Final Reflections
The Value of Sharing and Connecting
As a foreign language teacher, I am constantly searching for ways to increase my students’ sense of global awareness, and I wanted to find a way to fit into my action research a means by which my students could share their incredibly diverse backgrounds with each other. On the day of our phase 1 cooking-show presentations, we were truly able to connect with so many of our students’ diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds as they delighted us with cuisine from their families’ hometowns from all over the world. For me, this experience was one of my greatest highlights of being a foreign-language teacher. It not only helped me connect with my teaching practice on a deeper level, but it brought out sides of my students that neither my students nor I would have otherwise seen or known.
With respect to my phase 2 timeline project, I was so deeply impressed with outcome of my students’ changed attitudes and perceptions of Spanish as a language and culture. If the cooking-show presentations were a highlight for me as a foreign-language teacher, providing the opportunity to connect and share with Spanish-speaking peers was the highlight for my students as foreign-language learners. I was so motivating and inspiring for me to observe my students undergo a transformation in terms of attitudes towards Spanish as they forged a connection with my former Spanish-speaking students.
As a foreign language teacher, I am constantly searching for ways to increase my students’ sense of global awareness, and I wanted to find a way to fit into my action research a means by which my students could share their incredibly diverse backgrounds with each other. On the day of our phase 1 cooking-show presentations, we were truly able to connect with so many of our students’ diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds as they delighted us with cuisine from their families’ hometowns from all over the world. For me, this experience was one of my greatest highlights of being a foreign-language teacher. It not only helped me connect with my teaching practice on a deeper level, but it brought out sides of my students that neither my students nor I would have otherwise seen or known.
With respect to my phase 2 timeline project, I was so deeply impressed with outcome of my students’ changed attitudes and perceptions of Spanish as a language and culture. If the cooking-show presentations were a highlight for me as a foreign-language teacher, providing the opportunity to connect and share with Spanish-speaking peers was the highlight for my students as foreign-language learners. I was so motivating and inspiring for me to observe my students undergo a transformation in terms of attitudes towards Spanish as they forged a connection with my former Spanish-speaking students.
The Value of Feedback from Students
Before my action research implementations, I had never had the opportunity to request feedback from my students in such a formal way. I found that just by taking the first steps of creating a questionnaire for student feedback, I was forced to pause, reflect, and really focus on my objectives as a foreign-language teacher. When I gave my students the feedback form, I felt nervous. I was not sure that I was ready to receive both positive and negative feedback. When I received their responses and feedback, however, I was both encouraged and enlightened by what I found. The opportunity to analyze their responses provided me with incredibly valuable insight in terms of confirming my teacher notes and observations as well as informing my lessons and action research implementations moving forward.
Before my action research implementations, I had never had the opportunity to request feedback from my students in such a formal way. I found that just by taking the first steps of creating a questionnaire for student feedback, I was forced to pause, reflect, and really focus on my objectives as a foreign-language teacher. When I gave my students the feedback form, I felt nervous. I was not sure that I was ready to receive both positive and negative feedback. When I received their responses and feedback, however, I was both encouraged and enlightened by what I found. The opportunity to analyze their responses provided me with incredibly valuable insight in terms of confirming my teacher notes and observations as well as informing my lessons and action research implementations moving forward.
Transforming the Educational Experience
Action Research has enabled me to envision and come up with a plan to improve both my practice as a teacher and the educational experience that I provide for my students. And through implementing the action plans and interventions, my teaching practice and philosophy have been molded and shaped in ways that have made me a more dynamic and competent educator. Before my action research, for example, I was still somewhat apprehensive to actively use technology in the classroom for collaborative learning purposes. These opportunities have made me feel that there has never been a more exciting time to be a teacher. The challenge before us is great. It is a challenge that requires creativity, innovation, and forward-thinking minds. We are truly at the cusp of something amazing. Teachers and students across the nation and even across the world have the opportunity to connect, share, explore, and search for ways to transform the educational experience. And as a foreign language teacher, I have the power to transform the way I help my own students connect with and perceive language and culture in a way that is motivating, inspiring, and empowering.
Action Research has enabled me to envision and come up with a plan to improve both my practice as a teacher and the educational experience that I provide for my students. And through implementing the action plans and interventions, my teaching practice and philosophy have been molded and shaped in ways that have made me a more dynamic and competent educator. Before my action research, for example, I was still somewhat apprehensive to actively use technology in the classroom for collaborative learning purposes. These opportunities have made me feel that there has never been a more exciting time to be a teacher. The challenge before us is great. It is a challenge that requires creativity, innovation, and forward-thinking minds. We are truly at the cusp of something amazing. Teachers and students across the nation and even across the world have the opportunity to connect, share, explore, and search for ways to transform the educational experience. And as a foreign language teacher, I have the power to transform the way I help my own students connect with and perceive language and culture in a way that is motivating, inspiring, and empowering.