Selected Works and Reflections

In this section, you will be able to find the different works I selected that display my evolution of learning and teaching during these 4 years at the ISL; as well as a reflection of why they were chosen to be a part of this Portfolio.

Robles Lird TPR Lesson Plan 2021.pdf

TPR LESSON PLAN - PRACTICE TEACHING I, 2021

This was one of the first assignments we did within the first semester of Practice Teaching I. We were asked to create a Lesson Plan based on TPR activities in pairs. Lucia and I made this plan together.

The reason why this assignment is here is because it was my first experience of actually making a written lesson plan, and as I recall it, it wasn't easy. In addition, comparing this plan to the ones from this year, the progression and growth in developing plans is quite evident.

DAYS OF THE WEEK IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE - PRACTICE TEACHING I, 2021

During the second semester of this subject, we were given the option to work on something different, but still related to the teaching field. Then, thanks to the suggestion of our classmate Eduardo, we decided to work on Sign Language. Therefore, our Practice Teaching classes were divided into two sections: in the first part, Prof. Ortiz developed her classes as usual and during the second, Eduardo was in charge of teaching us Paraguayan Sign Language. That part itself was very challenging, but at the same time fun and insightful. After that, with a variety of materials, we started to learn American Sign Language as well. Then, our work regarding Sign Language was chosen to be presented in the Symposium, so we created a document covering the basics of American Sign Language and distributed each topic into pairs.

Lucia and I worked together, covering the days of the week and simple expressions like today, yesterday and tomorrow. After weeks of constant practice both in the classes and individually, we were able to record this video, which took us about an hour and a half, plus a good amount of time in editing and re-recording our sentences.

The reason why this video is a part of the Portfolio is that we got the opportunity to raise awareness about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and contribute to them by sharing the knowledge that we had on ASL and LSPY, to inspire others to keep researching and learning about it .

Canada Presentation/Exchange Project Benefits Presentation TEAM 4

PARAGUAYAN/NORTH-AMERICAN AND CANADIAN CURRICULUM + REFLECTION ON INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROJECT - CURRICULUM 2022

For this project, we were divided into groups with students from Texas. Our task was to work with those groups for 6 weeks, comparing and contrasting our national curriculum with the North-American curriculum, as well as having synchronous meetings with our team members to have discussion sessions. Then, we were asked to choose a 3rd country (in our case, Canada) and compare it to both the PY and US curriculum, as well as researching current educational problems that the country is facing and finally, we reflected on the benefits and challenges of participating in an online Exchange Project. Lucia and I were a part of Team 4 and worked very closely with our partners, despite the distance.

The reason why I chose this fragment of the project to be present in the Portfolio is that it allowed us to do an in-depth research about our national curriculum, with the goals and expectations for the students and then compare it to international curricula. This project was very enriching and insightful, as we discovered that despite living in different places, we shared a lot of similarities in our respective curriculums, especially in the areas that are in need of improvement, which is something that took me by surprise, as I expected those countries to not have the same deficiencies as we do. Also, after reflecting about the project, it is safe to say that we agreed that the benefits outweigh the challenges, as the results are very eye-opening and useful.

Robles Valeria Paraprofessionals Presentation

PARAPROFESSIONALS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION IN PARAGUAY - PRACTICE TEACHING II, 2022

In my opinion, this was one of the most insightful assignments we did throughout this year, as once we were already familiar with the roles and importance of Paraprofessionals, we had the chance to compare what our Government Laws about Inclusive Education claim to provide to students with special needs or disabilities, versus the actual reality of their situation; which is disappointing, to say the least.

Because of this, I chose this presentation to be a part of the Portfolio, as it shows what I have interpreted from the Law of Inclusive Education, as well as the research I did regarding our country’s reality when it comes to people with disabilities and special needs. It is obvious that our country is very far away from meeting the expectations that the Law claims and it is infuriating, but at least it raises awareness and can help to look for potential solutions to improve this issue, since we are at least talking about the topic and not turning a blind eye, as this doesn’t directly affect us.

In addition, at the end of the presentation you will be able to find my recorded discussion about the topic, in which my thoughts and ideas are expressed more freely.

Robles Valeria Textbook Evaluation Checklist Practice Teaching .pdf

TEXTBOOK EVALUATION - PRACTICE TEACHING II, 2022

For the textbook evaluation activity, I chose the following book: Stopwatch Student’s Book and Workbook - 1A, by Simon Brewster. This book is my sister’s English book from her school and she is in ninth grade. The results from this evaluation were overall positive, as the book was suitable for the students’ age and level ( nine graders with an A1 level) and it also included topics that were of the students’ interests. The presentation of the book was eye-catching and it had exercises that covered the main 4 areas of language: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Moreover, the book considered cultural issues as it had a unit related to customs and traditions of foreign countries and it was handled in a respectful way, which is something I really appreciate. Furthermore, the contents and tasks made it possible to experiment with different activities such as individual, in pairs, small groups or even whole-class. The tasks also ranged from simple to more complex like in the direct method of teaching, which I believe is an appropriate way, especially when dealing with beginners.

The aspects in which the book wasn’t so positive were related to its durability as the material is very thin and easy to break and also, it is quite expensive, therefore it is not easily accessible for everyone.. All in all, I believe this is a very good book since it is age and level appropriate, it has nice visuals as well as accurate content related to the students’ age and level. The aspects to improve are more related to the company/ies that are in charge of manufacturing the book and choosing the material as it is very thin and fragile. And regarding the affordability of the book, this is also not necessarily related to the book quality or contents, but I pointed that out because its price makes it not accessible for many students, which ideally, shouldn’t be the case.

The reason why this task is present in the Portfolio is because it was my first experience evaluating a book and it made me realize the importance of taking the time to do this evaluation, as it helps the teacher to decide if the book will meet their goals and requirements or not.

Robles_Valeria_Article_Critique_Task_TEACHING PR.pdf

ARTICLE CRITIQUE TASK - PRACTICE TEACHING II, 2022

For this task, we were asked to critically evaluate a research article with the intention to identify its strengths and weaknesses. I chose the main article in which my upcoming Thesis Project is based on, as I was already familiarized with the article, but also because it helped me to deeply analyze the paper and acknowledge the aspects in which it will be beneficial for my paper, and other aspects where I will need to conduct further research.

This paper is part of the Portfolio because it was very insightful, as it was beneficial for my Thesis Project, but also for this subject because the paper was still related to the field of education, bilingual education to be more precise.

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