Brenna伯德
2018年名人堂提名
肯塔基大学
列克星敦肯塔基州
2018年入围名单 SCOLT
德国
我的教学风格始终如一的是创新. My colleagues actually tease me that my life would be much easier if I would only be content to teach something the same way twice. 不管课程进行得有多好, 我一直在寻找新的方法来改进它, 基于学生输入和教学研究. 出于这个原因, 我认为专业参与不仅仅是一种服务, 同时也是一个学习的机会. I apply for numerous workshops and grants that will expand my knowledge of language teaching and pedagogy in general, and I enjoy attending as many conferences on a wide variety of language-related topics.
I was lucky to be chose to attend an AATG-sponsored three-day seminar at Georgetown University in Washington, 2014年DC. 这次研讨会, 满足学生在大学德语课程中的需求, changed the way I thought of our program articulation as well as how to advocate for language learning from inside the classroom. We specifically learned about the history of a literacy-based approach to teaching language through the lens of genre, and how we can use the promise of increasing student literacy overall (in their native language as well) as a marketing strategy for maintaining a language requirement at the college level. I now see that the best way to advocate for the relevance of language instruction is to include learning goals that mirror the undergraduate curriculum requirements and the desires of future employers. 全球文化, 沟通和表达能力, 跨文化能力, and the ability to design and complete projects that showcase these abilities are key components of our new curriculum expectations for the language classes. 而它们之前可能已经被暗示过了, these goals are now explicitly stated and included in our syllabi as well as in discussions with administration on the efficacy of language instruction as a part of an undergraduate education.Every year I attend our Kentucky World Language Association conference and I usually present at least once every year. 去年秋天, I organized and then led a three-hour workshop at the Kentucky World Language Association conference with presentations from four of my colleagues from MCLLC. 我们的五个演讲, 每个人都来自不同的语言教室, showed how each individual used authentic materials from the target culture to guide the curriculum to include 跨文化能力 goals in our language classes. 在第二部分, I led participants through an exercise in which we examined how social media, 比如Instagram, could be used even at an introductory language level to inspire cultural comparisons that allow for a more multifaceted presentation of culture than any textbook could offer. 例如, 通过搜索词汇的标签, 例如十月(# October), we were able to examine the visual associations the posters had with that month, and discuss how these associations might be specific to the country, 该地区, 性别, 等. 海报的. I specifically make sure to put together talks or workshops for the KWLA conference that communicate in an accessible format the information I have received through workshops or research, 特别是那些由AATG资助的项目. I make a point to present at least once, if not twice, per KWLA conference. I am trying to establish more of a personal connection with the local K-12 instructors and make a point to come to local events, such as the Professional Development Seminar on Authentic Resources, presented by die Zentrallstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen (ZfA) in April 2016. I was one of two university faculty members at this workshop, 也是肯塔基大学唯一一位, and I could tell immediately that the other instructors appreciated our presence at the meeting. I try to stay as involved as possible with the AATG and coordinate events with them as much as possible. I not only participate and organize the graduate student participation for the 德国 part of events held at UK such as the MCLLC Open House and the KWLA World Language Day Festival, I specifically contact local 德国 instructors ahead of time to listen to what they would prefer and to see how we can work together.
My work with the video game Far Cry: Primal has been a unique source for advocacy and public relations. The talks we have given have generated a significant amount of interest in languages and linguistics for local students especially. Many students from high school and universities have attended our talks and come up to us to thank us for making the study of languages seem practical, as our work has inadvertently convinced parents in small-town Kentucky of the usefulness of languages in the new job market.