|
Partnerships Artifact 1
Name of Artifact: The Teaching of English as a Foreign Language in Cuba: An
Educational Triumph
Date: Summer 2003
Course: ED 692
Rationale:
I am interested in creating educational partnerships in a global magnitude.
During my visit to Cuba, I was fortunate to meet and talk with some of the educators who designed the public education
system in Cuba. I feel that the United States could learn a lot from Cuba in this regard. This helped me realize
that other countries may offer educational insight, as well.
Since each country has a different poltical and economical system and has come
to such by a unique history, I am willing to bet that no two educational systems in the world are alike. In addition,
because economies and technology are constantly changing, education is probably constantly evolving everywhere. Because
of this, I think that if we had a stronger network of communication between countries worldwide, that we could all develop
advanced educational systems more efficiently. The United States, for one, could benefit from the means by which Cubans
teach foreign languages.
I'm interested in strengthening global partnerships. I believe that we
can use technology to our advantage not only for means of communication but also for research. For example, online corpora
have been very effective to teach vocabulary to learners. We can also use authoring programs and multimedia lessons
to teach languages. If we share the ways in which we use technology with each other, our learners can grow faster.
Partnerships Artifact 2
Name of Artifact: Action Research Paper
Date: Fall 2003
Course: FL 561
Rationale:
This artifact illustrates the details of Action Research as employed in an entire
school or school district. One of the greatest benefits of Action Research is that it makes communication among teachers,
parents, administration, and students essential. I think that communication is the most important aspect of a child's
education. With Action Research, all parties work together to ensure success in the classroom and beyond.
I especially like the fact that when a school undertakes an Action Research
project, a committee of teachers and administration meet regularly to talk about the action that is to be taken. This
creates a support system for teachers who are practicing the research and allows them to compare notes with other teachers
who are experiencing some of the same things. It also lets teachers touch base with administration, who can offer support
or suggest alternatives. When the teachers and faculty are communicating and comparing notes in this way, it lets everyone
know that all are taking action and contributing.
The other aspect of Action Research that strikes me is the fact that it allows
the community to partner with the school so that they can stay abreast of the progress that is being made. In one
of the videos, the students produced a literary magazine in which to publish their writing samples. This way, the community
can see that the school is improving in the area of writing and perhaps offer support, service, or supplies to further facilitate
their success.
|
