Teaching Innovation 

One major challenge for educators is to find pedagogical strategies to facilitate the social construction of knowledge, engage students in more meaningful ways, and stimulate critical thinking and reasoning skills, thus empowering agency in the learning process. Technology is key to meeting this challenge. Technological innovation can make both teaching and learning more effective. Technology is particularly useful in the language classroom, since it helps to “bridge the distance” and bring Italy, and Italian culture, into the classroom. With these goals in mind, I embrace innovative new technologies both in traditional and online courses. 

 I was an earlier adopter of Canvas, thus implementing some of its valuable tools including providing timely feedback and keeping assignment deadlines and detailed instructions on the course calendar. In my online class, through the integration of student-generated activities that combine digital video and social networking capabilities, I tap into students’ interests giving them agency in their learning experience. The online interactive and multimodal activities included in ThingLink and VoiceThread provide creative and practical applications that motivate students, enrich course content, and enhance their interpretive and communicative abilities.  

 In the traditional classroom, I strive to create a comfortable and friendly atmosphere that lowers the affective filter and promotes learning. I shift through different activities to keep students’ interest alive and adapt the instruction to different learning styles. I engage students with authentic content to draw Italy closer to Detroit, using online educational and adaptable learning tools such as ThingLink, EdPuzzle, Pow-Toon, Quizlet, and Kahoot.  

 I consider visual images as powerful representations of the links made by students between theoretical constructs and their applications, as well as ways to document student mastery of the four communication skills and their achievement of ACTFL’s 5 Cs’: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. 

 Finally, the expansive reach of interactive visuals (in online and traditional classes), and the incorporation of gaming activities (in traditional classes), offer students the opportunity to expand the scope of the classroom and integrate diverse global sources, while simultaneously fostering a greater sense of community among participants and enhancing personal connections with course content. 

Instructional Delivery 

In both traditional and online classes I try to bring visual and practical learning experiences to life, and technology is a vital ally in my quest to enable interaction, dialogue, and student-led learning. Technology allows me to address all learning styles and create a productive and positive learning environment that keeps motivation and engagement high.  

 In traditional classes, I integrate technology-based presentations of class materials with more “traditional” highly interactive group activities and games that enable dialogue and personal connections with the content. Students create group presentations and writing activities using Canvas.  

 In the online class the Modules are clearly organized to enable students to understand how to manage their time and respectfully interact with peers, thus learning self-discipline and responsibility. Each Module includes the weekly agenda with learning outcomes, readings, lectures, and assignments. Assignments include online discussions and comments as well as multimodal presentations. 

 Students in my classes have created e-portfolios with their projects, interactive presentations with ThingLink to showcase their language and cultural achievements, digital storytelling narratives with Splice and VoiceThread, and interactive games with Kahoot and Quizlet to challenge their peers in class during review sessions.  

 Let me draw a few more examples of instructional delivery from our highly successful study abroad program, Wayne in Abruzzo, for which I have taught two courses since Summer 2011. We are the only program where American students live together with Italian university students, creating a global campus and a unique educational and cultural exchange. Spending the month in close contact with the students creates a vibrant and exciting, and yet rigorous, working environment, where students live the culture they studied in the classroom back in Detroit.  

 Each year, in Abruzzo, I host weekly workshops with a local poet and artist, Prof. Pietrantonio Bernabei. Students have hands-on experience reading, experimenting with, and creating visual poetry. We also visit his studio to talk and see his latest artistic creations. I also take my students to a local restaurant where they learn how to make handmade traditional pasta, recognize and pick herbs and spices, prepare sauces and then share in the conviviality with guests of the restaurant, eating and singing at the table! 

 While in Abruzzo, my job goes beyond regular teaching hours, and extends to extra-curricular activities during the weekends as well. We take field trips to Pompeii and Naples, Rome and Florence. We organize excursions in the area for olive oil and cheese tasting, or organize hikes and picnics in the Regional Park where our program takes place.  

 It is an intense month, but it is a unique and life-changing experience for the students, who truly come to love my country, its language, and its culture. Many return home enthusiastic and transformed, better-prepared and more focused for graduation and future careers.  

Course Management 

It is important to make my expectations very clear to students on the first day of class. My syllabus is detailed and I provide regular feedback to students on quizzes, papers, oral and digital presentations. 

 In the basic language courses, I give students weekly quizzes to assess learning progress. In intermediate courses, I ask students to write a short paper for each presentation on a current event or on a film, helping them prepare for their final term paper. In order to provide feedback to students on an individual basis, I encourage them to attend my office hours or to see me after class. My expectations for each activity are clearly indicated in rubrics that we discuss together on the first day of class.  

 For the online class, I planned two mandatory one-on-one conferences to discuss progress and organization of the course at week five and week ten. I also offered weekly office hours (both virtual and in-office) to respond promptly to any questions. Every week I provide a commentary on the discussion topics to offer detailed feedback and clarification on their posts. 

 My goal as a teacher is to create a collaborative environment where everyone is encouraged to take chances and actively participate. But along with developing new activities, I always find the time to listen to the students as they reflect on their learning experience, which in turn allows me to make my classes more engaging.  

Impact of Teaching 

I believe that my enthusiastic, cultural-technological approach to teaching enables students to develop and maintain a profound interest in learning Italian. My eclectic and energetic way of teaching keeps them engaged and motivated, but most crucially, it makes them agents of their own learning.  

 The critical thinking activities and discussions we engage in allow them to develop valuable transferable skills that they can apply outside the language classroom. The results I have seen in my students are quite positive. 

• The emphasis on written and oral presentational skills prepares them to be aware of the professional importance of writing and speaking clearly and accurately;  
• Discussions and debates allow them to develop argumentative and diplomatic skills; 
• Students’ pride in collecting and presenting their projects encourages them to improve their research skills and demonstrate their achievements;  
• The exposure and use of different technological platforms and devices give them flexibility and confidence in tackling new software or programs they may need for their future professions.  

 My students feel my passion for teaching and the energy I share with them, perceiving the power of life-long learning. As one of my former students, Joshua S. wrote to our chair: “Silvia brings a level of energy and dedication I have rarely seen in a classroom and I credit much of my success to her. Thanks to her linguistic aptitude, teaching skills and dynamism, Silvia is able to connect with her students in a meaningful way both in the classroom and in non-academic settings. My WSU degree was obtained in no small part thanks to Silvia’s courses, and she has inspired me to become a language teacher myself (I’m living my dream teaching middle schoolers in Italy). I owe Silvia a debt of gratitude.” 

 Students’ Testimonials

 From the Poetry Workshop in Italy, Summer 2016 

“Writing poetry in another language was very fun. To me it was one of the more practical or interesting aspects of learning a language. Talking to a large number of different people is wonderful, but you really feel like a master when you can do something as creative as poetry in a tongue that is not your own.  

 What I learned after the class was that I could write like these authors in this beautiful style myself. It made me feel powerful in a way, to compose something that seemed so different from what I was used to doing. A breath of fresh air would be a good way to describe it. Writing the poetry helped me understand the flow of the Italian language in a deeper way than I had before.” John V. 

 “I had a very positive experience with writing poetry. It opened up my eyes to the beautiful environment and landscape of Gagliano Aterno and really helped me express my thoughts and emotions related to what I was seeing.  

 Before the class, I had a nonexistent relationship with poetry. A more subtle relationship was created from my experience with poetry after the class. I read more for really understanding and appreciating what is written and the way things are written, rather than just reading for facts.” Ali S. 

 

From a survey on using ThingLink in basic languages and culture courses, Fall 2016 

 “ThingLink projects gave me a broader outlook on the Italian culture, food, drinks and the country as a whole. I’ve always had a liking for the culture and have always had an interest in learning more about the Italian culture.” ITA 1010 

 “It added so much value to our learning. We were able to chose a topic from the period being studied and expand our research on it.  It also made it fun and interesting when watching the work our peers did. Since every group had a different topic it expanded our learning to the period they worked with.” ITA 3200 

 From the online course on Italian Fairy Tales, anonymous survey, Fall 2018 

 “I feel like I could not have been as creative in a paper as I could be with a ThingLink or YouTube video because I can insert my own images in the latter and explore different videos to add to them. 

 “One of the most helpful things about this course were the ThingLink assignments because they allowed us to be creative and discuss what we felt was the most interesting aspect of the tale we read. I always enjoy doing TL’s because we can select our own images, insert our videos, and elaborate on the opinions shared in the discussion boards”. 

 “I loved the ThingLinks, I think they were the perfect supplement to make sure we all understood the tale every week. I think these assignments gave me a deeper understanding of the fairy tales weekly, by having to critically think about them while also forming a new option or take on the tale. The technology aspect changed my learning because it forced me to learn a new format and technology which is always a great skill to have.”  

  “I LOVED how Silvia put all the relevant information each lesson/week in one designated module. This meant we were staying focused on specific things related to that week’s content and it helped cut down time wandering/browsing through different links to find the information needed to complete the assignments. I know it was a lot of extra work for Silvia to put every single thing in a module, but I really appreciated it because it helped tremendously. Also her mini schedule at the start of the module was very nice.”