Through my pursuit of the certificate in Community College Instruction, I have gained a better insight of community colleges and their contributions to the surrounding communities. I have come to view communication and leadership, technology, effective lesson planning, and professional development as essential components that shape a well-rounded instructor. I would like to look at each of these areas and briefly discuss their contributions to my development as an effective second-language instructor. 

DIVERSITY, ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP IN THE CLASSROOM

Through the course readings and discussions, I have learned the importance of involving students not only in their own learning but also in the planning of the course structure. Therefore, the classroom is essentially flipped and students learn to take on more leadership roles. I feel that allowing students to contribute, at least in part, to what they would like to learn as well as what assignments they would like to see implemented not only allows them to feel their say is important but it also opens lines of communication between student and instructor and stresses the importance of self-accountability.

I appreciate the diversity found in the community college classroom and have noticed the impact it has on a positive learning environment. The older students come into the course with a plethora or knowledge and experience that they impart to their younger counterparts. Students from different socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds can also share their insights and create an international community within the classroom. An ethical classroom is one in which students learn to work together thus creating an atmosphere of respect and cooperation and I believe community colleges are the perfect institutions for this type of environment.

TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

From my own observations, colleges have seen the importance of incorporating technology in university affairs. Likewise, it is essential for instructors to start incorporating technology into the classroom because apart from obvious benefits such as automatically graded assignments, it provides students with materials and practice that supplement classroom instruction.

In my classroom, I often use technology to present material. I utilize YouTube videos to present real-world applications of Spanish. Through PowerPoint presentations, I can take information presented in the book and make it interactive. I then provide these presentations online for my students to access for extra review and practice. Similarly, in the second-language classroom, the current trend for textbooks is to provide the workbook and supplementary materials through an online interface. I feel that this approach to the traditional workbook makes the homework more practical in that students can receive instant feedback and can complete assignments that require them to access online websites, newspapers, and blogs, as well as audio and video clips. 

SIGNIFICANT PERSONAL LEARNING

Through this program, I have been able to analyze my own teaching. One specific area that I overlooked before starting this program was the importance of developing an effective syllabus. The syllabus is the first thing that students are given in the course and it provides a contract that outlines the course material and the expectations of both instructor and student. In the course syllabi that I create now, I shape them around the following criteria: a clear outline; the presentation of thematic and grammar topics; and a list of practical reasons and benefits for taking a second language. Similarly, I provide a course description that stresses the importance of the development of communicative skills as well as cultural awareness.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS

I am currently enrolled in a doctoral program in Applied Spanish Linguistics with a graduate minor in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My area of research is the adult acquisition of the sound system of a second language. I decided to study beyond my Master’s degree because the graduate certificate in Community College Instruction made me realize there is more research to been done in order for me to better address the linguistic needs of my adult students. My dissertation work in the Ph.D. program will allow me to develop a program that guides adult learners of Spanish to improve their pronunciation and, as a result, perception of the language. After I complete my research at UW-Madison, I would like to return to the community college setting to help create a curriculum that provides all students with the skills to communicate effectively in Spanish.