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Improving Students' Understanding and Appreciation of Spanish Culture—
Margot Versteeg

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Background

I revised a 400-level elective course for Spanish majors, most of whom were not familiar with European and Spanish culture. Previously, in fall 2004, I taught this course three days a week in 50 minute sessions. With short sessions, it was not possible for me to show long videos or combine videos and class discussion.

I had the class time changed to 110 minutes twice a week for fall 2005. I redesigned the course to enhance students' learning of course materials by making more efficient use of class time. Students had to do more preparation before class, so that class time could be dedicated to discussing readings. I used PowerPoint to go over main issues in the readings. With more class time, I was also able to have students watch and discuss documentaries to further enhance learning.

In fall 2006, I kept the class time meeting twice per week. I changed some assignments’ point value, developed more in-class tasks, gave students a grading rubric before they completed assignments, and handed out detailed instructions for the oral presentations.

| Implementation

Implementation

In fall 2005, I made a rigorous selection of course material and modified writing assignments: all students had the same four assignments, which made class discussions easier. Students had assigned readings, and they were expected to come to class with notes on key ideas. At the start of each class, students asked a question based on the readings. During class main ideas were discussed and/or presented in PowerPoint. Documentaries and videos were shown to increase student engagement, as well as reinforce class topics.

The changes I made in fall 2006 were based on my personal evaluation of what went well and what could be better. These changes were motivated mainly by my wish to provide a very clear structure and as much guidance as possible. My first change was to be sure students read assigned material before each class. I also graded the questions that students answered in the first minutes of class, because students relied a little too much on PowerPoint presentations. Next, I wanted to emphasize student work that showed a deep understanding of course material. Less credit was given for the two knowledge-based tests, and more credit was given for the four writing assignments. I also provided a rubric and designed guidelines for oral presentations to clarify my expectations and help students perform better. Finally, since the number of students was considerably lower in fall 2006, we went through material faster. Consequently, I developed some new engaging in-class activities since discussing photographs, paintings, and newspaper articles proved very fruitful the last course offering.

| Student Performance

Student Performance

For the fall 2005 course offering, I had the impression that some students – instead of reading the textbook – relied rather heavily on the PowerPoint presentations. I also noticed that the level of the papers differed widely, varying from excellent papers by native speakers of Spanish and other very dedicated students to very poor ones. I was surprised to see that the papers based on visual materials were generally better than the text-based ones.

In fall 2006, the averages for papers and tests were higher than in 2005, but they lacked the exceptional excellence that a few students showed the year before. Part of this difference may be due to my handing out the rubrics for the four papers beforehand in order to give students an idea of what was expected. I also gave students a handout for the presentations and found their presentations to be much better; students came more prepared to lead a class discussion and they used more appropriate sources. In addition, I found that these students were better prepared for the readings.

| Reflections

Reflections

Although students are not performing substantially better than previous years, the course is far more enjoyable for both students and for me as a teacher. The structure of the course is now clearer, and I have well developed visual materials. This, in addition to the fact that the selected topics were treated not only in the readings, but also in the PowerPoint and in the documentaries, made students’ processing of the materials easier. I am happy with the different papers I assigned, and also with both exams. I did feel that student work improved with each new course offering. I felt that giving students the opportunity to bring a draft of their papers to class and ask questions before turning in a final version made their performance better and greatly reduced their tension and stress. Handing out rubrics beforehand may have also improved student work.

In fall 2006, I started grading the answers to the questions that the students answered in the first minutes of class, as additional encouragement to do the readings. However, I noticed that some students still did not do the readings unless I announced a quiz. I am not sure what other actions I can take to encourage students to complete the readings. Overall, I am satisfied with the course and will keep the course how it is but incorporate new materials since culture is a dynamic phenomenon and societies change rapidly.

| Summary

Project Summary

With better use of class time, more effective assignments, and eloquent visual components in teaching, students better understand and appreciate Spanish culture.

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