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Some photos from one of the most successful classes. In the first photo, the students, representing the states, formulate some questions. In the second and third, a state asks a question and listens while the candidate answers (dipicted in photo 4). The student who asked the question represented Nevada, and the student asked about the candidate’s position on gambling and the casino industry in Las Vegas. The candidate had no problems with gambling (the other candidate did not want his photo to be taken).

The script of one student’s speech, which she had prepared at home.

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Final Project Reflections

I conducted my final MOOC project in all of the classes of 4th of ESO.  For three of the classes, I was only able to spend one class period doing the lesson.  However with two classes I was able to devote two different class periods with the project.

The classes that were able to spend two different class periods on the project seemed to complete the task a bit better than the other classes and also seemed to enjoy the project a lot.  This could be due to giving them a week in between the classes to prepare for the speech as well as devoting an entire 55 minute class to introducing and explaining the process of the electoral college system.  However, the students in these classes, in general, have a better understanding and level of the English language; thus, their higher level could have contributed to the lesson’s success as well.

Some students chose to take the debate and election very seriously.  The serious candidates (every class had at least one) either drew upon what they already knew about American politics or did research in order to build a good platform while developing their speeches.  However, I also allowed the students to use imaginary or absurd policy positions if they felt uncomfortable with speaking about politics in front of their classmates or if they felt like they didn’t have the vocabulary to successfully write and give a political speech in English. For example, one student suggested that, in order to solve the problems of obesity and fast-food consumption in America, he wanted to import Spanish tortilla (with onion) and other traditional Spanish meals to the country.  I thought it was a funny and creative idea.

If I ever choose to implement the project again, I think I would make sure (or at least attempt) to be able to dedicate two separate classes for the activity.  This would be to have more time to explain the electoral college system, to have more time to do the actual debate and election, and to give students the time in between the two classes in order to do some research or to prepare for the election.  

Some teachers also suggested that I should in the future choose the two candidates.  In my classes, I either asked for volunteers or, if no one wanted to volunteer, chose at random.  This caused some of the students with weaker levels of English to have to give a speech in front of the class.  This was difficult for some of them.  Perhaps in the future I will ask the main teacher to choose the two candidates. 

Still, I think the project was a success overall.  The students really enjoyed it.  By the end of the last class they were able to show that they understood the electoral college system.  By having a fun and interesting debate and election, the material was solidified in their memory.  The teachers also seemed to enjoy it and expressed satisfaction with the class at the end.  I will surely repeat this lesson with other groups of students in the future.

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Final Project Presentation, Handouts, Works Cited, etc.

Teacher Instructions, Student Handouts, and Works Cited:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q0gvhQXsOg0REKaD_Y1KJJLJtH02OyhFhvGPQ5gEv4E/edit?usp=sharing

Google Slides Presentation:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1InMcob804_DhBD7UmL6fycfyF0Mf0oZ956uBk172LWE/edit?usp=sharing

Presentation Video Accompaniment (made by me):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t5Iqy-Q0C0&feature=youtu.be

Video for teachers, giving instructions to how to give the lesson (made by me):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fyIhNX3BWo&feature=youtu.be

KAHOOT review game (made by me)

https://create.kahoot.it/share/the-electoral-college/46a20c7f-77d0-4b0b-bc23-92f9ce6eccc2

Crash Course episode about US elections that can be used as an additional source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48EZKXweGDo

Post-Discussion Questions, intended to be used either at the end of the class or to be given to the students to complete independently outside of class: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NtHW4pGfB40RoZI0gfR_01iMyoVcS2Gt-aYNBaIAzpw/edit?usp=sharing

Continue reading this portfolio for all other information and explanation asked of me by the MOOC assessment.  This information can be found under the “final project” link.

Photos from the classes can be found under the “final project reflections” link.

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Final Project

Project Title: Classroom Presidential Elections Using the Electoral College

Intended for: 4th of ESO, bilingual History/Geography class.

Description: 

In this lesson, I will explain the electoral college system utilized in the United States to elect the president. During the explanation I will use an interactive Google Slides presentation (linked below) to teach the concept, including the role of the electors, the way in which the amount of electoral college points is decided, and historical precedents of candidates winning the popular vote but losing the electoral college. I will also foster a conversation between myself and the students to analyze the pros and potential cons of the system as well as prompt them to compare and contrast this system from the Spanish system.  Finally, I will break the class into various groups of different sizes.  Each group will be assigned a different state of the United States; each group will thereby have a different number of electoral points based on the number of people in that group.  Two students will run for “classroom president” and, using the electoral college system, the class will vote and a winner will be decided. 

Objectives:

The students will be able to understand the electoral college system of the United States by both instruction and participation in a mock election.

The students will develop their English vocabulary regarding presidential elections and politics.

The students will develop a basic understanding of American politics, including the two-party system, a brief understanding of said parties, and the separation of powers that exists in the American government,

The students will learn more about the regional differences of the United States both culturally and politically and will receive a more focused understanding of the specific state that is assigned to their group during the mock election.

Materials Used: 

In order to successfully complete this lesson in a class, I have chosen to utilize Google Slides in order to introduce the concept, which can be easily accompanied with an educational Youtube video from Crash Course that goes further into detail if time permits.  I have created two different Youtube videos as well.  In one, I explain to students the overall concept and history of the Electoral College.  This video can be used instead or in conjunction with the Google Slides presentation.  In the second Youtube video I’ve created, I explain the process of the mock election.  This video is mostly intended for teachers but I suppose it could also be used to explain the process to students. I will also use handouts that I’ve made to give each group more specialized information about their specific assigned state.  During the mock election, the website 270towin.com will be used.  The website has an interactive map of the United States where the electoral points of each state can be counted and added to their respective candidate.  I’ve created a Kahoot game that can be used after the explanation or as a review if the project spans more than one class period.  I have also developed a Google Doc that lists a few post-discussion questions that could be used to guide a class conversation or could be assigned as homework to be completed individually. 

Digital Tools Employed:

Presentations and slideshows: A Google Slide presentation used to introduce the history and the process of the electoral college.

Multimedia Content: Three Youtube Videos.  

A video of a native English speaker (myself) going through the presentation and explaining the history and the process of the electoral college.  This video is geared toward students and can be used either individually or in conjunction with the Google Slides presentation.

A video of a native English speaker (myself) explaining the process of the mock election.  This is geared towards teachers but could also be used to explain the process to the students if a teacher wanted to give them a listening activity.

A video of native English speakers (Crash Course) going into further detail about the political structure of the United States.  This is a fun and informative video.

I will also use the interactive electoral college map at 270towin.com to demonstrate how the electoral college works and to calculate the winner of the mock election.

Class dramatization or presentation: The debate, mock town hall, and mock election all serve as a class dramatization of an American election season and an American general election.

Games and Quizzes: A game of Kahoot that can be used to either review the material or to check for understanding immediately after the initial presentation.

Timing:

I intend that my lesson will, at least, take up an entire 55 minute class. Roughly half of the class will be designated to introducing the concept (which includes any presentation or video) as well as classroom conversation, debates, and analyzing it as a group. The last half will consist of the mock election. However, I believe that this lesson would serve well over two 55 minute classes.  In the first class, the Electoral College is explained and candidates are chosen for the mock election, which would occur in the second class. When I had two class periods to complete the lesson, the class seemed much more successful and rewarding. We had more time as a group to talk about the history of the system as well as its strengths, weaknesses, and its historical implications.  During the second class, everyone in class had time to ask questions.  The candidates also had more time to elaborate their different platforms.  Giving the students time in between the two classes to research about American political issues made their performance in the mock election much better as well. 

Teacher’s Role:

The principal teacher’s role will be minimal but still important. As always, the teacher will be there to support the LA if a concept is not being conveyed well to the students or to answer any questions that the LA may have trouble answering. The teacher can also serve as a source of knowledge as to the political situation of Spain if the students have trouble comparing and contrasting the two systems.  Classroom management and controlling behavior may also be part of the teacher’s role.

Language Assistant’s Role:

The Language Assistant will have the largest role. They will be responsible for all of the preparation as well as the introduction of the concept. The LA should initiate and help steer the group discussions. The LA will explain how the mock election will work.  They will split the students into groups and will lead the mock election.  After the activity, the LA will facilitate a final conversation where the students reflect on the electoral college.

Complementing the teacher and LA’s roles:

The teacher and the LA will serve as a united front.  The teacher will be sure that all the students are focused while the LA is introducing the concept to the students. The teacher will help bridge any language barriers that the LA may be unable to bridge. The two will both help in organizing the mock election and they will also lead and contribute to any class discussion. 

Evaluation:

Based on the content of the final discussion, the teacher and the LA will be able to evaluate the students’ level of comprehension and understanding.  Their understanding could be objectively observed with the post-discussion questions that I will assign as homework.  We could also evaluate the pronunciation and grammatical accuracy of the students’ questions and remarks during the debate and election.  Participation could also be evaluated, perhaps by the main teacher while the LA conducts the class.

Responding to diverse learning styles and levels of achievement:

This particular lesson encompasses many different learning styles in order to teach the same material. Visual learners will appreciate the Google Slides presentation, Youtube video supplement, and explanatory handout that each group receives. Perhaps auditory learners will get the most information out of the discussions and debates that arise after the introduction and after the mock debate. They will also enjoy the youtube video I made explaining the Electoral College. Most of the students in my intended class seem to be kinesthetic learners, however.  They will surely learn the most from the mock activity process themselves and I think they will enjoy it.  They may also enjoy the KAHOOT game to review the material.  Students who prefer to work in groups will learn the most by participating in the mock election.  Perhaps those who prefer to work individually will enjoy answering the discussion questions that will be assigned to them for homework. 

Students have varying strengths when it comes to English and learning new concepts in general. In terms of any language barriers, the teacher’s role will come in handy to help the LA convey lost concepts to any student needing help. The students will also work in groups and will perhaps learn from their fellow peers themselves. By working with their teachers as well as in groups, I don’t think students who tend to struggle more in class will have too much problem with these activities. I hope that the open and comfortable environment that I promote each time I’m in class would make them feel comfortable in reaching out to me if they needed help as well.

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Highlights of my experience (so far...)

Though the year is still not over, I’ve already had some very memorable days.

For the two days that came before the long Halloween weekend, the other auxiliars of my school, along with our coordinator, organized and implemented fun Halloween activities for nearly all students of ESO to participate in. Activities included bobbing for apples, musical chairs, mystery boxes, and lots of candy! My fellow coworkers and I dressed up in costumes and encouraged other students to as well!

I work with one teacher far more than others.  Her name is Ana. She is young and one of the best teachers that I have ever worked with. She easily makes her classes fun, enjoyable, and stress-free for the students. She values students’ input and, at the end of each term, asks them for ways in which we could improve as teachers. She allows the students to express themselves creatively and lets them develop their own projects and ideas. It has definitely been a pleasure working with Ana this year.

Many of my Spanish coworkers have taught me a lot of Spanish history, such as the movida madrileña and what it was like before the change to democracy. This has really enriched my experience in Spain.

I have definitely developed friendships with some of my coworkers and the other Americans that work with me. Their friendship means a lot to me and has made this year a great one!

The students that attend my school are very special. For the most part, we all have great relationships. I love learning more about them and getting to know them on a deeper level. I will always carry these memories even after I leave the auxiliar program.

I had never taught classes other than English before this year. Teaching history, geography, and physical education has been a blast and has also taught me a lot more about being a successful educator.

We are currently learning how to dance in my physical education classes. I can barely walk so this has been very difficult for me. However, it’s a fun way to get to know the students and to have a good laugh with them. Iván and Ángel, the professors of PE, are some of my favorite coworkers.

Isabel, my bilingual coordinator, has also been a delight. She has been extremely helpful throughout the school year. She has made us feel right at home at our school and sees our participation in the program as an important part of the English department at school. She has made this year very special and exciting. 

Me and my fellow auxiliars dressed up for our Halloween activities!

Onesies were in that season.

More of the English faculty enjoying the festivities.

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My favorite activities to use

The type of activity that I use depends heavily on the teacher whose class I am working with. Some of my coworkers have a very specific idea of the role that they want me to have. Some of them plan the activities that they want me to do. Within this type of teacher, some like me to work very independently from them while others prefer for us to work together. Some teachers, especially in my English classes, don’t care what I do as long as I get my students speaking as much as possible in English.  In these classes I usually utilize games or other fun / creative activities to get the conversations going. In this post, I will be focusing more on those classes where I have more of a liberty to choose what activities I do with my students.

One of my favorite things is music, so of course I love to utilize music in the classroom. One common activity that I use is to choose one of my favorite songs, introduce the students to the artist and their nationality, and have them fill in blanks as they listen to the lyrics. After this is done, there are a few different possibilities to finish the rest of the class depending on the level of the students. Sometimes we try to analyze the song on a deeper level to get to a meaning, perhaps looking at the biography of the artist or their historical moment in order to back up our claims. If the song has a music video, we can analyze the music video. In some classes we write our own songs to the same tune in order to incorporate whatever subject they are currently studying. 

Here’s an example of the biographical information about Amy Winehouse, which we discuss before looking at the lyrics of her cover of “Valerie”.

I like to use games that I played with my friends when I was a teenager in order to get my teenaged students talking. One of my favorites is “two truths and a lie”, where students have to think of three sentences about themselves. Two of these sentences are supposed to be the truth while one has to be a lie. The rest of the class, upon hearing the three sentences, has to ask the person questions about each of the three facts in order to attempt to discern the lie from the truth. This is a very fun game, especially for older students or for students who still don’t know each other that well. 

My examples. I have never stolen anything, but I did cheat and I do in fact lack a thyroid.

Sometimes I have to develop games from scratch. My absolute favorite game is based on American geography where the students imagine that they are on a road trip through the United States. As they pass through the states, they are asked questions about the region where the states are located. The answers to these questions come from material that I would have given them in class previously. The students usually get really into this game and I think they learn a lot!

The students have to start in Florida. 

As they pass through the different states, they get to see famous sites, interesting cities, and the different geographical features of that state. 

The questions that they are asked on that state deal with either the specific state or the region where it lies.

The first team to Alaska wins!

Many classes are not so rigidly structured. While the students tend to enjoy these games and the activities that I plan, I think they also thoroughly enjoy talking about what is going on in their lives or elaborating on the subject matter of their classes. In a 4th of ESO history class, a conversation about fascism in the early 20th century developed into a deeper conversation about the consequences of WWII and the political climate that we are currently living in, with students of all different backgrounds sharing varying points of view. 

In my history/geography classes of 1st of ESO, I am teaching my students how to debate. Using in-class feedback and discussion, we established a set of rules for our debates.  In the coming weeks, we will begin in-class debates regarding their history course work, such as how we should analyze artifacts from pre-history and the controversy in the United States of teaching evolution / creationism. 

In 2nd of ESO, the students from one history course were given the opportunity to design their own work of theater in which they showed what life was like in feudal Europe during the middle ages. These students wrote two skits: one in which each member of society was depicted realistically and another where everything was turned upside down, including female clergy, powerful peasants and an oppressed royal family. I aided in helping the students write the scripts as well as helping with their performance and plot development.  The experience was very positive and lead to some of the students starting a Drama Club. It now has members of students from all grades of ESO and I intend on participating with them!

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Goals

Goals for myself:

-Treat my students like they are individuals, not like they are children. Stress that their viewpoints are valid as long as they can back them up and explain why they think the way they do. This has worked for me in the past.

-Create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable speaking. I am there mostly to encourage conversation. If the students fear that they will be made fun of by the teacher or by their fellow students, they will not say a word. Make sure that they know that it’s okay to make mistakes.  Mistakes are the foundations to a pathway towards better English abilities.

-Open my students’ minds to a new way of thinking. There is more to the world than just the one that they know / the one they have always lived in.  Encourage them to look past the borders of their native languages and outside both Spain and the EU.

-Make class fun.

-Encourage students to follow their dreams.

-Be unapologetically myself in the classroom. Be an example of what a successful young adult looks like both professionally and personally. 

-Be a role model and a good representative of my country and language. 

Goals for my students:

-To further develop their English abilities. I will find success if I can see that a student’s conversational level of English has gotten demonstrably better. I will also find success if the shyest student in class begins to participate in classroom discussions, even if the grammar is incorrect and the sentence construction is awkward. I will find success if the student with the best level of English in the class learns how to listen and encourage his/her fellow students to work towards their level without belittling them.

-To learn more about my country and my language. I hope that they are interested in the cultural differences that exist between our two nations and, through understanding these differences, are less afraid of people and parts of the world that seem too different from them and their own part of the world.  I also hope that they see the common morals of family, community, and human emotion that unites us all.

-To not be so embarrassed to speak in English.

-To open their minds to ways of living or thinking that are different from their own.  I do not want to change my students’ point of view, but I expect them to always be open to see things from other points of view.

-To work hard.

-To work towards being who they truly are. English and self-expression are so closely tied because language is just another way to express yourself. I hope the students are successful in expressing their own ideas without fear or embarrassment. I want my students to express themselves, even in the face of disagreement or possible ridicule.

-To be decent and nice to their classmates (and to me please).

-To have fun, or at least try.

-To be patient with me because I am not a perfect educator. 

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The classes I work in (by grade)

Secondary School (ESO):

- 1st grade: six hours a week; three hours in geography/history classes, two hours in English classes, and one hour in physical education.

-2nd grade: three hours a week, all of which are geography/history classes.

-3rd grade: one hour a week in physical education.

-4th grade: three hours a week; one in physical education, one in an English class, and one hour with a history class. With the English hour I rotate between three different classes.  With the hour of history I rotate between two different history classes.  I did my final project with all of the classes of 4th grade.

Bachillerato

-1st: one hour a week in an English class, though the students in this class have a relatively low level of English for their age. This is the most difficult class for me.

-2nd: one hour of English.  In contrast, the level of English with these students is highly advanced; I would consider many of these students fluent or near-fluent. 

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My Placement: IES Dionisio Aguado

Me in front of my school on my first day!

IES Dionisio Aguado is a bilingual public school in Fuenlabrada that caters to students of secondary (ESO) and bachillerato. Thus, the ages of students range from 12-18 (more or less in special cases) and I am with each level for at least one hour a week.

Most courses for most students, including history, geography, music, computer science, art, and physical education are conducted solely or partially in English. Unlike at my previous schools in Logroño, Dionisio allows students to wear whatever they want. This reflects the overall emphasis on creativity that I think the school and its teachers encourage from the students, more so than in the other schools where I’ve worked. Furthermore, I think more of the staff at this school speaks English than in previous schools. Those who speak English usually speak it at an advanced level. The students have many resources and opportunities at their disposal to get a quality bilingual education, and the success of the school is apparent by the advanced levels of English of the students in their last year of bachillerato. 

Some of my favorite students went all-out with their Halloween costumes!

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Experience and Expectations for the LA Program

Since this is my third year as an auxiliar, I feel like I have a few more expectations than the average auxiliar, especially after two very satisfying and successful years at my previous schools in Logroño.  Overall, I expect to grow as an educator.  Before this position I had virtually no experience in education and zero experience in teaching English as a second language. In these past two years I have learned more about education than I ever thought I would know both by watching and talking with my coworkers, hearing other auxs’ experiences, asking my students which teaching styles they prefer, and by learning things by myself.

I like making bullets.

- I expect to encounter students who don’t want to learn English. I expect that there will be a few who I can’t get to, but I hope that there are some who I can encourage and influence.

- I expect to continue learning more about education and teaching through those who I’ll encounter at my school.

- I expect to make fulfilling friendships and professional relationships with my coworkers, other members of staff, and my fellow auxiliars.

- I expect to learn more about general language acquisition through the successes and failures of my students / my own teaching styles.

- I expect to learn more about bilingual classrooms. In Logroño I had only taught in English classes.  This year I will work in history, geography, and physical education classes as well. I expect that this will make me a more well-rounded educator.

- I expect to learn what life is like in a major city.  I expect to learn more Spanish. I expect to make lifelong friends and to learn more about another comunidad autónoma. 

Segovia, autumn 2018. 

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Interests Related to Final Project

My final project will utilize history, geography, and politics in order to creatively demonstrate the complex Electoral College system that the United States uses to elect their president.

The idea of this project came in 2016 the day after Donald Trump was elected president. My students in Logroño could not really understand how Trump, who did not win the popular vote, could be elected president. Upon trying to explain the Electoral College to my students, I realized that the system was very complex and hard for them to digest. Thus, I decided that an interactive game and an in-class vote would likely be beneficial to their understanding of the process.

I am also, on a personal level, very interested in history, geography, and politics. I am an old man trapped in a 24 year old body.  I watch the news every day and I like to stay up-to-date on what is happening in the political worlds of both my country and Spain. I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with maps; one side of my bedroom wall is covered with maps. It just so happened that I was assigned mainly to work in history and geography classes in my school.  Since these classes are taught in English, they provide an ideal environment in which I can teach this lesson. This final project serves as a perfect opportunity to execute my ideas.

My love of history was showing back at home while visiting the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC.

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Basic Info

Name: Connor Michael Ellison

Date of Birth: 5 August 1994

Origin: South Carolina, USA

Favorite Animal: Wolf

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Favorite type of humor: Dry.

Me, somewhere in Mallorca.

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A bit about me!

My name is Connor Michael Ellison. I don’t really like my last name and I never have, but I’ve always liked the way that my first two names sound together. Since I was a kid I’ve always included my middle name on exams and essays and anything in general, so I’ll include it on this, too.

I was born in Anderson, South Carolina, which is a pretty small town in a pretty small state. I grew up in a nice subdivision in a rather poor town.  My parents both came from the lower-end of the socio-economic ladder but, through hard work and sacrifices in their twenties they were able to climb out of that for the betterment of my sister and I. They were great parents and I can’t complain about that.

I had a pretty bad speech impediment for a long time in my childhood. This was worse than the average kid not being able to say his “r” or “t” sounds correctly. For a long time the only person in my life that could understand what I was saying was my sister.  She served, to her annoyance, as my translator for my first few years of life.  There was one time at a restaurant where I was playing on the playground and I met a boy who was my age at the time.  He asked me for my name.  Because of my speech impediment I was not able to say the letters “c” “n” and especially “r”, all three being vital to the correct pronunciation of “Connor”. So I just said “I’m Do-Ding” because that’s the only thing I could say.

The kid ran back into the restaurant without replying to me.  He ran right up to his mom and screamed the following and, to my horror, he did it loud enough for everyone in that Chick-fil-a to hear: “MOM, THAT KID’S NAMED DO-DING.”

I remember being very embarrassed and sad.  This is just one example of the many times where I felt both frustrated and ashamed of my verbal abilities. Over (a lot of) time with (a lot of) help from speech therapy classes, I was finally able to speak for myself.  Most of my classmates from those classes still have the same speech impediments today that they had when we were kids. But for some reason the therapy stuck for me.  It worked.  My sister was able to retire from her translating gig.

But from this frustrating time in my life, two positives came out and continue to influence me today.  Back in the day when I couldn't convey my thoughts audibly I would write them down.  This developed the foundation for the writing abilities and the passion for writing that I’ve had all my life and that I continue to have today (don’t let this post fool you). 

The second positive was that my speech impediment taught me the feeling of frustration that one gets when they can’t say what they want to say. I became interested in the idea that we all speak different languages and, as advanced as we as human beings become, we still have to work really hard to figure out what people in other countries are trying to say to us.  I remember idolizing my sister because, in all of her seemingly infinite knowledge and ability, she was able to travel back and forth between the realm of real English and my own realm of pitiful can-barely-be-called-English.  She was a linguistic Styx and I wanted to be like her.  I wanted to learn another language (or two or three) and I wanted to help others the way that she helped me.

It is, therefore, no coincidence that I was a double major in English and Spanish. My main two points of study reflect how my speech impediment has influenced me as an adult.  My mind is similarly split as to whether I want a job as a writer or as a translator.  While I decide, it is nice to combine both of my passions in order to help my students understand a language that was once so difficult for me, too.

There are other things about me but these are the most relevant I guess. 

Me and my sister in January 2019 at the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC.