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

I want start saying that I believe is very important for teachers that they realize formation courses during all their professional life because they can progress really quickly, it is important that teachers recycle us continually. On the other hand, it is important that when I do a course, it will be useful for my work.  They have to be able offer me different ways to keep classrooms and curriculum fresh and it also can teach me new teaching styles.

Is for this reason, I would like to have access to different courses, always with the purpose of get knowledge to improve my levels. A good course could be to work with cooperation between organizations and school, to get news kinds of learning practices. So, our pupils will benefit of a lot of new activities and methodologies.

I am a physical education teacher, I have to be a person who knows a lot of differents PE sections like gymnastics, sports, body expression… but I need to know how to explain to the young people and make attractive classes to them. PE can be really motivating and funny to students, but is important to think about them. I have to know about how my students are, and how I can arrive to them.

I believe also is important improve my English level because every day I use this language to do my class. I would like to have access to courses about languages to be a better English teacher during my PE lessons. Have the opportunity to do an English course to learn about how to teach English, and how to pronounce in English too will be amazing to me. We can study, but I believe that the most significant and difficult thing is the pronunciation. Pupils have to listen a real pronunciation.

From my point of view, another important idea is to share good practice amongst teaching professionals. We can use different resources to provide us communication networks for sharing work and experiences with other specialists. Furthermore, we never forget our ELP, in which we can collect all the useful material in relation to different areas because it is an opportunity to learn from the experience.

To conclude, we have to continue working while we improve our skills and at the same time to share practices with other equals to learn new ways to educate.

If you were not limited by the demands of the national/regional curriculum, what would you say is the most important thing you would teach your students about your subject (in a CLIL context)? How would you assess their learning?

If I were not limited by the demands of the curriculum, I believe we could teach things that are really important for pupils, and teach them about things they find motivating and all of that they need to comprehend the world around them. We have to start to teach them several tools they will need to develop their own autonomy for real life because at this age the pupils are developing in diverse aspects of human life, mentally and physically. If we want to get results successfully, we have start teaching interesting things to get the predisposition of our students.

To the kids what they love most is to play so I would use different tactics to do the learning a bit more funny. If we teach them knowledge which links to their life so they can feel comfortable and interested in learning a new language.

We have to give them a lot of tools, so they start to increase their knowledge in the new language. And if they should use more spaces and new tools to develop a great and funny learning. This learning lets them to be more autonomous in another language; they will improve their English level.

Another aspect to contemplate is the assessment of their learning. I believe this theme is a little bit difficult, because this assessment is individual and different in each pupil. I must evaluate the progress, we have to pay attention in their development in more than one aspect, and evaluate how they resolve their difficulties, how they get the results, etc. I think that to teach a new language in which they do not have constant interaction is a great challenge for them.

For this motive, we have to do more formative assessment in which we collect information about the learning process, considering the interests and needs of our pupils in learning a new language and work from this.

To make that they contribute in their assessment, we can use their development in this language, their participation, activities, methodology, the resources…etc. We can show their successes and errors and I am really secure that they will learn from them.

Taking into account my personal teaching context, what would be the advantages and disadvantages of using the ELP with my groups?

Before to start with the explanation, we have to ask ourself what is the Language European Portfolio (PEL).This document is an online resource where languages learners can describe their language learning and cultural experiences.

The use the ELP in the classroom is useful for the pupils. Initially it is possible that the ELP be a burden to the student, but they will be more animate when they know there will no final exam. Thanks to ELP the student can quiz yourself.

The portfolio has been created using three parts. The first one is the “linguistic passport” Its a table where students describe their language experiences lived along their life’s. Using the passport, the student can see their skills through the 4 skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing.

PEL contains also the ”language biography ” where the students describe their language experiences. This part is created to guide the learning process and evaluate their progress while they reflect on it.

Finally, there is the last part, the “record”. In this part you can save examples work services for asset test or demonstrate each language skills.

It is a tool that accompany the learning process. The pupil knows his starting point from the beginning and also knows their evolution. The student can know the learning process and he knows things he has to improve. As the ELP is a continuous work, the pupil can see his evolution.

This motivation helpS the student to learn a foreign language and is sensitized by the task.

I can see some disadvantages in the ELP use. Today there are many students per classroom and control all of them is a really difficult task that requires a lot of time. Other disadvantage is adapt your routine and your work with this program, as this work will require additional time.

Finally I believe that it can be so good to our students, but it is important motivate the study. Is a complicated task at the beginning, but we have to fight to integrate this new resources in our education.

Advantages of cooperative learning

The main idea of cooperative work in the classroom, considered as an aid cooperation between people try together activities learning from each other and always seeking the common good. Cooperative learning always takes into account based on cooperation behavior: work, motivation and a good relationship between students and the teacher.

Group work allows students to come together, help each other, which are more willing to work, getting more and less tiring. Individual efforts in a cooperative group gain more strength.

One of the biggest advantages of this type of learning is the interaction between students. This relationship gives them confidence. They feel supported by their team and lose the fear of expressing their views.

Therefore, this causes a change in the students. Increases self-esteem, since the student is able to do things he could not before, improving their skills. Anxiety level is reduced in the classroom, as students do not feel insecure before everyday situations. And finally, this causes a student intrinsic motivation for learning that helps them put all their energies on achieving their objectives.

Personally, I think that this type of learning is effective and very good for students, helping their growth and maturation as persons.

New technologies in the school

The technologies are each day more important in the everyday life in a school. They have the power to transform the learning methods, and they get that learn is really easy.

We can see how the school are in a renovation process where they add a great formation and different technological resources. Each time, teachers work more to improve their TICs skills.

Some educational philosophers believe that the education needs a change. It's important to create a new curriculum which teaches knowledges that focus on skills that will equip today's learners for tomorrow's world of work.

The new methods give us a lot of activities which get that the children enjoy in class. Songs, games, videos... a lot of resources that are the base in this new type of education. The kids love it.

Personally I’m really interested with new technologies that I have used in class because i believe that they can help my students. 

Here I leave you a video about the benefits with the whiteboard in class:

The teacher that changed my life

There are many people who have influenced me in my life and my infant teacher is one of them. When I was young I was really active and the people said that I was a bad child but I had a great teacher called Mr. Carmelo that decided to help me to change my behavior y he was working with during two years to get it.

He thought that with hard work and effort I could change, so he decided control me a lot and he always offered me his help to realize tasks. I know that he got give me an opportunity to be a better student and a good person. I always thanks him his implication on my life.

He was an excellent, fabulous teacher. He has had a great impact on my life, and I only hope that I can pass this qualities to my children that I am teaching. Thank you Mr. Carmelo, for the effort that you have invested on my life.