¿Quién es Andrea Chaves?
For you student or educator this is a letter from me to you.
This is part of my philosophy of education.
My Philosophy of Education
I believe in a diverse student body that teaches tolerance and acceptance through mutual experience. I believe in differentiated curriculum and student centered, where the teacher becomes a facilitator who creates materials to support a motivated learning process. Moreover, I believe in a student center classroom. Thus, students become active problem-solvers. It is through technological supports and advances that I am able to reach the goals of my philosophy.
Today, in our XXI Century World, technology plays an important role in all our lives including education. It is technology that makes these ideas of students becoming problem-solvers and student center possible. Students frequently have to think because their options have increased with technology. Constantly technology changes and advances, which requires our young learners to be continuously updated; these kinds of situations repeatedly expose students to be problem-solvers.
I believe in a transparent communication between students, parents, teacher, and school administrators. Definitely, it is technology that has made this more transparent and efficient communication possible today. It is the advance in technology that has help create and student empowerment to have more voice and power over their education. Internet databases that hold all of the information of a student’s progress are an excellent way to keep students, teachers, parents and administrators informed at all times. The information can be easily accessed. In this regard, students and parents can take ownership of their grades and track their own progress instead of relying on the teacher’s feedback.
In addition to students being given access to their grades via internet, the internet can also be a powerful to for students to construct their own learning and make their own discoveries from the information it provides. Beginning with small decisions such as the opportunity that the internet provides us with today, to choose what and from where to read, the internet has a wide range of information and readings worldwide. The internet has also helped the idea “judgment rather than knowledge” expand; today as teachers, we use different resources such as “YouTube”, to raise awareness to children of different issues. The students are expected to not only find information, but they also must determine for themselves if the knowledge is useful and relevant.
I respect and support teaching language through content and culture to give students a rich context for what they are studying. Furthermore, technology gives a great support to teach a second language, and I also believe this is true for any other subject matter, and this makes it possible to reach every student in the classroom. I believe that a teacher should have truthful passion and deep regard for the subject being taught, in my case, it is Spanish Language that also includes all the diverse cultures it represents. I believe the way students learn a language best is by falling in love with it through exposure to the culture that surrounds the language and to experience that culture in the classroom, which is now very possible using technology since we are living in a Globalize world that is in constant communication.
Since, I believe that a teacher should dedicate time to the achievement of every student in the classroom. I deem in multiple intelligences and I understand students learn in very different ways. Therefore, I like to approach lessons from different angles to appeal to various leaning styles within the classroom. I enjoy teaching through music, poetry, arts and crafts, field trips, cooperative learning and literature. By using technology to satisfy the educational needs of students they are able to work in many different genres. For example, students have the ability to create videos, power points, graphic designs, etc in order to display the information they have learned in a way that is familiar and comfortable for them.
Today’s world communication’s skills are even more demanding since it is open to all people through a global network. Therefore, it is necessary that students become prepared for this globalized world, and it is necessary, and our obligation as teachers to teach these skills to our XXI Century students by believing in the integration of technology and the other subject matters. Moreover, I believe that teaching does not happen all the time inside a classroom, but rather through experiences interacting with the outside world and all that it has to offer. Through technology teachers are able to create a completely different classroom atmosphere in which the necessities of every student is attained and even celebrated.
My Professional Portfolio
(updated May 2012)
Courses Taught
In 2008-2009 at Lab School, I taught Spanish I to 9th and Spanish II 10th graders.
In 2009-2010 at TYWLS of Astoria, I taught Spanish I to 9th graders and Spanish A to 8th graders.
In 2010-2011 at TYWLS of Astoria, I taught 7th grade (World Diversity), 8th grade (Spanish A), 9th grade (Spanish I for Spanish Speakers), 10th grade (Spanish II for Spanish Speakers)
In 2011-2012 at TYWLS of Astoria, I am teaching High School (iMovie), Middle School (Eco-Friendly Fashion Show), 9th and 10th grade (Spanish I), High School (Spanish for Spanish Speakers)
In 2011-2012 at TYWLS of Astoria, I am teaching High School (iMovie), Middle School (Eco-Friendly Fashion Show), 9th and 10th grade (Spanish I), High School (Spanish for Spanish Speakers)
Description of courses taught
World Diversity – is a class where students learn about different cultures through news, readings, movies, food and dances. Students get to inquire about what is happening in the world and why are there many different cultures. Students get to learn differences and similarities about cultures. Students also celebrate and explore different cultures by sharing dances and food from different and/or their own cultures.
Spanish A – is a class where students get a little taste of the Spanish language. Students learn the bare basic of the beginners’ conversations, as well as basic vocabulary. In this class students listen to different Spanish songs that are connected to the vocabulary that they are learning. Students also get introduce to the differences between the latino cultures and a little bit of biography.
Spanish I – This course introduces the basics of the Spanish language. In this course students will learn grammar tenses such as, present, present continuous, immediate future, and formal and informal commands. It also introduces reflexive verbs, the different stem-changing verbs and the irregular present verbs. The different vocabulary that is introduced in this course includes: greetings, adjectives house, places, nationalities, family, occupations, and food. Spanish I focuses on preparing students to be able to understand the basic of the language by doing different projects and creating different situations where the students feel the need to use the four skills of the language writing, listening, speaking and reading in Spanish. At the end of this course students will have establish a basic comprehension in these four skills of the language.
Spanish II - This course reinforces learned material in Spanish I. It also introduces new grammar tenses such as, preterit, imperfect, future. It also introduces important grammar details such as, Por vs. Para, Saber vs. Conocer, Pedir vs. Preguntar, DOP and conjunctions. The different vocabulary that is introduced in this course includes: ordinal numbers, connectors of sequences ‘first’, ‘then’, ‘next’ and ‘last’, colors, shapes, animals, shopping, restaurants, jobs, parts of the body – appointment with the doctor, weather, earth and its resources. Spanish II focuses on preparing students to be able to understand the use of the past tenses in Spanish by doing different projects and studying different facts of the Spanish and Latino cultures. At the end of this course students will have established more fluency in the four skills of the language writing, listening, speaking and reading
Spanish for Spanish Speakers I - The course begins with a review of advanced grammar. Students must be comfortable communicating only in Spanish and must be able to work with advanced grammatical structures including the mastery of the subjunctive mood. This course focuses on renowned Spanish artists and poets. This course is the marriage of poetry, art, narrative and song and allows students to further their knowledge of Spanish writers and artists.
Spanish for Spanish Speakers II - This course includes a wide range of different Latino and Spanish poems, short stories, magazine and newspaper articles on current issues. Therefore, students will be constantly exercising their critical thinking skills in different situations. Moreover, the students will learn more and understand better the cultural diversity and contrasts that exist in the Spanish speaking world. Instruction will be conducted to its totality in the target language creating an environment where the students communicate at a high level using the target language. This year 2012, this course is taught online.
Eco-Friendly
Fashion Show – is a studio
class where students learn the importance of recycling by understanding
different concepts such as: carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, where they are
coming from and how they are affecting our planet. At the end of this studio, students create a
dress made out of recycled materials to showcase in an annual Eco-Friendly
Fashion Show.
iMovie – is a studio class where students learn the
basics of research. Students are grouped
by their interest in research topics.
After they research about their topics students begin making a short
movie on their topic.
