EASSY 3

Which training courses would you like to have access to as a teacher? Why?

Which is, in your opinion, the best way to share good practice amongst teaching professionals? Why?

Maybe in other jobs you can survive without doing courses to refresh your knowledge, but if you are a teacher, you need to be in a continuous process of learning to teach the last and best things to your students.

In my case, I teach business and economic subjects and that’s imply to be actualized. I try to teach my students the concepts and things that it will be useful for them in the future, when they really need it. The easy way for me will be to teach every year the same things, the same paper, same activities and the same tests. But to do this is very boring! And I prefer to motivate the students with new things every course.

With all of this I like to make economic and business courses. This year I made one course of entrepreneurship projects that gave me interesting tools to implement during the classes and to apply a new methodology with the students. The goal is to reach the learning process in the students in a different way. The students learn to work in teams, learn how to make decisions, to identify and solve problems. And one important thing, they start with a idea or a theory and finishes the project with a tangible result.

Another type os courses that I like, are the courses about aspects related with the financial and business area. For example, now is possible to make courses about how to measure a company, or how to design a Business Plan. And with the new technologies is possible to do it online. I prefer to assist to the classes, but the online option is a good option to share the information and it results a good practice.

In my school we offer online courses, and I teach some subjects in this courses. Is not the same as the classes with the students but sometimes I have online students more motivated and with a better attitude than the students of every days.

EASSY 2

If you were not limited by the demands of the national/regional curriculum, what would you say is the most important thing you would teach your students about your subject (in a CLIL context)? How would you assess their learning?

If I haven’t got limitations by the curriculum or the assessment criteria I’m sure that I will teach my subjects in a different way.

I’m a teacher in a vocational training school and I teach the business and economic subjects.

Every course I must to adapt to the curriculum of the subject and this thing is not always easy. First, because in my opinion the time is not enough to teach all the concepts. And second because the curriculum is not prepare to be teach to students with different levels.

But talking about how I will teach if I can what I want…I’m going to start saying that every time I’m more sure that in students with a complicated level of comprehension you must uses new methodologies. The classical methodology with a explication, time to make activities, and a write test, its not enough.

In my case, and with the subjects I teach, I prefer to use a methodology with no exams, no texts to memorize and no silly activities…

I will use cases. Cases that will be in relation with the contents of the units that includes the curriculum, but with the idea of focus the learning process in the student.

The student is going to learn and reach the objectives of the subjects working in groups and learning to take decisions based on real situations. And the student is going to improve skills and abilities as the same time he learns the concepts.

And the way to asses the subject will be more easy because during every class I can follow the evolution and the progress that the students are doing. Maybe is more work to prepare the classes, but if the cases are well selected, the subject will be completely different and more interested and original for the students.

But this only happens in a dreamed and perfect world, so we must follow trying to teach as best as we can with the regional and national restrictions.

EASSY 1

ESSAY 1 - Advantages and disadvantages of using the ELP with my groups.

The European Language Portfolio is the document where you record and save all the information about your language level.

After study the document, I only find advantages of using the ELP.

It’s a very good way to have all your information, exams, skills, and important things that you have been doing during your formation years. And a very important thing of the ELP is that is a recognized document and you can use it in different countries with a standard and a official recognition.

If I have to tell some advantages, for example, and from a teacher point of view, it’s good way to know the level of your students and to try to motivate them in the process of learning a language. And also from the students point of view is going to show them the improvements that they reach in a language.

Another important aspect is the assessment information or the distribution of the information. In the ELP you are not only seeing if the student or a person has a A2 or a C1. You can view the level divide by different variables like speaking, reading comprehension, listening…and this means a more complete and relevant information about the level that a person has reach in a language.

Another important advantage is that when you are going to make a mobility to another country, you used the ELP to demonstrate and facilitate the level you've acquired over the language, and you can save many procedures that in the case of not have the ELP, you will need to do.

Perhaps here is one of the few disadvantages I see in the ELP. If the document is not standardized and made official in all countries, can be a problem if there are differences of criteria in assessing the validity of the information.

To conclude this first trial, only noting that the more we simplify the procedures so that a person can demonstrate the level of language you have, the better the motivation of people to learn new languages.

Methodology 3...

My third reflection is about the Higher Order Thinking (HOT).

As I said in the other reflections, I teach in a Vocational Training School in Llombai. 

This village is located in an agricultural area. The students in a high percentage belongs to agricultural families with orange, peaches and kakis fields.

This circumstance reflect the students profile, who are more focus on practical works than in the theoretical studies. With this I’m not saying that they are not intelligent, because maybe they are more creative and enterpreneurs than the university students, but at the moment of understand technic explications, they have problems if the lecture is too much theoretic. They always need to view a practical view. 

With this type of students, I have think  that the Higher Order Thinking (HOT), is a fantastic tool to motivate them in his learning process.

Because with the HOT Model the student is going to start with a theoretical point of something and little by little he is going to developing that concept more and more practical. First he start remembering something, second he is going to understand, third apply what he understand and so on until he finish creating or producing something.

This model is not going to solve all the problems of this students, but I’m sure that with time and a good preparation of the lectures, it will be very useful for me. And also to another teachers from my school!

So the teacher is going to play an important role in the development of the HOT Model. He must prepare the lectures trying to motivate and stimulate students in the way to think how to work with this model and to think in a HOT Model direction. 

To conclude, I have discover some model and tool that for me are very interesting, like the HOT Modelm the C´Wheel or the CLIL Methodology, and for the next course I’m going to start to use in my lectures.

Methodology 2.

Reflexions about the C-Wheel…

I have to recognize that since this course I didn’t hear nothing about the C-Wheel, the author and her theories.. This is my third year working as a teacher in a vocational training school but this model of learning is new for me.

But in my school we uses a model of learning that could be similar in many aspects. 

In the C-Wheel we put the child in the center of the model, and the rest of the methodology, the teachers, the context and the rest of the elements are going to turn around. We have students between 12 and 25, more or less, and we also put the students in the center of our learning model and the rest of the variables are connected with this center.

If I don’t understand bad this model, the idea of the C-Wheel is to provide a strong tool for the learning process. I think that when you are trying to teach something, you must take in account all the important thinks that are making an influence on the students. And also, you must take care with the personal circumstances of the students. Is clear that if one student is problematic or his situation is temporary complicated, it will be important to take in account this.

To help with this type of methodologies and models, the relations between the school and the families plays an important role. Not only to inform about the evaluation of the subjects, also to visit the families at their homes and to know from a very close view the reality of the student.

To conclude with this second reflection, I think that the C-Wheel, if it’s adapted to the students, it could be a great tool to change a little bit and to be more creative. 

Methodology 1

The ways to learn english...

My first reflection in this blog is to talk about my personal experience in the process to learn english. Perhaps is not related a lot with the Methodology subject, but is a comparison between a theoretical and a practical vision in the process of learning english.

In this subject we are learning different methodologies to teach a subject in english. For example the CLIL Methodology. This methodology combines the content and the language to get an integrated learning.

But is obviously the subject that you have to teach using the english as a language vehicle to connect with the students. But is obviously that the level of english is going to play and important role in the process. 

In my case, I start lo learn english at the Kindergarten when I was 3 years old. I follow studying english during the primary and secondary education at the school and in an academy.

I didn't go abroad to an english country since I was 18 years old, so all my knowledge proceed from the classes.

And when I was 18 I went to Switzerland to make an Erasmus course. I studied at the ZHAW University in Winterthur during four months. That was the first time I need to survive with my english level. I know that I made a lot of mistakes when I spoke with other persons, but the experience helps me to increase and improve my level of english. And my opinion is that is just the best way to learn and to improve the level of english. At least, for me is the best methodology!Practice and practice!

But I know that is also important to receive grammar classes and to practice with writings, listenings and reading comprehension, but you really prove your level in a environment of english language.

To conclude with this reflection, when you are going to teach a subject in english you must think not only in the contents or on the things that you are going to teach. You must think seriously in the methodology that is going to allow you to have a productivity class. 

Hi! I'm Jesús C.

I'm 29 years old and I'm from Torrent, a village near Valencia.

I work as a  vocational training teacher in Llombai. I teach Economics.

I like to go out with my mountain bike and I'm a Formula One follower.

I hope to learn a lot of things during the course to improve my skills and resources focus on make more attractive the classes that I teach.

See you in class!