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 Modern Foreign Language Education and Curriculum & Teaching. Dr. Ritz has taught French and Spanish at the secondary level for many years, is a National Board Certified teacher of French, and was the Director of World Languages in a public school district in the Boston area before joining Boston University. 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 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 the President in 2015 and 2016. Dr. Ritz is currently the MaFLA Programming Coordinator, overseeing professional development events. Additionally, Dr. Ritz 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).

Appointments:

  • Board of Directors & Programming Coordinator, the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA)
  • Board of Directors, the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL)
  • Vice President, American Association of Teachers of French (AATF)

Recent News

Education

Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction, Texas A&M University
A.L.M. in Foreign Literature, Language, & Culture, Harvard University
M.A. in 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

CT 575: General Methods of Instruction, 5-12

TL 508: Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), 5-12

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 Profile

Selected Publications

Ritz, C. (2021). Leading your world language program: Strategies for design and supervision, even if you don't speak the language! New York: Routledge.

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. (July, 2020). Interactive Interpretation: Connecting Interpretive and Interpersonal Communication. Webinar presented for "Apart But Together, Expanding Our Community: A Virtual Summit" hosted by the National Foreign Language Center.

Ritz, C. (March, 2020). ZOOM into Distance Learning. Webinar presented for the Massachusetts Foreign Languages Association.

Ritz, C. (November, 2019). Interactive Interpretation: Deconstructing the Interactive Model. Session presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo.

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. (December, 2017). Assessing Performance: Moving from Chapter Tests to Authentic Assessments. Workshop presented at the Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey professional development series.

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. (December, 2016). Planning with Backward Design. Workshop presented at a monthly seminar hosted by the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association.

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., & Toro, C. (October, 2016). Go Global: Digital Connections. Session presented at the annual conference of Massachusetts Computer Using Educators.

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.

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