DO BE SILLY
BY TAYLOR FOY
After attending culturally diverse elementary schools and traveling to Thailand for interterm, it was no surprise that junior Kara Maize and senior Audrey Andrews jumped at the chance to teach English to elementary students in Panama last summer. What was a surprise was when the two elementary education and Spanish majors were invited back to demonstrate their innovative teaching methods to professionals in Panamanian Education.
The pair, who are both receiving endorsements in English Language Learners (ELL), traveled to Panama City, Panama, last
June and July to student teach. Most ELL education students complete their student teaching in the United States, where they are more familiar with cultural norms and education styles, said Dr. Linda Kalbach, assistant professor of education at Doane. So when the time came to teach English to 7-year-olds in a completely different culture, Andrews and Maize hit a few snags.
Neither is completely fluent in Spanish yet, and a different country's dialect and culture is best learned after months of immersion-a luxury Andrews and Maize didn't have. They quickly realized that English assignments from a textbook wouldn't be the best way to teach the young Panamanian pupils.
Through trial and error, they discovered the recipe for effective education: do be silly. They incorporated more interaction through games, song and dance. "A lot of the stuff we made up as we went," Andrews said. "Some of the songs I made up were quite ridiculous."
Ridiculous maybe, but it worked. Their methods, supplemented with textbooks, seemed to be more effective than those of teachers native to the culture, which landed them the invitation to speak at the international conference in Panama City.
The audience ranged from early childhood teachers to college professors. The presentation encouraged more interaction with students, and Andrews and Maize used audience participation to demonstrate their methods in a sort of simulated classroom.
Andrews had concerns about telling professionals how to teach, but the professors in Doane's education department weren't worried. "There's no question that Audrey and Kara were ready to teach, and that doesn't just happen," Kalbach said. Kalbach accompanied them on the trip, which was subsidized by several departments.
"The presentation underscored the education department's commitment to cultural awareness," said Lyn Forester, head of the Education Division.
"This will make them very marketable because they've experienced a similar cultural immersion as the ESL students they will serve," Forester said.
Andrews and Maize agreed the experience allowed them to better understand their students' needs so they can develop more effective teaching methods. "You come back and you know where the kids are coming from," Maize said. "After being in a school in Latin America, you're more familiar with the cultural differences."
They are the first Doane students to present abroad at an international conference.