Thursday, 23 May 2013

Dear all,

Today  or before Saturday night we will do a reflecting task.

I told you about the theory of multiple intelligences because I have to admit I agree with Howard Gardner when he states the traditional idea of intelligence is very limited and the traditional educational models hinder the potential of a lot of children.

I structured my presentation in a way that allowed me to show you the foundation and the main elements of this theory in 3:30 minutes. I also allowed for a short justification of the topic chosen. I think like the idea that Gardner really challenged most experts in cognitive psychology and to a certain extent development. I strongly believe this theory should be applied at elementary school level so all children could develop their strengths and improve their weaknesses.

Today, I’d like you to reflect on your presentations.

Tell us about the topic you chose.

Why you chose it

How well you think you organized it
Anything you would do differently if you did it again.

Roughly mention what is the most interesting part of this theory, author, etc. And why you think it could be interesting for us as an audience.

Write a minimum of 200 words and write a minimum of 3 comments
Hi Guys,
Remember on April the 10th I explained how the blogs would be evaluated (Check below ).
I also explained that formative assessment was done in class. If you are present, great. If you are not, you get a 1.0. Don't forget it is your responsibility to be in class :)
Regards,
Beatriz

Thursday, 9 May 2013


Dear all,

Today I’d like to tell you a bit about myself. When I finished school I realized I did not know what to do. I loved languages but I also loved music. So I took a year off and worked to save money. Later I entered translation because I liked languages. I did English and German but right in the middle of it, there was a chance to travel to Germany and work there. So I did. When I got back to Chile I fell into teaching by chance.  Later I got my teaching degree.

I think teachers are a great contribution to society but only if they have a vocation. If not, they may be great researchers or academics, but not good educators. I feel a teacher needs to be alert and attentive to what is happening in the classroom in the whole sense of the word. They also need a lot of patience & knowledge in their area of study. A teacher, as any other professional needs constant training  (formal or informal) because the world changes, students change, and so does methodology.

I think one of my favorite subjects at Uni was phonetics. I loved the idea of studying & recognizing the English sounds and also to contrast them with the Spanish sounds. I also enjoyed semantics and pragmatics.

One professional I admire in my area of study is Rod Ellis. He is very well known in the area of second language acquisition.  He has published a lot of books & I love the way he writes. In his books he has covered areas of second language acquisition not only from the traditional angle but also in a more critical fashion. He has got a very clear way to express his ideas. I think this is good because not all teachers have the time to read and if it is too complex, they may get lost and stop reading. This, I think is because the lack of research most teachers (especially school teachers!) do

Say:

-Why are you studying this career?

- How do professionals in your area contribute to society?

- What tools will a professional in your area need to have in the future?

- What is your favourite subject?

- Include this and more in your answer.

- 195 words minimum. (4 comments )

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

I have really enjoyed listening to all this music.
Lovely :)
Thanks for showing me so many new things guys :)