finding balance

Tune Up and a Smack down (part 2): The gringa returns to Bogotá

Tune Up and a Smack down (part 2): The gringa returns to Bogotá

This entry is part 3 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 3 of 35 in the series Teaching TransparentlyLast summer I had the extraordinary good fortune to travel back in time.  Okay not really, but in many ways it felt as if I had.  For the first time in 30 years, I returned to Colombia.  It dawned on me, as I mentioned(…)

A tune-up and a smack-down: The gringa returns to Bogotá

A tune-up and a smack-down: The gringa returns to Bogotá

This entry is part 4 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 4 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently  Readers of LLU might remember a series of blog posts I did entitled “Teaching What You Thought You Knew,” in which I chronicled my struggles with the realization that I was teaching my students what I knew about Colombia, a place that  I(…)

Rethinking the role of the language textbook

Rethinking the role of the language textbook

This entry is part 5 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 5 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently  This semester I am teaching the second semester, second year language class  for Spanish.  You know the class… the one that has all of the gnarly bits of grammar  that were left over from the first semester of the second year sequence.  The(…)

Remain calm

Remain calm

This sign was on the door to my building the first week of class. I took the picture, I chuckled, and I stayed calm…I just forgot to post it here More to come.

Why I teach.

Why I teach.

This entry is part 21 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 21 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently My job is a language center director first and foremost, but the opportunity to teach language classes gives me a perspective on teaching and learning that I would not get by just running the CILC. It also helps me do the job better.(…)

Ending the semester, Lessons Learned (Part 4: Assessment)

Ending the semester, Lessons Learned (Part 4: Assessment)

This entry is part 24 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 24 of 35 in the series Teaching TransparentlyI have thought a lot about HISP 205 since the semester ended last May. I think (often) about how I would like to do it differently the next time through. I make lists for myself, I read things, and I ponder. I wonder what(…)

Welcome to the free fall

Welcome to the free fall

This entry is part 32 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 32 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently February 1, 2009:I have spent the day crafting a document that ended up being less of a step by step syllabus, and more of a “what we want the outcome of this class to be” treatise. The document is parked over here with(…)

Struggling with the Syllabus

Struggling with the Syllabus

This entry is part 33 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently

This entry is part 33 of 35 in the series Teaching Transparently with thanks to Pisces Dreamer for the permission to use this Flickr picJanuary 31, 2009: It’s the Saturday night before the second semester begins and once again I am awash in panic. Well, I guess it is not as much panic as it(…)

Innovation and Language Education in the Academy: A Contradiction in Terms?

[NOTE: On October 17th, I was supposed to gve the opening keynote at the MWALLT conference at Case Western Reserve University, but alas, I ended up having to spend the night before my talk in a local emergency room with abdominal pains. The good news was that the emergency room had the really good sense(...)

Coming up for air… and meeting in Second Life

(many thanks to George Brett for the lead via Twitter on this great collage generating tool) It has been far too quiet here, I know, and I am a wee bit ashamed to admit there are waaaay too many blogposts in the “draft” mode that I simply have not had time to tweak and publish.(…)

Fear 2.0, Web 2.0, and Study Abroad

I am enjoying the wonderful free wireless at the Harrisburg PA airport (with ample availability of power outlets!!!) while awaiting my flight back home from a NITLE sponsored event on Enhancing Study Abroad using Web 2.0 tools. These events provide an opportunity to see some old friends but also a chance to see some folks(…)