A brownbag for UW-Madison language program directors, faculty, and instructors
Catherine Baumann
Senior Instructional Professor
Director of the University of Chicago Language Center
University of Chicago
12:00 - 1:00 pm, Friday, December 2
1418 Van Hise Hall
About the brownbag
Two assessment-driven pedagogy initiatives on and beyond the University of Chicago campus have brought both expected and unexpected results. Instructors gained critical assessment literacy and undertook course-related test design projects, which enabled them to make more deliberate choices around curriculum and instruction. They also gained a new sense of agency and professional development, making it possible for them to innovate their curricula informed by evidence and data. I will describe the project, and possibilities for engagement with the University of Wisconsin language teaching community.
About the speaker
Catherine C. Baumann is a Senior Instructional Professor and Director of the University of Chicago Language Center (CLC). She received her Ph.D. in Second Languages and Cultures Education at the University of Minnesota, specializing in reading comprehension and language testing. She has directed the CLC since 2013 and dramatically expanded its programs. In 2016 it received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, “Transforming Language Instruction at the University of Chicago and Beyond: Collaborative Curricula and Professional Development.” A year later she co-founded, with the Director of the CLC’s Office of Language Assessment, the Language Pedagogy Innovation Initiative. Both grants support innovation in language pedagogy through an assessment-driven reverse design approach and have directly impacted the testing and teaching practices of hundreds of instructors of languages across North America and the world. She is a contributor to a variety of academic publications, and is frequently asked to consult for language programs in higher education on a variety of curricular and assessment-related issues.
Sponsors: Language Institute, with funding by the Anonymous Fund.
Contact: Jana Martin
The UW-Madison Language Institute is committed to inclusive and accessible programming. To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Language Institute associate director Jana Martin three business days in advance.