[nobe-l] Teaching College Spanish

[Robert Spangler]

Hello Ashley,

Thanks for your response.  I do recall seeing your posts in the past on 
the NABS list.  My main concerns are the blindness-related ones, such as 
being able to call on people and grading students' tests.  I have 
thought of the idea that you mentioned - just letting students shout out 
their names.  This may be a bit challenging with younger students but 
would probably work very well in a college classroom.  I'll have a look 
at the archives when I get a chance.

Thanks,
Robert Spangler, B.A. in Urban Studies and Spanish
spangler.robert at gmail.com

On 5/21/2013 12:46 PM, Ashley Bramlett wrote:
> Robert,
> That is great you got into grad school and have the challenge of
> teaching a subject you've studied a long time.
> Because you are teaching college, classroom management should be easier.
> By college, they should know how to act and if they don't and continue
> acting out, you can ask them to leave the class.
>
> BTW, I'm not a teacher, but thought about going into teaching blind or
> other special ed kids someday; so I'm on this list. You may know me from
> the nabs list; now I have a general BA degree in liberal studies and a
> certificate in writing that I just finished.
>
> I can speak to what I saw work in college as well as reiterate other
> tips. This subject has been discussed lots in the past so you may want
> to check the archives too.
> Classroom management is a lot about establishing an open collaborative
> environment where people share ideas and you show respect and interest
> to your students. First, set expectations down the first day. State them
> in your syllabus. I'm sure you've seen rules from other professors;
> model that wording. Announce the rules and attendance policy the first
> day. For instance, my business professor said something like
> "I expect you all to come to class every day; we will cover material not
> in the textbook that you need for exams. If you cannot come to class
> every day, then take the class online."
> Then  she said, "I'd like to ask that all cell phones be turned off and
> if you come in late, please walk that way, not across the room by my
> overhead."
>
> I assume
> Second, establish rapport with students. Getting to know names will be
> important to you. Besides, students prefer that over teachers meerly
> pointing to them.
> You probably should do a ice breaker activity the first day so students
> get to know each other and you. After all, I suppose in a spanish class,
> you will do group activities a lot to practice conversation skills. I
> know when I took spanish in high school
> that we did a lot of conversation practice with a partner.
>
> Specific to being blind, here is what I've heard from teachers.
> 1. While they are doing activities, walk around the room to listen to
> groups. You can see who is on task this way. You can also interject
> ideas for groups having problems or questions.
>
> 2. You'll need a way to get the class's attention. Someone else can
> comment on that better. But what might work is a hand signal you use.
> 3. You cannot call on people by them raising hands. So establish another
> way to do this the first day. They could simply call out their names to
> talk is one idea.
> 4. A challenge will be monitoring tests so people don't cheat. Its
> difficult to do this as this is a silent behavior.
> But if I were a teacher, I'd give two versions of the test. I mean the
> same questions but in a different order. I'd also listen for clues such
> as people getting out a phone or tablet.
>
> I hope this helps some. You might see if you have specific questions and
> I'm sure there will be some answers. I believe we have one foreign
> language teacher on list.
>
> Good luck.
> Ashley
> -----Original Message----- From: Robert Spangler
> Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:06 AM
> To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nobe-l] Teaching College Spanish
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I will be starting to work on my Spanish Masters degree in the fall.  In
> January, I will start my teaching assistantship.  I will be teaching one
> class.  Although I have given it some thought, I am not very familiar
> with how someone who is blind manages a classroom.  So, I am looking for
> any tips or suggestions that anyone may be able to provide.
>