Catherine Ritz
Clinical Assistant Professor
Program Director for Curriculum & Teaching and Modern Foreign Language Education
Dr. Catherine Ritz is a clinical assistant professor and the program director for the Modern Foreign Language Education and Curriculum & Teaching programs. Her areas of interest include developing proficiency-based thematic curricula and performance assessments, effective world language methods and pedagogy, and world language teacher development.
Dr. Ritz has taught French and Spanish at the secondary level for many years, is a National Board Certified teacher of French, and was director of world languages in a public school district in the Boston area before joining Boston University. She regularly presents at national and regional conferences on world language pedagogy and technology integration.
Dr. Ritz has served on the Board of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA) since 2012, and was president in 2015 and 2016. She is currently the MaFLA programming coordinator, overseeing professional development events. Additionally, she serves on the board of the Northeast Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL) and is vice president of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).
Recent News
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Partnership with ACTFL Supports Graduate Studies in World Language Education
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Dr. Catherine Ritz Authors K–12 World Language Resource
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BU Wheelock to Host Massachusetts Foreign Language Association’s Core Practice Institute
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ACTFL Selects Study by Dr. Catherine Ritz for Inclusion in 2019 Research Priorities Initiative
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Dr. Catherine Ritz Directs 5th Annual MaFLA Proficiency Academy
Education
EdD, Curriculum & Instruction, Texas A&M University
ALM, Foreign Literature, Language & Culture, Harvard University
MA, TESOL/Foreign Language Education, New York University
Courses
WL 511: Methods of Teaching Modern Foreign Languages
WL 512: Curriculum & Assessment in Modern Foreign Language Education
WL 503: Pre-Practicum in Modern Foreign Language Education
WL 504: Student Teaching Seminar in Modern Foreign Language
WL 513: Input & Interaction in the World Language Classroom
LS 658: Second Language Acquisition
TL 635: Language Program Management
CT 534: A Practical Approach to Classroom Management
Research
Dr. Ritz's areas of interest include developing proficiency-based thematic curricula and performance assessments, effective world language methods and pedagogy, and world language teacher development. Dr. Ritz was awarded an ACTFL Research Priorities award in 2019 for the project World Language Programming & Instructional Practices in K-12 Massachusetts Public Schools.
Visit Dr. Ritz's Faculty ProfileSelected Publications
Ritz, C., & Sherf, N. (in press). Strengthening equity, access, and language status in French programs: K–12 public school world language programming in Massachusetts. The French Review, 95(4).
Ritz, C., & Toro, C. (in press). Proficiency-Based Instruction: Input & Interaction in World Language Education. ACTFL.
Ritz, C. (2021). What happens when the PD is over? A year inside teacher classrooms. The NECTFL Review, 87, 11-26.
Ritz, C., & Sherf, N. (2021). World language programming and leadership in K-12 Massachusetts public schools. Foreign Language Annals, 54(2), 476-504.
Ritz, C. (2020). Hybrid teaching across the three modes. The French Review, 94(2), 35-42.
Ritz, C. (2019, February/March). Building capacity: Empowering teachers to take charge of and be leaders of their own curriculum, 14(1), 46-49.
Ritz, C., & Rupley, W. (2018). The proficiency cohort: Shifting teacher beliefs through a collaborative curriculum design process. The NECTFL Review, 83, 31-55.
Ritz, C. (2018, March/April). Honoring learners with the Seal of Biliteracy. The Language Educator, 13(2), 30–32.
Ritz, C. (2018, January/February). The big impact of the little i : Shifting from an “isn’t-that-interesting” approach to culture to developing intercultural competence. The Language Educator, 13(1), 53–56.
Ritz, C. (2016, August/September). The proficiency cohort: Empowering teachers through curriculum development. The Language Educator, 11(3), 47-49.
Ritz, C., Allen, J.,& Eagan, T. (2016, March/April). Developing common assessment measures: A state and district collaboration. The Language Educator, 11(2), 35-38.
Selected Presentations
Ritz, C. (July, 2020). Providing Leadership in World Language Education: Now More Than Ever! Webinar presented for the International Association of Language Learning Technology (IALLT).
Ritz, C. & Blouwolff, R. (February, 2019). High-Leverage Teaching Practices: A How-To Bootcamp. Workshop presented at the annual conference of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Ritz, C. (November, 2018). To Correct or Not to Correct: That Is the Question! Session presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo.
Ritz, C. (November, 2017). 90-10: Planned and Purposeful Target Language and English Use. Session presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo.
Ritz, C. (October, 2017). Core Practices: Backward Design. Session presented at the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association Fall Conference.
Ritz, C. (November, 2016). Assessing Performance: Moving from Chapter Tests to Authentic Assessments. Session presented at the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Ritz, C., & Lu-Hogan, N. (October, 2015). The Proficiency Cohort: Making Shift Happen. Session presented at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association.
Ritz, C. (March, 2014). Teaching with Tablets: Using iPads to Deliver Instruction and Engage Students. Session presented at the annual conference of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Ritz, C. (July, 2012). Digitally Speaking: Free Resources to Improve Oral Proficiency. Session presented at the annual conference of the American Association of Teachers of French.