During the 2019-21 academic school years, I was assigned to IES Alfredo Kraus in San Blas-Canillejas in eastern Madrid. This secondary-education institute offers levels from Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) through Bachillerato, with classes in sciences, humanities and social sciences. The school is also an instituto bilingüe, meaning that students are required to take classes (except math and language) in the english language. With the designation of a bilingual high-school, the school also has language assistants, such as myself. During the 2019-21 academic school year, IES Alfredo Kraus was able to have six english-language assistants helping in english classrooms as well as in the arts and sciences. My classroom assignments have been for 1-4°ESO in Biology & Geology, Physics & Chemistry, Geography & History, Technology, English, and Global Scholars.
© IES Alfredo Kraus
Teaching Goals & Strategies
Positivity
Not only a goal in my own life, but also in my classes. Discipline and respect can be difficult in a classroom setting, but keeping a positive attitude not only about the students but also the subject can generate a great teaching atmosphere in my opinion.
Flexibility
If there's one aspect of education everyone wishes they could control, it's the schedule. Coming into true teaching experience as an auxiliar, I knew that I had to also come with a sense of flexibility. The teachers are a major help with this, and it truly has helped to take things slow and do them right over rushing into something simply to get it done.
Having Fun
In conjunction with teaching strategies for learning and properly teaching the material, I think it's very important to ensure that the students are enjoying their time. I've learned that my students love games such as Kahoot and Plickr, and implementing these into class instruction has proven beneficial for student attentiveness and learning.
"Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity."
-Tim Minchin