Señora Cummins' Reflections

 I teach 5 different college classes: 1300:  Conversational Spanish 1411:  Beginning Spanish I 1412:  Beginning Spanish II 2311:  Intermediate Spanish I 2312:  Intermediate Spanish II This semester, I'm teaching my 1300 for the first time as an Honors class.  We started yesterday. I've done this job long enough to expect that day 1 will feel a bit awkward.  It's important to me that students feel prepared for the rest of the semester.  However, I always feel like I've talked too much. When I first started teaching college Spanish, I would go over the entire syllabus.  I think I even read it.  I've since made a Syllabus scavenger hunt. I make a game of students completing it in pairs using the syllabus.  After I declare the winning team I go over the main points I want to emphasize from the syllabus. I skipped this yesterday, wanting to save time.  I'm reminded why it's a good idea to give students a break from me talking. ...

My mom asked me once if my college gives a "Mother Hen Award." She was implying that I mother hen my students.  She's right.  I care deeply and I have the luxury of teaching a relatively small number of students each semester.  I do "mother hen" them a bit. Other awards I would win: Most likely to refill the water in the faculty coffee maker. Most likely to take her guitar to class. Most likely to have a broken guitar.  (I allowed a student to play my guitar this semester.  My kindness was rewarded with a broken piece and not realizing it until I took it out to play in class. Most likely to discuss fashion in class.  We study clothing & shopping vocabulary.  I also think fashion is really interesting.  Most likely to decorate her office for the holidays.  Yes :)

This semester I'm allowing my face to face class to take their quizzes and tests in person.  I have so many online sections that it's easier on my end for all my classes to use the online proctor when they take quizzes and tests.  Added to that, former students in my face to face sections told me they preferred taking the quizzes and tests online because they could take them at home, it was easier to focus, etc. My own son is in a dual credit class that requires online proctoring this semester.  It's going fine now, but getting it set up was a headache.  I wanted to offer the option to my face to face students to avoid the online proctoring.  We discussed it as a class and they agreed that they preferred to take the quizzes and tests face to face. Here's what I'm finding:  grades are about the same.  Students seem more nervous on our class review day because they know a quiz or test is coming at the end of class.  If they miss class they have to m...

This semester I'm launching my SPAN 1300 course:  Conversational Spanish.  I'm glad we can offer it.  People have asked for this class ever since I began teaching college Spanish classes. What I'm noticing is that I allow more freedom in this class than I do in my SPAN 1411, 1412, 2311 & 2312 courses.  In those courses I know the students may be going on to the next level of Spanish and I need to be sure they are prepared. However, in 1300 there's this lovely freedom that what the student puts into learning is their choice.  We don't have quizzes or tests.  How freeing for me as the instructor. But what I'm noticing is that as the instructor I have to be OK with students choosing not to give as much to the class as I think they should.  I worked hard to create a class that teaches them how to use Spanish in conversation at a basic level.  Some of my students are putting 110% effort into the class.  Others aren't.  And that's their ch...

As I'm building my Spanish conversation class, I'm thrilled that our librarian helped me find an amazing resource.  It's videos of Native-Spanish speakers telling about specific topics:  numbers, food, colors, etc.  The videos are very short and easy for beginning students to understand. They also already have CC in English and Spanish.  This resource is fantastic.   Hooray for wonderful OER resources!

 I'm in the process of creating my 5th class using OER materials.  Whew.  That's a lot. This time around, I'm creating a class I haven't taught before.  When I redesigned my 1411 class I had already taught it numerous times with 2 different curricula, both excellent.  I knew what the class should feel like.  I switched over to using different materials, but it wasn't really new to me.  The same was true for the other 3 classes I redesigned. This time around I'm creating a conversation class.  I'm at the point now where I have the scope and sequence complete and each chapter has a summary of the vocab we'll be studying.  I'm now building out the drill assignments.   When I build assignments I like to label them as "drill" or "apply."  With a drill assignment, students know they are practicing the information at a very basic comprehension level.   Today I wrote a drill assignment and just wasn't sure if it was good....

Today in class we wrapped up Ch 1.  Ch 1 Quiz is later this week. I have found that many students have test anxiety.  I have weekly announcements I send out to my beginning classes that give study tips.  Hopefully this helps them feel more prepared as we go into quizzes and tests.  This point of the class is a natural time to discuss ethical usage of AI. Today we discussed ethical usage of AI with Spanish.  It was a great discussion.   A student pointed out it's helpful to use AI to make practice material to study.  This was new for me. I give them a chapter 1 summary that has everything on it.  In my mind, use that to study the material.  Make flash cards.  Practice them. I'm unsure how an AI can improve upon that, but if a student has found a way to learn the material, fantastic.

I tend to be hard on myself.  Especially as an instructor I expect myself to always be at 100%. This semester I have 2 different sections of the same face to face class.  I prefer to teach the same material to both classes.  That way, they have quizzes at the same time and the overall class schedule is easier for me to manage. However, when 1 section has a day off for a holiday and the other doesn't, this is tricky.  When this happened last semester I had 2 sections on Monday/Wednesday and my Honors section on Tuesday/Thursday.  When my "regular" classes had Labor Day off I made the class my Honors section had on that week a "fun" class.  I asked them what they wanted to discuss.  A student suggested the topic of Mexico City's issue of sinking.  We discussed that issue and possible solutions as well as the tomato festival in Buñol, Spain.  It was a great class. I chose not to go that direction this semester with my "regular" class that met on...

I like taking Fridays to reflect. For me, it's easier to disengage from work if I have closure. I have a weekly to do list.  On it I have all the items I need to check off M-F in the first part but second part contains the items that need to be done eventually. Everything from the first section is checked off.  Whew. Wins from week 1: I stopped using Zoom in my class lectures.  It was a headache and I'm not sure the students really utilized it. I started making the PP slides for the lecture available on Canvas.  I upload them by 10am so my 10:30 and 1pm class can access them ahead of time if they want.  They can also access them after class. 3 students missed day 1 of class.  It was so nice to send them the pdf of the slides and tell them to see what we did in class. I am uploading weekly songs for my 1411 online classes. My F2F classes do weekly songs.  It feels unfair that the online sections don't get to benefit from them.  This semester I'll u...

Change.  Boo.  Thumbs down. This semester I'm not doing anything "new." I'm not launching a new curriculum like I did last spring. I'm not teaching an Honors section for the first time like I did last fall. Everything I'm doing this semester I've done before.  However, there are tweaks: In 2311: *All students are online. *I have more students enrolled in this class than I ever have before. *They are using Day One Access to purchase the curriculum.  If all goes well it should be cheaper and easier for students.  Fingers crossed that all goes well... In 1411: *I'm making attendance required in F2F again.  I stopped this after COVID but a student last semester asked me to add it back.  She said it helps her be motivated to attend class. *I'm giving grades during my F2F classes again.  I used to give a general "participation" grade in each class but I dropped it because it wasn't really working.  This semester I'll give specific parti...

I launched my SPAN 1412 with OER materials this past semester.  Whew.  It was an adventure. I knew launching the course with these materials would be a challenge.  I wasn't sure if the students would learn the information needed to go on with SPAN 2311 with me or at another institution. I was nervous--we went over challenging material that they needed to master. The good news is that it was a success.  I learned a few lessons: *I'm a great teacher face to face.  I saw that my face to face section did better on concepts on quizzes than my online section.   While celebrating that face to face was going well I had to figure out how to make my online course better. *I added grades for watching select lecture videos.   A dual credit student last spring told me if I expect students to watch a video a grade has to be tied to it.  Yuck.  I resist that but I accept it.   I created concept review videos (less than 4 minutes) that st...

I don't love the internet.  I'm 44, so I went all the way through high school without using the internet much.  I remember using email for the first time my freshman year in college. I have a Spanish verb conjugation book from grad school that I much prefer to using anything online.  I actually purchased the updated digital version but it's clunky to navigate on my Kindle.  I much prefer the paper version.  I don't trust the internet.  My parents are very cautious with anything online.  They don't use social media at all. I use Facebook for connecting with friends and family.  I use Twitter for professional development and entertainment if I'm honest. Twitter is useful for reaching out to other Spanish instructors.  I also find good authentic Spanish resources on Twitter.   I'm very careful online.  I don't post anything I don't want on the 6PM news.  I don't want to embarrass my parents--many of their friends are friends ...

I am reading Thrive Online by Riggs.  As I'm reading I'm using this as a platform to process through my thoughts. Question:  what do I want to know about regarding online teaching: Organization.  My classes make sense to me but could they be better organized for students to navigate them more easily? Active learning.  Is there enough of this? Ed tech.  Could I be using more?  Could I be using ed tech better?  

This semester I'm launching new material for my second semester Spanish class--1412.   In first semester, 1411, students learn present tense.  In second semester we add past tense.  Both are beginning classes but the 1412 class is more challenging.  There is more memorization required for verb conjugations.  Concepts are more complex. When I began as an adjunct I used the text that was given to me by the full-time instructor.  I figured out how to pace the classes but I didn't love the complexity and cost of the textbook. So, I made the jump to using OER materials. I really like the freedom involved with OER materials.  I can modify and adjust easily.  However, everything is new.  New is tricky.  So far it's going well.  Let's celebrate this moment :)

On Twitter I followed a thread regarding if professors make their slide decks available for students. I like higher ed Twitter because I get to see what others in my profession are thinking and doing. This semester I'm teaching 3 classes:  my SPAN 2312 is online with 2 sections, my SPAN 1412 has an online section and a face to face section and my SPAN 1411 has 2 face to face sections.  It's a lot of prep. I've taught the 2312 online previously.  It's asynchronous but we have Zoom study sessions students can choose to participate in.  I have lecture videos that they can watch.  I'm at peace with that. My 1412 is redesigned.  Last semester I completed redid it using OER materials.  The online section is complete but I'm working class by class to build the slide decks for the face to face classes. I like the challenge of it, but it's an awkward process.  Pacing is tricky because I don't know how long each activity will take.   My face to fa...

When I designed my 1411 section my goal was to make it completely free for students to use.  I accomplished this goal and students were very appreciative. I was warned to not begin designing 1412 immediately.  The advice was to let 1411 be for a while and make sure it all worked well.  I intended to follow this advice, but students wanted 1412 to also be free and the issues that made me want to switch to using OERs became that much more glaring after the success of 1411. In June I found 2 OERs that fit well for my 1412 class.  I got permission to use them.  I have a soft goal of January to have the 1412 ready but I've also tried really hard to relax this summer.  I don't relax well but I made myself to a break from work over June.   In July I've been teaching Summer 2 so I've been working on the 1412 build.  So far, I'm almost done with the "learning" portion of the class.  I'm glad I've worked slowly because a lot of thought needs to go...

 It's been a long time since I've been on a mission trip.  My first was when I think I was in 8th grade.  Our church youth group went to New Orleans.  I remember it was the first time I had seen people who were really in need. It softened me. I went on a mission trip during spring break during my junior year at Baylor.  We went to Boston and painted a church.  I remember cleaning the floor after my teammates painted and left paint on the floor.  I also remember having fun with friends. I've been praying for an opportunity to use my Spanish skills on a mission trip for years--over 20 years.  I finally was brave enough to go on one. A saying on our Dare Greatly daily calendar:  "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." --Mahatma Gandhi We went to Costa Rica.  There were 14 of us from our church.  It was fantastic.  My twin sons went.  I was nervous about that because they were some of ...

I love graduation:  the traditions, the nervous excitement of the graduates, the pride in the parents' faces. Last night I had to miss my youngest sons' beginner band concert to attend graduation.  I attended his brothers' junior high band concert last week but had to miss his.  He understood, but I know it still stung.  Being a working mom is tough. But graduation was beautiful.  I knew quite a few students I loved being a part of their moment. Faculty carry flags to represent the countries of our international students.  I love carrying a flag.  I can only imagine the courage it takes for a student to come to north Texas to attend college.   When I was in grad school and lived in Madrid I often felt like a fish out of water.  I am a kinder person, better educated instructor and more empathic citizen of the world thanks to my time abroad.  I will happily carry a flag to cheer on our students.

I find myself wanting "normal."  I don't know who I feel like I need to be "as normal as" or why. I heard on a podcast that expecting normal (pre-Covid) to return is offensive.  We've been changed and normal won't return.  Wow.  I hadn't thought of that. For me, I feel like I don't enjoy things as much as before the pandemic.  I have a deep sense of worry now that I didn't feel before. I'm also prioritizing balance more than I did before. I worked hard this past semester to not push myself so hard.  To rest.  To prioritize self-care.  I'm proud to report that I'm taking this time between the end of spring 2022 and the beginning of Summer 2 to be "off." Unfortunately, "off" is hard for me.  On the Ennegram scale I'm a 2 with a strong 3 wing.  The 3 in me really doesn't do "off" well.  But I'm learning. Pre-pandemic I had just transitioned my hybrid classes into the flipped model.  It was a ...

I love book clubs.  I have been a part of many through the years.  I love the feeling of community and the feeling of being on a journey with others.   The first time I taught my SPAN 2312 class I was overwhelmed.  As an adjunct I taught 1411 enough times to feel comfortable with it.  Then I added 1 section of 1412.  That semester was a challenge--I had to stay 1 step ahead of my students.  Whew.  I think I learned about as much as they did that semester. When I moved into full-time, I found out I had the job the Friday before classes started Monday.   I would be teaching at the college face to face, online sections for the first time and dual credit in a high school face to face.  Yikes.  It was a lot. I had never taught dual credit students in a high school setting before.  And, I was teaching a class I had never taught in a book I had never even seen.  Added to this, the instructor I was replacing had no conta...