VHHS German Teacher To Present At National Conference

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL - Vestavia Hills High School German teacher Laura Buder will deliver a presentation this fall at a national world language conference.

Buder will present a session titled “Standards-Based Grading to Support Student Proficiency” in November at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language convention in New Orleans. Her session will discuss the use of learning targets and standards-based grading in world language classes at VHHS.
Buder presented the session at the Southern Conference on Language Teaching in March and won “Best of SCOLT” honors for her work.

Buder said the presentation highlights the significant gains her students have made in their understanding of the German language.

“Using learning targets and standards-based grading has encouraged my students to take ownership of their learning and push themselves to higher language proficiency than ever before,” Buder said.

Buder’s work in developing standards-based instructional strategies earned her national recognition in 2016, when she received the German Embassy Teacher of Excellence Award from the American Association of Teachers of German. She was also the 2017-18 Vestavia Hills City Schools Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Photo courtesy of Vestavia Hills City Schools