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The key to guarantee effective teaching and learning is to create a positive and encouraging learning environment. I wholeheartedly agree with one of my engineering teacher’s point Of view that anyone can teach a student the lesson Of the day, but to prepare the students to promote team work or be independent learners, to inspire them in their second language learning, molding their attitude and ethics, are the essential elements of a quality education. Teaching goals and strategies: TEAMWORK: I can’t elaborate more in this point that already have in my other assignments.
I consider that it is simply essential for our students to earn their second language by social interaction. Group projects are fun for students. They help students to understand the assignment and to get help from each other. Sometimes the assignment will require the students to take a step forward to become a leader for the rest of the group. Communication with their teammates is essential for real life scenarios. HARD WORK: Hard work at the end of the day always pays off. It helps the students learn a very important lesson in life and it boosts their self-esteem and personal fulfillment, not just their grades.
In engineering school I took a class called “Foundations”. The teacher gave us 3 tests during the course of the class. The first test had a value of 5%, the second test had a value of 10%, the third test had a value of 70%, and the final project was worth 15% of your grade. Sad to say, I had to take the course twice since I failed the final test on the first try. Felt cheated by the course and the teacher. I took the exam, did well (or not), and that was that. The classes that were project-based always ended on a great note for me. On those, would put a lot of work into the projects. Often left the class with an extreme sense of satisfaction. “l made that! Unlike the tests, the projects had a life and a purpose beyond the course. I was able to show my family and friends the results of my hard work and determination. This is the approach I’d like to bring to my students during their time in my class. CREATIVE: [karee-eye-tip] “having the quality or power of creating. 2. Resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc. ; imaginative: creative writing”. During my childhood I was forced to be creative. My parents got divorced when I was very young.
My mother didn’t have the same resources that my father had, but that didn’t stop her from keeping us happy, entertained, and educated. Every weekend she would give us a fun assignment using Popsicles and glue, plaster, sheets, construction paper and/or soap. We learned very early on the meaning advantages of creativity and we loved it. Think this was the beginning of my engineering career. I have great memories of my childhood but, the one that I’ll never forget is the day our mother gave us a bottle of soap, a bucket and water, told us to clean the apartment, to have fur with it, but to think of the aftermath.
We sat down and discussed different ways of cleaning and how to make it fun. We decided to move everything to our bedrooms, created a big pool of water and soap all over the floor and slid around on it for hours. We used sponges to clean the corners, the broom to scrub the floor and at the end towels to dry the floor. My mom loved the idea. After that we were allowed to clean the apartment like that at least once a month! Truly believe that creativity and problem solving skills are important for success, maybe not during the first or second lesson but, overall, I think will make a big difference in my students’ lives.
Without creativity, there is no innovation. I know that creativity is hard to teach, but by encouraging creative hinging, brainstorming activities, and creative challenges, students will be able to start developing a sense of independence and knowledge of teamwork at the same time. I’ll aim to develop assignments that will require creativity. I will provide the basic structure, explain the assignment in detail and then let the students “think outside the box” or “color outside the lines”, as long as they stay focused on the purpose and goal of the assignment.
If at the end Of the assignment their goals are not met, I’ll work with them one on one to help them achieve the objectives they were trying to accomplish in the assignment. PASSION: To develop a passion and joy towards the adventure of learning a new language, is a must for every SSL teacher! I am very passionate about this SSL program and I will aim to transfer this joy to my students through my lessons and life experience. RESPECT: To encourage mutual respect in the classroom is very important. For me it is essential to create a classroom environment of respect and trust.
Including, but not limited to showing respect for others at all times, respect for the teacher, respect for each others thoughts, respect for each other reference in the classroom, respect for others’ cultural values and respect of the English language and for the process of learning this new language. Who is to be educated? I think everybody should be educated. During the past few weeks, have been hearing “Education will set you free”, which reminds me of “the truth will set you free”, and the first thing that comes to my mind are Hispanic families.
I see a picture of a father or mother or both, waking up at four in the morning to go stand in line on the side of the road, with hopes of getting a job for just one day. Granted, some of them lack roper documentation, yet some of them don’t. Perhaps the opportunity to learn another language was ‘t available; maybe it just wasn’t a priority when faced with the need to feed and care for their family; maybe they were denied an education altogether; maybe their main language wasn’t as strong as it needed to be for them to learn a second language; or maybe they just dropped out of school, figuring that they would do k in real life.
I think, particularly in minority communities, education should of utmost importance. It is the only way in which members of these communities will have the tools o break out of the stereotypes and the lot in life that society has made them believe is theirs. Many groups and communities have been faced with these challenges throughout history.