"Tinta" Creative Research
Practicum, 2015-2016
My creative research project started out in fall 2015, when I read about a language conference called Streamlines. Attending the Streamlines Conference which “celebrates language, literature and writing” this November was a fantastic experience to have as an undergraduate. Not only was it beneficial to me to hear from other creative students the day of the conference, but the preparation process of writing a creative piece in Spanish also made me grow as a global citizen, a researcher and a leader.
First, the conference expanded my global competency. I took excerpts from a book I am writing in English and compiled them into a short story, which I later translated into Spanish. Keeping the piece’s integrity while also breathing new life into it was a challenge that I was happy to accept. I worked with Elizabeth Harsma, the professor of my Spanish 355 class this semester, to make sure my translation was accurate and also to round out the story’s plot. Later, I worked with Sandra Castaneda to better the colloquialism of the piece. At the conference, the presentation session I had was conducted in Spanish. I listened to a presenter who did a literary analysis of a Spanish work. After I read my short story, the audience was able to ask me questions, and I answered them back in Spanish. It was fulfilling to see how we could have a conversation in a different language about something I had written myself and which people were interested in discussing.
Second, I was able to foster my research ability. The idea of creative research excited me from the beginning. After presenting, I would do it all over again. I am thinking of deepening my creative research experience by hopefully publishing Tinta. One of the sessions I attended was about publishing one’s creative work: the dos and don’ts for students in the process. A couple of professors in the audience told me to look at their universities’ literary magazines and consider publishing in one of them. Furthermore, I am considering presenting Tinta at other research conferences, such as the Undergraduate Research Symposium held at Minnesota State University, Mankato, this spring. Having more time to be able to hone the piece and be able to perform it instead of just read it is something in which I am interested. In addition, I would love to write other pieces in Spanish and try my hand at writing Spanish poetry. Having a portfolio of Spanish creative writing which I could hopefully share with my students in the classroom one day is something that makes me very excited.
Last, Streamlines enabled me to become more of a leader. After I found out about this particular conference, I realized I needed to pursue this unique opportunity and seek it out on my own. I talked with Ginny Walters to make sure the opportunity would be a good fit for my research; I contacted Elizabeth Harsma to see if she would be willing to be my mentor; I talked with another previous professor Alfredo Duplat-Ayala who suggested his wife, Sandra Castaneda, work with me on the piece; and I talked with Kate McCarthy-Gilmore, who ran Streamlines, to make sure I was ready to present on the fourteenth. Additionally, verbal presentation skills are a critical part of leadership, which I practiced while reading my short story.
The Streamlines creative research conference in Dubuque, Iowa, was a unique opportunity I am very glad to have had. It was a fun way to interact with other people excited about creative works and receive feedback about my own piece. I look forward to future creative research and hope to further my competency with it.
On Monday, March 14th, I presented “Tinta” at the Spanish Undergraduate Research conference, which also had separate sessions in both German and French. As this was the second time presenting my short story, I felt that I learned things along the way and after the conference. This was a great opportunity to connect with other Spanish speaking and studying students, as well as reflect upon the importance of language in society and current social problems associated with speaking Spanish.
Attending and presenting at the Spanish Undergraduate Research (SUR) Conference held at Minnesota State University, Mankato, led me to improve upon my creative research. In the weeks leading up to the SUR conference, I modified my presentation style from the Streamlines Conference at Dubuque, Iowa, in the fall. At SUR, I put more emotion and feeling into the reading. Since the audience had a high proficiency for Spanish, it was also easier to connect with the audience. Because there were native Spanish speakers in the audience, one of them pointed out to me a strange vocabulary choice I made. I had shorted “teléfono” to “tele,” which in Mexico means television, while I had meant cell phone. So for the next time I present, I have made that change in my story for giving more clarity. At the end of the session, there was an open discussion between the presenters and those in the audience. The moderator asked each of us presenters to discuss the double realities in our presentations. As had happened with the conference in Dubuque, Iowa, it intrigued me how the themes of our projects overlapped with each other’s.
As a student in the Honors Program at MSU, I feel I have an obligation to make the most out of my college experiences, and one of the ways to do that is become integrated into the research community. Presenting at the Spanish Undergraduate Conference opened my eyes to stereotypes of immigration and how to bring understanding to those who have misconceptions about it. Attending this research conference not only helped me with my current research but made me think more critically about my society and other types of research which would be interesting to conduct in the future. I hope to attend the SUR Conference next spring when it is held in Iowa topresent about utopias and dystopias in Latin American literature, with the mentorship of my professor Adriana Gordillo.
From Thursday, April 14th to Saturday, April 16th, the Upper Midwest Regional Honors Conference was held at Scott Community College in Bettendorf, Iowa. As the third and possibly final time presenting “Tinta,” I really wanted to make sure that it was my best reading. However, as it was not a language conference, there were some modifications I had to make in consideration of my audience. This conference not only was a learning experience in modifying my presentation, but also in the other student presentations which I attended.
First, the conference expanded my global competency. I took excerpts from a book I am writing in English and compiled them into a short story, which I later translated into Spanish. Keeping the piece’s integrity while also breathing new life into it was a challenge that I was happy to accept. I worked with Elizabeth Harsma, the professor of my Spanish 355 class this semester, to make sure my translation was accurate and also to round out the story’s plot. Later, I worked with Sandra Castaneda to better the colloquialism of the piece. At the conference, the presentation session I had was conducted in Spanish. I listened to a presenter who did a literary analysis of a Spanish work. After I read my short story, the audience was able to ask me questions, and I answered them back in Spanish. It was fulfilling to see how we could have a conversation in a different language about something I had written myself and which people were interested in discussing.
Second, I was able to foster my research ability. The idea of creative research excited me from the beginning. After presenting, I would do it all over again. I am thinking of deepening my creative research experience by hopefully publishing Tinta. One of the sessions I attended was about publishing one’s creative work: the dos and don’ts for students in the process. A couple of professors in the audience told me to look at their universities’ literary magazines and consider publishing in one of them. Furthermore, I am considering presenting Tinta at other research conferences, such as the Undergraduate Research Symposium held at Minnesota State University, Mankato, this spring. Having more time to be able to hone the piece and be able to perform it instead of just read it is something in which I am interested. In addition, I would love to write other pieces in Spanish and try my hand at writing Spanish poetry. Having a portfolio of Spanish creative writing which I could hopefully share with my students in the classroom one day is something that makes me very excited.
Last, Streamlines enabled me to become more of a leader. After I found out about this particular conference, I realized I needed to pursue this unique opportunity and seek it out on my own. I talked with Ginny Walters to make sure the opportunity would be a good fit for my research; I contacted Elizabeth Harsma to see if she would be willing to be my mentor; I talked with another previous professor Alfredo Duplat-Ayala who suggested his wife, Sandra Castaneda, work with me on the piece; and I talked with Kate McCarthy-Gilmore, who ran Streamlines, to make sure I was ready to present on the fourteenth. Additionally, verbal presentation skills are a critical part of leadership, which I practiced while reading my short story.
The Streamlines creative research conference in Dubuque, Iowa, was a unique opportunity I am very glad to have had. It was a fun way to interact with other people excited about creative works and receive feedback about my own piece. I look forward to future creative research and hope to further my competency with it.
On Monday, March 14th, I presented “Tinta” at the Spanish Undergraduate Research conference, which also had separate sessions in both German and French. As this was the second time presenting my short story, I felt that I learned things along the way and after the conference. This was a great opportunity to connect with other Spanish speaking and studying students, as well as reflect upon the importance of language in society and current social problems associated with speaking Spanish.
Attending and presenting at the Spanish Undergraduate Research (SUR) Conference held at Minnesota State University, Mankato, led me to improve upon my creative research. In the weeks leading up to the SUR conference, I modified my presentation style from the Streamlines Conference at Dubuque, Iowa, in the fall. At SUR, I put more emotion and feeling into the reading. Since the audience had a high proficiency for Spanish, it was also easier to connect with the audience. Because there were native Spanish speakers in the audience, one of them pointed out to me a strange vocabulary choice I made. I had shorted “teléfono” to “tele,” which in Mexico means television, while I had meant cell phone. So for the next time I present, I have made that change in my story for giving more clarity. At the end of the session, there was an open discussion between the presenters and those in the audience. The moderator asked each of us presenters to discuss the double realities in our presentations. As had happened with the conference in Dubuque, Iowa, it intrigued me how the themes of our projects overlapped with each other’s.
As a student in the Honors Program at MSU, I feel I have an obligation to make the most out of my college experiences, and one of the ways to do that is become integrated into the research community. Presenting at the Spanish Undergraduate Conference opened my eyes to stereotypes of immigration and how to bring understanding to those who have misconceptions about it. Attending this research conference not only helped me with my current research but made me think more critically about my society and other types of research which would be interesting to conduct in the future. I hope to attend the SUR Conference next spring when it is held in Iowa topresent about utopias and dystopias in Latin American literature, with the mentorship of my professor Adriana Gordillo.
From Thursday, April 14th to Saturday, April 16th, the Upper Midwest Regional Honors Conference was held at Scott Community College in Bettendorf, Iowa. As the third and possibly final time presenting “Tinta,” I really wanted to make sure that it was my best reading. However, as it was not a language conference, there were some modifications I had to make in consideration of my audience. This conference not only was a learning experience in modifying my presentation, but also in the other student presentations which I attended.
First, I will discuss how I modified my presentation style of “Tinta.” Since I knew my audience would come with little or no background of the Spanish language, I wanted to make sure that they would have an English text copy. I projected each page of “Tinta” translated into English and told the audience beforehand to listen for cognates, or words which are similarly spelled and pronounced in both English and Spanish. And example would be “composición” and “composition.” I also asked the audience to really feel the tone of the poem and see if my voice matched with the words they were reading on the screen in English. While I was a little disappointed no one came to my session who was fluent or near-fluent in Spanish, I am grateful for the opportunity and for the accommodations I had to make. These types of adjustments are ones I could easily need to make in either a Spanish classroom or English as a Second Language classroom. Being flexible is part of being an educator! As an added bonus, I also think it is important for people to get out of their comfort zones and listen to a language they do not understand. It is a learning experience to show how vast of a place our world is and just how many languages and experiences go along with it.
The Upper Midwest Regional Honors Conference was a good learning experience. Even though I had attended Mankato’s UMRHC last year and participated in getting ready for the conference, it was a completely different experience to actually present in the conference. Both my presentation and other sessions I attended related to my future career as a Spanish and English as a Second Language teacher.
The Upper Midwest Regional Honors Conference was a good learning experience. Even though I had attended Mankato’s UMRHC last year and participated in getting ready for the conference, it was a completely different experience to actually present in the conference. Both my presentation and other sessions I attended related to my future career as a Spanish and English as a Second Language teacher.
"TINTA" PRACTICUM LESSON PLAN
Lesson Plan: Overarching Themes Unit (Unidad de temas compartidos)
Topic: Temas Compartidos, or Overarching Themes in relation to different literary works, including a short story, two poems and a song
Time frame: 45 minutes, 5 days
Setting: 20 students
Grade 12, or Spanish IV at a suburban school in Minnesota
Shared L1: English, some native Spanish speakers
Content Objectives
Students will:
Identify overarching themes through four different creative works, such as grief and healing.
Practice analyzing different types of creative pieces: short stories, a poem and a song.
Language Objectives
Students will:
Practice using the highlighted vocabulary words in each piece during discussionand on assignments regarding this unit.
Use literary terms in Spanish such as: argumento, protagonista, personajes, tono and tema, as well as being able to identify them in a piece.
Lesson Plan: Overarching Themes Unit (Unidad de temas compartidos)
Topic: Temas Compartidos, or Overarching Themes in relation to different literary works, including a short story, two poems and a song
Time frame: 45 minutes, 5 days
Setting: 20 students
Grade 12, or Spanish IV at a suburban school in Minnesota
Shared L1: English, some native Spanish speakers
Content Objectives
Students will:
Identify overarching themes through four different creative works, such as grief and healing.
Practice analyzing different types of creative pieces: short stories, a poem and a song.
Language Objectives
Students will:
Practice using the highlighted vocabulary words in each piece during discussionand on assignments regarding this unit.
Use literary terms in Spanish such as: argumento, protagonista, personajes, tono and tema, as well as being able to identify them in a piece.