Which training courses would you like to have access to as a teacher? Which is the best way to share good practice amongst teaching professionals?

Some of the courses that I'd like to access I have already had the opportunity to do them. Among them, the most helpful and interesting were: Learning Based in Projects; other interesting courses I've done have been Open Online Resources and Application of New Technologies for Teaching Practice.

Nowadays, I would like to take courses in:

eTwinning Platform: Introduction and Utilities: Introduction and Utilities. I am interested in this course because through eTwinning students have the opportunity to perform activities through internet (ICT) with fellow class (group work) or a foreign school (group work on a CLIL environment) without paying a trip to another country.

• Programming a Classroom: I think a good classroom programming, though it's hard to do well, saves working time, provides fun and makes a class effective while the teacher gives personal satisfaction and meets the objectives of the curriculum.
• New Technologies for Teacher's Organization: a good way to help teachers to save time is through the organization of classes, exams, notes .. through new technologies. There are applications like google docs, to share documents, or Courses123 - language learning - Math vs. Undead: Math Workout, Brainly.com - Homework help or GS Kids! Preschool Games.
• Science experiments IN the classroom: there are some science subjects that can become boring and monotonous, but teachers can do them exciting by simply doing a little experiment in the classroom. The experiments should be simple so that they can be performed in the classroom, economic for students can bring cheap material to work with, and will not require more than one class for its realization (or can be deferred from one class to another).
• Practical Resources for Applying Science in the Classroom: Resources practical application of science in the Classroom: not only experiments, but other resources should be developed in order to make attractive and interesting classes. A teacher alone can lack sufficient imagination to develop resources for all classes, but with a course and training, the doors of the mind can open to new ways of looking at classes so that teachers share their own materials.
• Assessment through the Portfolio: Being the portfolio one of the novelties to be implemented in the classroom, instruments should be necessary for training the assessment of it. If I know how to evaluate a portfolio, I can explain to my students what they will be required from this work and what they should do.

In my opinion, the best way to share good practice amongst teaching professionals is through internet. I think the future of education involves new forms of communication, and both students and teachers (who must channeling them into the working world and, why not, also in the personal world) must know and use these forms of communication . The best way is to form in them, know their strengths and weaknesses and accept them as the present, not the future.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WOULD TEACH YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT YOUR SUBJECT (IN A CLIL CONTEXT?) HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THEIR LEARNING?

Subject: Chemistry (2nd BAC)

The most important thing I would teach my students would be chemical applications in real life. For instance:

• The importance of food (knowing what do we eat, the effects of natural and artificial substances on the body).

• The risks and benefits of following healthy and unhealthy habits, respectively (e.g. effects of sport, smoking, drugs ...).
  

• Awareness of what we are and what we are made of, and the appreciation of all things of nature, live and inert, since we are made of the same.

• The interest in learning about the world around us and what things are made of (e.g. the colors of a sunset come from energy released by turning hydrogen into helium, as the sun is dying for these reactions).                                                                                                                     
  
                                                                                                                       
  
  I would assess their learning through project-based learning. I have participated in some courses in this regard and I think it is one of the most interesting, practical and effective ways of carrying out learning because its aim is not only to train students, but to make them capable of improving their environment and positively influence their nearest community (friends, teachers, parents, neighbors, members of your neighborhood or city ...).
  In order to produce this learning in a CLIL environement, the students will create those projects using etwinning learning platform, which is an iniciative of the European Comission that aims to encourage European schools to collaborate using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by providing the necessary infrastructure (online tools, services, support). Therefore, teachers registered in the eTwinning action are enabled to form partnerships and develope collaborative, pedagogical school projects in any subket area with the sole requirement to employ ICT to develope their project and collaborate with teachers from other European countries (at least two teachers from two different European countries are needed). They will construct projeects with students from other countries, so that their scientific trojects will have greater impact and diffusion. To do this, my students will llearn language while learning through language. Now I'll show an example of the evaluation of these projects in a CLIL environement.

          http://www.etwinning.net/es/pub/index.htm

         

• EXAMPLE: Science Fair Experiment
• PART 1: The evaluation of the scientific part

CATEGORY	EXCELLENT	VERY WELL	ACCEPTABLE	INSUFFICIENT
IDEA	Independently identified a problem / question he/ she found interesting and could be investigated.	He/ she identified with the help of an adult, an issue / question he/ she found interesting and could be investigated.	He/ she identified with the help of an adult, an issue / question that could be investigated.	He/ she identified a problem / question that could not be tested / investigated or was not merit any investigation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURE	The procedures were outlined step by step so that can be followed by anyone without requiring further explanation. He did not need adult help to carry this out.	The procedures were outlined step by step so that can be followed by anyone without requiring further explanation. He needed some help from an adult.	The procedures were outlined step by step, but had 1 or 2 deficiencies that required explanation even after feedback from an adult.	The procedures were outlined were quite incomplete or disorder, even after feedback from an adult.
EXHIBITION	Each display element and its function was served to illustrate clearly some aspect of the experiment. All objects, diagrams, graphs, etc. were labeled carefully and correctly.	Each element had its role and clearly served to illustrate some aspect of the experiment. Most objects, diagrams, graphs, etc. were labeled correctly and carefully.	Almost each element had its role and served to illustrate some aspect of the experiment. Most objects, diagrams, graphs, etc. were correctly labeled, others not.	The exhibition seemed incomplete or chaotic without a clear plan. Many labels were absent or incorrect.
CONCLUSION / SUMMARY	The student provided a detailed conclusion clearly based on data and recommendations related to previous research and hypotheses.	The student gave a somewhat detailed conclusion, but clearly based on data and assumptions related to.	Student provided a conclusion with some reference to data and hypotheses.	The conclusion was obvious or important details were overlooked.

• EXAMPLE: Science Fair Experiment
• PART 2: The evaluation of the linguistic part

CATEGORY	EXCELLENT	VERY WELL	ACCEPTABLE	INSUFFICIENT
COMPLETE SENTENCES	Speak in complete sentences (99-100%) all the time.	Mostly (80-98%) speaks in complete sentences.	Sometimes (70-80%) speaks in complete sentences.	Rarely speaks in complete sentences.
SPEAK CLEARLY	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time and has no mispronunciation.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but with a mispronunciation.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most (94-85%) of the time. No mispronunciation.	Often mumbles or you can not understand or have bad pronunciation.
VOCABULARY	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Increases vocabulary audience defining words that might be new to this.	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Includes 1-2 word that might be new to most of the audience, but does not define.	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Excludes vocabulary that might be new to the audience.	Use several (5 or more) words or phrases that are not understood by the audience.
CONTENT	Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the subject.	Demonstrates a good understanding of the subject.	Demonstrates a good understanding of parts of the subject.	There seems to understand very well the subject.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF INTRODUCING ELP IN CLASS

The ELP is a document that reflects the linguistic development of each person. Reflects not only the official titles that give us knowledge of a language, but what is more important, our multilingual experiences throughout life.
As ELP doesn't need official certification to be processed. This document can begin to be realized from an early age, to continue developing it throughout our lives.
It is recognized throughout the EU and beyond. It can be used in a job interview, etc. We can show interest and knowledge of a language, even without having an official qualification thereof.
It consists of: a Language Passport, unique format in which our level of language skills are summarized in the fields of learning; a Language Biography, in which are collected in more detail lingüísitcas our experiences, multicultural contacts, ...; and a Dossier, in which the evidence of these experiences are collected (from official certificates to certificates stays, jobs ...).

The importance of the ELP in the classroom is basic and fundamental, for several reasons:

- Students who work in CLIL system have, as one of the priority objectives, to learn in and throug another language. The development of an ELP allows them to reflect their language skills not only through their official certificates (if they have them, since in primary and secondary education is not likely to have them), but from their multicultural experiences.

- The ELP allows sharing these experiences with their peers, and understand that interest in other languages and cultures should be something widespread in class, which is encouraged with ELP students themselves.

- One of the greatest achievements in education is to enable students to acquire independent learning. The ELP is an effective way for each student to analyze, monitor and evaluate such learning.

The main drawback I see in apllicación and use of the ELP is the lack of knowledge on the part of the educational authorities of this resource. Over time, gradually and with the right motivation, I think  that this system of implementation of multilingualismit will be implemented in classrooms. I am optimistic about it.

To all the great teachers and pupils

I would like to pay tribute to all the great teachers I met in the past, and those who I didn't. And especially to thank students that allow us to be better teachers.

«Ataturkstatue» de Aviad2001 - Trabajo propio. Disponible bajo la licencia Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 vía Wikimedia Commons -

Creativity

'We remain anchored in the outdated idea of transmitting knowledge to develop ourselves in an industrial society and not in a society that pursues creativity and innovation to progress.'

Eduard Punset, May 20014

Science has shown that memories that are set in our mind are associated with an emotion. A student can not learn from a boring or a monotonous way, because the student tends to erase from his mind those moments that have not produced anything. A teacher must be creative in their classes, or let his students to be creative. The student will learn everything that produces an emotion in him/ her (positive emotion) as joy, surprise, amazement, laughter, fun or pride to demonstrate their knowledge. And this requires the teacher to develop their creativity.

I recommend visiting this website that comes to creativity in education:

http://www.revistadocrea.com/

Respect for human beings and Nature

The respect for human beings and the nature that surrounds us is a fundamental quality without a teacher can not teach. We live in an increasingly globalized world, where it is hard not to have a student from another culture or reality to the rest of the classroom. We have also noticed that we depend on the environment to live, and we have to take care of it as much as we have to take care from each other.
We don't have to forget that children do what they see, not what they are told to do. The video shown below, although it may have some shocking scenes, merely to show this reality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbi2fa2_3nk

We are social animals and are biologically programmed to mimic humans around us, of which we learn. Let us never forget that the behavior of our students depends much more than we think, of our own behavior. We have to get positively influence to their behavior, to help create a more friendly and happy society.

Passion

This entry begins with a dramatization of the poem of Rafael Alberti, 'Pleamar'.

The issue I want to address is passion. The first time I became aware of the importance of passion for any activity that we develop in life was in music class in 3rd of ESO. I remember one fellow who was not of the most brilliant neither sharp in classes, radically changed its attitude in music classes taught by don Miguel. From being a passive and confused student, he became the most attentive and interested when Don Miguel taught us. This teacher loved music and teaching alike, and so he transmitted it. And my partner, who is currently a great musician, he understood that passion, that motivated him without paragon.

The dance seen in the video makes me think that a good artist, whether poet, musician, dancer ... must be passionate about their art, just as a good teacher should be passionate about teaching and learning.

I recommend this blog entry, which discusses the passion in teaching.

http://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/my-passion-education