Charter
School www.piacs.org

• Our Framework
• Six units of inquiry
• Interconnectedness of knowledge (Example unit on
  construction)
• Inquiry process and tools, critical thinking
  skills (how conduct in-depth research on a given
  topic)
• Relate projects to life outside the
  classroom/Perform community services related to
  new learning

• Traditional Curriculum
• Mile long and inch deep
• Knowledge segmentation
• Lack of conceptual understanding and deep
  connection of knowledge
• Test driven

21
Summary

• PIACS will create a new option for public
  eduction
• Language full immersion
• Internationally-focused inquiry-based curriculum
  framework
• Unique combination