Research

This week we had to find to peer-reviewed articles from our Brandman Library. When I knew we were going to do some different research regarding our subject I made sure to attend class, and take down notes. After the teacher explained it in class, it was easy to find the articles in the school library. What was helpful and new to my searching technique, was to make sure and click on the peer reviewed area, and full articles, that narrows down the search fairly quickly. To be honest, the subject I chose has a lot of information that is very useful to me, it makes my research way much easier. What I did learn on this week’s assignment was that the Dual Immersion Program is way more that I thought it was. When I chose this subject, I did so, because that's what I want to teach when I become a teacher. My daughter is in this program, and she is doing very well, she’s even advanced in some subjects. Her first language is Spanish, and Spanish was the majority of her learning material in Kindergarten. So, after I started researching about the dual immersion program, I found out there are studies about this program, there are professionals doing research on the students, and what's beneficial, what works best. Also, the downfalls, if any, what works best with each child, and what to look out for. They take all this information, and make sure it’s what’s best for each individual. It may not seem as if there is much of a difference in a child that grew up speaking Spanish, and one that was taught Spanish in elementary, but there is. That’s what’s professionals are doing research and studies on as well. So, it's way more that simply saying, it's a Dual Immersion Program. There's a lot of background that comes along with it.

Research Strategies

When I think about doing research, I get really nervous, I don’t know where to start. This class is really helping me by giving me a starting point. The book for this class is awesome, I’m keeping it for personal use, even after the class is over. I see it as a school bible...okay, you get the point. I do enjoy reading it though, and what works for me, is highlighting the information that I find the most useful. I also put sticky notes on pages with little information about why I put that sticky note there. So next time I’m looking for help on a certain area, I can go back, and find what I’m looking for. When doing my research for the two e- books, what also worked for me is in class, I wrote down step by step, what the teacher said about finding the e-books. I know sometimes we think we have it down in our brain, but when we get home it’s like, what the heck did the teacher say? So writing notes works for me the best, it refreshes my memory. I’m also a visual learner, so I like to print out all the information that’s due for that week, and due dates for our assignments. As soon as I’m done with the assignment, I cross it out, and go on to the next. When I got home yesterday, I looked through my notes and found the books that had the best information for my research right away, thanks to my notes and the Leatherby Library. My topic is on the dual immersion program, it’s a topic that is pretty popular since many schools have it. I was lucky to find many books to choose from. Applying the craap test is helpful as well, we need to make sure our information is valid. I really like the Leatherby Library, now that I know how to use it. On this assignment I chose two e-books,  Language and Identity in a Dual Immersion School, by Kim Potowski, and Second Language Teacher Education: International Perspectives by, Diane J, Tedick. This was my second time using the Leatherby Library, and I must say it was successful. I'm getting much more comfortable when I use it now, I'm starting to feel like a pro! The two books I researched really helped me gain knowledge in different areas that I hadn't thought about when I first chose this topic. What stood out the most to me is reading about the teachers capability when teaching children, they also need to be taught about the importance of giving their best, to teach the children. Good information.

Background Information

This week's assignment was new to me. This is my second semester at Brandman, therefore, I had no idea how to start looking for information on the web. When I first started looking for information on the dual immersion program, I did what I was taught in class. I am new to the google domain search, and I found it really helpful and way easier to use, I feel like I'm smarter now when I search for information. Last semester I tried using the Leatherby Library e-books, I was lost as soon as I opened the page. When I used the Leatherby Library the second time, following the instructions from class, I was amazed by how much information there was for me. If I hadn't been taught how to search for information, I would have never been able to figure it out on my own. I have never used the CRAAP test before, I didn't know what it was to be honest. It was pretty cool to apply it to the articles I looked up, I had never done that before. There were only two that didn't pass my CRAAP test. I learned that the dual immersion program is important to many people in the school system. Not only do they need to make sure it’s beneficial and make sure every child excels in this program, as well as to make sure the children don’t fall behind. The brain of a bilingual child, as young as seven months, can adjust better to environmental changes, compared to the brain of an older child. The bilingual brain shows increased attention, focus, cognition, and executive function. This is important information, that proves that a child’s brain is an open door, for more than one language. There are many areas in this program, I would like to search the benefits from this program and how schools apply it in the classrooms.

About Me

 Hello classmates, my name is Cristina and I would like to major in Liberal Studies. I would love to teach at Osborn School, for the dual immersion program in Turlock, and teach 4th graders. I really like that program, my daughter is in it, and I believe it's very beneficial in children's education. My daughter went into the program speaking Spanish only in Kindergarten, and even though she was only taught English for a few hours, she is currently doing very well with her English writing, and speaking skills in 5th grade. I really look forward to being able to teach soon, I've wanted to be a teacher ever since I can remember, and I know I would be a good teacher someday. This is my second semester at Brandman University, and I love it so far!  My first semester was a bit crazy, it was my first time back to school in about 6 or 7 years, so everything was new to me. Honestly, the first time I had an essay due last semester, I didn't know where to start searching, I was so lost, my daughter was the one to tell me not to use Wikipedia. Really, my 10 year old daughter told me that. I was like what, how do you know? She was like, "mom, my teacher told us".  Anyhow, I feel a bit more comfortable now, but I do need help learning where to get the best and real information. I usually call my niece who's in college, yeah she knows what I'm calling her for. I would like to research anything that has to do with kids, what are the best teaching methods, the best way to interact with them, basically anything that helps me gain knowledge and better understand how to teach. I want to learn how to the best I can, we need teachers that love what they do and know what their doing as well. I am a mother of two kids, so it's really important to me, to treat others children, as I would like mine to be treated.