B1.Teaching Assistants will demonstrate competency in engaging all learners in English language communication and cultural understanding using language acquisition teaching strategies, including applications of multi-media technologies.
I created a blog for students to post their Journals as a requirement for the course. Here, they are able to find the course syllabus, important material for class and the course schedule. I firmly believe in the Pragmatic Philosophy and Reconstruction Theory, where students learn through their experience. It is because of this reason I incorporated the Community Outreach journals which consisted in actively participating in community service and creating a reflection response about these activities. Some activities done during the semester were, visiting at-risk youths at a local foster care institution, coastal cleaning, breast cancer awareness walk and Christmas child operation.
It wasn’t until my third year of college when I understood that I was a hands-on learning student and that I was able to really learn when I actively participated in a specific lesson. As an educator, I hold an imperative place in society and I have a duty as a citizen to do things right. From this I decided to incorporate community-outreach; to which at first tried with my Intermediate and later on with the Basic Course. While they participate, they acknowledge their responsibilities as a citizen and are also incorporating writing which is the main purpose of the course.
B2.Teaching Assistants will manage typical classroom procedures.
As part of being a teaching assistant I am required to comply with the course demands and as my responsibilities as an educator I need to come prepared to class, call the role, comply with an opening, development and closing activity in addition to verifying students understanding of material. But because as a student I do not like to feel like a number or just one more student in class I like to acknowledge my students and let them know that I know each and one of them. As an undergraduate, I had a professor who used to greet students with a handshake every morning and it made me feel as I really belonged. I tried it during the first week of class and students where at first shocked because of it, but then responded positively. Similarly, when I arrive to class with a positive comment or ask them about their week they mirror my mood. I need to act and express myself positively if I want them to act the same way.
I acknowledge that I am not living in a perfect world and that I am not perfect but I know I do my best in class in order to achieve great results. I greet my students every time they walk into class and dismiss them by saying, “I hope you have a nice day.” And though this may seem childish, it is respectful and my students know I do not treat them as a number when I am in class because I know they are much more. For me, letting my students know they are important for me, politely greet and dismiss them, is and should always be considered a ‘typical classroom procedure.’
This act has brought me great results. My students walk into class and say, “good morning” and are eager to share what they have done during the weekend, before class even begins. They feel safe, comfortable and free to express themselves in class and their photo essay was a great example. Most of them wrote huge confessions about particular situations in life which made them the person they are today. I believe I would not have had their exceptional writings if they had not felt in the confidence of trusting me with such delicate situations in life. Those little things I do in class, makes them become exceptional students.
B3.Teaching Assistants will communicate effectively using verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques.
When I was still an undergraduate I used to find my education courses extremely challenging however, I managed to work with all and have good grades. I remember I took a course about Educational Philosophy and for my final project I had to create a school, with the complete curriculum, philosophy, structure, courses, ideology, its’ justification and describe how all elements were suitable for my own teaching philosophy. I remember everything I wrote and how it was all perfectly and carefully structured. It was all so wonderful and beautiful.
I was always focused on specific areas of education until I first walked into a classroom and understood, the hard way, that when it comes to teaching, there is a huge difference between the theory and the reality of being in class. Teaching at the college level is where I really understood what it was to give class to unique individuals who are just as human as I am, full of strengths and weaknesses dealing with their personal situation and with the desire of growing as professionals. Through different activities in class I am able to see their desire to improve their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and it is that specific reaction that makes me want to improve on my own teaching strategies and continue finding different ways to incorporate a variety of in class strategies.
I really like using Teach Like a Champion in class because it provide quick and easy in-class strategies that really work and provide outstanding results and reactions in class. Among the many techniques this book provides, I am able to understand that every minute in class is crucial, that in order to ask my students for a higher level of proficiency, I need to train them and help them understand that education is team work where teacher and students work together towards a common goal.
I have used personal boards with my Basic English Course, because coming to class and having to listen to a lecture is not something my students nor I enjoy. Likewise, assigning a section of exercise for students to work individually and discussing it out loud can become tedious during this course because it focuses on grammar and it is what students usually do. For this activity, after discussing a section of the chapter of Present Perfect, students sat in pairs and I dictated a sentence where they would have to use the correct verb. We discussed each exercise at the moment and students are able to clarify doubts. This also helped me verify their understanding of the material.