Teaching Philosophy

In the courses I teach, my main goals are for students to improve their communication skills in Spanish by enriching their vocabulary, grammatical skills, and oral practice; to increase their cultural competency about Hispanic cultures; and to enhance their overall critical thinking that has practical implementations in other courses, their careers, and their lives. Students need to learn something else than a list of Spanish and Latin American authors and works. I believe that a way to develop their own critical thinking is by connecting the analysis of literary, artistic, and cultural works with students’ current realities. For example, in one of the classes I taught about literary and pictorial trends in Latin America, Spain, and the USA, I asked my students to create a work of art or a short story showing critically the social problems that some minorities face (Chicanos, Indigenous people, immigrants, and women).

In every course that I teach, I pay special attention to diversity, mostly in terms of disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, social class, and nationality. My objective is to teach students, within my capabilities, about the social injustice, exclusion, and challenges that minorities suffer in our society. I want students to be more aware of the importance of social diversity and their contribution to greater equality in the world. To implement diversity in the academic curriculum, I choose materials written by a variety of authors −immigrants, women, people with disabilities−, or texts that deal with social issues that make students reflect on the circumstances in which they live, making them compare the situation in Hispanic countries with the one in the USA. 

As an educator, I am committed to a communicative, content-based approach. I intentionally incorporate principles of neurodiversity and diverse learning styles when designing my courses in Canvas. To ensure accessibility and inclusion, I follow the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. (G.28) I use technology as a supporting tool to achieve this outcome, ensuring its employment does not replace text reading, oral discussions, and writing activities. Through the incorporation of AI educational apps (Canva, ChatGPT), films, texts on Canvas, Google Slides presentations, Google Sites, videos, comics, and songs into the curriculum, I use technology to create connections between students and the Spanish-speaking world (G.23, G.24, G.25, G.26). For instance, in SPAN 407, I included Spanish films and Netflix series to analyze political, social, and historical aspects related to women from Spain within the film industry in the 20th and 21st centuries. I use an interdisciplinary approach, including cinema about women and cinema created by women. The students analyze films, series, and documentaries as texts capable of expressing cultural and historical changes in Spanish society: The Civil War, Francoism, the Transition, historical memory, immigration, violence against women and the LGBT+ community, feminism, and the new fashions of visual culture on Netflix 

As learners with high motivation, self-confidence, and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for success in class, my teaching approach is always student-centered and focused on providing personal, tailored attention to each student, acknowledging the many different methods of learning and students’ diverse personalities and experiences. One of the requirements in my courses is that students give oral presentations about various cultural or literary topics not covered in the course. This inquiry-based activity allows students to be active in their own learning process, to familiarize themselves with how to look for information and do research, to practice their oral skills, and to collaborate on the contents of the course. I also try to actively involve my students in class discussions. I usually ask them to work in small groups so that they have the opportunity to express their ideas without feeling intimidated, and then I ask them to share their opinions with the whole class. In this way, I manage to create a welcoming and safe environment for them to practice their oral Spanish skills. 

Students require copious amounts of practice in using the target language, but this practice must be contextualized, meaningful, and engaging for them. Therefore, I tend to create a dynamic environment with multiple activities. I always use Canvas to include files of all the information I provide in class, texts we read, quizzes, and forums for discussion. I use pictures from the Internet when explaining paintings or architecture, or clips when talking about historical or cultural events. I also show scenes from documentaries and movies to exemplify different topics and motivate students to learn more about Hispanic cultures. For instance, in the course about cultures of Spain, I include songs by different Spanish groups to analyze political, social, and historical aspects related to “Madrid Scene” after Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died, as well as different media to emphasize the diversity of cultures and languages that coexist in today’s Spain. 

My main goals in the courses I teach are to help students: a) increase their cultural competency about the Hispanic world; b) develop their critical thinking; c) provide them with the necessary tools to deal with information, their careers, and their lives. To this end, I set high expectations for them while giving them the support needed to succeed: scaffolded learning, clear and well-organized course materials, formative evaluation, and educational modeling. I have also designed new courses to enrich and update the Spanish MA program by modernizing its curriculum and creating courses that address contemporary issues of social justice in ways that are thematically relevant and intellectually engaging.

Responses on the Student Opinion Questionnaires demonstrate a continuous trend of excellence in my pedagogy and the connection with the students to keep them engaged in my classes: Spanish history, literature, and culture, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The responses to my classes’ format, structure, and tutoring have been positive in the SOQ Comment Report and student correspondence.

I read all SOQ comments, paying attention to changes I need to incorporate in the pedagogy, the materials, or the method of evaluating students’ performance when necessary. In addition to SOQs, I use a student-reflection activity. In this activity, students must answer two questions to reflect on the subject and themselves as learners: “What did I learn about myself in this class?” and “What SPAN # taught me?” In this way, the learning is meaningful for them, and I can see what I need to improve in my classes.