Psychobiology of Language

This is one of the subjects that you should choose if you are studying magisterio en Lengua Inglesa, it is an elective subject. Psychobiology of language is a mixture between psychology and biology. It is very interesting because it focuses on language and its processes. At the beginning, the teacher introduces a little bit of anatomy of the brain, what is complex but at the same time exciting. This part includes neurons, reception and sending information. One of the most important issues for this subject is the knowledge of the brain and its parts. Secondly, there are a lot of contents about theories which show how the language works in our brain. On the other hand, you learn about different aspects of language (grammar, phonetics, syntax etc). In addition, there is one section about illness or problems with the development of language. Finally, the last part of the course is about bilingualism and ways of learning others languages. In my opinion Psychobiology of language has been one of my favourite subjects in general during the course, not just because you learnt and realise a lot of things that you didn’t know, also because the teacher is good. Johana Obando Iziureta

Chorus

"Conjunto coral": If you love singing, this is your best choice to make. This is always the last class of the week and it lasts two hours. In these two hours you will be able to do what you like, if singing is one of your favorite hobbies. In fact, you will actually be a member of the college choir and you will participate in the Christmas and end of year performances. In this subject you will also be taught how to sing without damaging your vocal chords and how to use your diaphragm. In the final exam you can have the sheet music in front of you to help you (although music reading skills are not required). Actually, the only requirement is compulsory attendance and two final exams at the end of each term which include singing with three partners, each one singing their own melody at the same time. Finally, as I said before, I would recommend this subject to people who love having a good time singing. - Adrián Gómez Casallo

History of Women's Education

Last year I studied “Historia de la educación de las mujeres” during the second term. In the classes we talked about the difficulties of women and inequality between women and men. Moreover, I learnt what women had to study in the past and what women did at school. Some subjects consisted of learning to cook well for her husband, cleaning properly the house or sewing. Fortunately, women like Clara Campoamor fought to change this situation and they achieved the liberty for the women. The assessment was to do a group project about the education of a woman in your family. Another option was a project about the training that women had to do in order to become a teacher. In addition there was an individual work about a book and attendance was compulsory. If you couldn’t come to class you had the opportunity to do an exam. I chose the first option not only for avoiding the exam but also because I liked the class and in my opinion they were very interesting and productive. In fact, this has been my favourite optional subject up to now. Noelia Bueno Granero

Social Psychology

This subject is about how people act in society, how we all change our minds and our acts when we are with other people. This is a very interesting subject because we analyze all our day lives and the teacher helps us to think about such things as why we act in the opposite way from how we think, or what exactly it is to have a prejudice, why we have them and things like that. The teacher is very good, she explains very well although she is a bit strict and during each class you have to take a lot of notes necessary for the final exam which is a test and a personal essay about a book she asks us to read. In short, I would recommend this subject to anyone who likes psychology. Ana Isabel Izquierdo Fernández

Rhythm and movement games

El juego aplicado al ritmo y movimiento: This course consists of learning many different children’s songs and dances. Most of them came from different countries such as Poland, England, Scotland and Portugal. It was necessary to learn a few musical concepts which can be applied in any song. The teacher always introduced the dance step by step so it was easy to follow. We also had to read some poems and stories for children. The teacher was very friendly and helped us lose our shyness. The attendance was compulsory because the teacher took into account the participation and the effort and progress in class for the final assessment, so we didn’t have to do an exam. We had to read three poems, a story and a piece of news during the whole term and we had to prepare all the dances we had learnt for the last day. My experience was very pleasing and satisfactory because I really enjoyed learning all the dances. I would recommend this course to anybody who likes dancing or is interested in children’s songs. It’s also a great opportunity to learn some communicative skills and to express feelings through poems, dancing and story telling. Sara Bravo Granado

Taking advantage of the natural environment

In this subject students can learn the biological circle of life of some trees as well as their habitat and growth. The teacher, who is a kind and nature-loving woman, will explain each tree's characteristics in the street. Later you will work with some partners to write down some information about what the teacher has explained and before the end of the course you will have to hand it in to the teacher with a description of ten animals. Moreover, your group will have to choose an animal, look for information about it and prepare a presentation. If you do all of this and attend the classes frequently you won't need to do the exam unless you want to get a higher mark.  Although at first I wasn't really interested in this subject, now I have realised that I learnt many things that I hadn't expected to. In conclusion, if you enjoy learning about nature, choose this optional subject without delay!  Ana Lafuente González

Diagnosis of difficulties in literacy

I am going to tell you about my subject called “Diagnóstico de las dificultades en los procesos de lectura y escritura”. I had this subject in the first term this academic year. I choose this one because many classmates recommended it to me. We have some problems, because there were two months left to finish the first term when the teacher had to give up us for health problems. Two weeks after, the second teacher arrived. The subject was about the different problems that children have in writing and reading, like dyslexia and how to diagnose them. We also studied different tricks and methods to teach children to read. To complete our knowledge we had to do a practical work, so we had to go to a primary school and test the children, just to know if they had any difficulty in their learning capacities. Then we collected the results and presented a report to our teacher. Also, if you hadn’t given her your report, you had to do an exam. To pass this exam you must study all theory and combine it with the practical knowledge we had learnt before. Sonia Cabrero Gómez

Teaching Religion at School

This subject is about how to teach the subject of Religion in school. It shows you some methods and strategies to work regarding religion´s contents. The first thing is to always give the pupils opportunities to pass the subject and to learn. That´s why the teacher uses in his class the same strategies, such as continuous assessment. So we do a monthly exam about contents studied. If you fail the exam, the teacher gives you another opportunity, not just to pass it, but the most important thing is to really learn the content. A continuous assessment also implies attendance, working in class and on your own at home. It’s a subject in which you learn a lot, not only about religion, but also to how to plan a class. We have also done teaching units, so it was the first time for me that somebody had taught me how to organize a lesson.  That´s why I think this was one of the best subjects I´ve done, because I have learn that the most important thing is learning not passing an exam. And it showed me how I can organize a real class while teaching students any subject. -Sara Gómez Martín

Fixed image workshop

Fixed image workshop  is an optional subject in which you are supposed to work on twentieth century art by doing some works with which you are evaluated, such as: a triptric about 20^th century art, represent a famous picture and mix several famous pictures in one.  Though attendence is not required you have to show your works before the course ends. I think it would be an interesting and dynamic subject if the teacher was a little bit organized but he´s a broad-minded, outgoing, bohemian, messy painter. I´d recomend this optional course to anybody who’s interested in art, creative people, people who are not able to attend classes and finally, people who want to be sure they are going to pass.  -Alba Delgado Mata

History of Spain

I am going to write about History of Spain. I chose this subject because I like history and I thought it would be interesting. I´m learning a lot because the teacher tells us many things that I've never studied before. The problem of this subject is that the teacher talks very quickly and I haven’t got time to write everything down, so, when I have to study at home, I have to use a history book. When I finish the class, I am a little tired because I have to write very fast during 90 minutes. We don´t have to do presentations, reports... only listen and write. At the end of the course, we have to do an exam about everything that we have learned. I recommend you this subject if you like history, if you like studying very hard and if you can go to class everyday because if you don´t go to some classes, you are lost in the next class and you have to find the information on your own.    - Beatriz López

Teaching materials for constructing logico-mathematical concepts

Materiales didácticos para la construcción de conceptos lógico-matemáticos: This subject is about games that children can use to improve some aspects like coordination, spatial skills, logic... Some classes are theoretical but most of them are practical. The teacher presents a theory such as sequence or logic. After that, he demonstrates some games that improve those skills and over several. classes in groups of 5 or 6 people, we have to make a game based on one of  the games that teacher showed us and some complementary games or activities. Then we have to give a presentation with our games. It includes a power point presentation with objectives, materials, age and explanations of the games and the activities built by us.  Attendance is required. If you miss class more than 3 days, you’ll have an exam, but if you go to class every day the evaluation will be through the group work and an individual activity of some aspects studied in class.  I would recommend this subject to everybody because it is a relaxing subject and you don’t have to study. In contrast, you should be able to work in group.  Cristina Guede García

Painting Workshop

I want to describe Painting Workshop, which is one of my optional courses this term. I chose it because I love painting and I thought it would be a relaxing class, and my prospects came true: the teacher is an elderly woman who doesn’t explain us how to paint or draw, instead she shows us a lot of techniques; so we are painting all the time while music is playing. Attendance is required because there isn’t any final exam; on the other hand, we will show all our painting projects and the teacher (also the classmates) will evaluate our progress the last day. Consequently, I recommend this optional course only for people who really love painting because it will be the only thing they will do.

Itziar Cana Carnicero

Logical and mathematical games

Juegos lógico-matemáticos

This subject is about Maths, but it isn’t taught in a traditional manner. We learnt resources for making Maths lessons more enjoyable. We did exercises like sudokus, logical puzzles, etc. In addition, the teacher was quite nice; she made the class relaxed, although we had to work. We had to make a portfolio in groups with all the exercises we had done during the term and a group work in which you had to invent a board game. The attendance was required so that could be a problem for some students. However, you also could do an exam if you couldn’t attend the lessons.   Finally, I’d recommend it for students who like Math, but especially if they like logical games.

Paula Álvarez Gil

Culture and Civilization of English-Speaking Countries

This subject teaches you about the history and traditions of the Anglo-Saxon countries. I think all of the teachers that have to teach English should learn this subject because it can help us to understand the context of some phrases or some word names. In addition, as all of us are traveling to England to improve our English fluently, we need to know something about this country. The assessment of this subject consists of the marks of presentations about England, USA, and Australia and some summaries of some text that explain the origin of this language. Furthermore we have to attend to the lesson every day because it counts too. The teacher is Lydia and she is always trying to give us new information and new ways to understand the culture and the origin of the language. She tries to speak in English throughout the lessons, but sometimes we can’t understand what she is saying because we don’t know some words of old English. I recommend this subject because it can improve your comprehension about English speakers and improve your spoken English.
María Inés Lorenzo Rivas

Chemistry Laboratory

I studied this 4,5-credit optional course three years ago. It was taught by two teachers (Mercedes and Joseph) and two lab technicians. They evaluated theory and practical skills. The classroom was the chemistry lab, on the lowest floor of the building. It was on the “campus virtual”, but the attendance was compulsory. Also we had to do lots of homework: papers about each experiment done in class and an important presentation. We did an exam too. Except this, the other activities were in groups, we were the whole course into a same group. It was not necessary to know about chemistry but it is very useful. For people who did not know, the subject was harder and more boring because they had to study more. I recommend LABORATORIO DE QUÍMICA if you like chemistry very much, if you know about it, if you really want to work in a group and if you have enough time for doing the assignments. But I would not do it again.
Ana María García Rojo

Visual Arts: "Image Workshop"

Image Workshop

This would be your ideal subject if you are an imaginative person. Even if you haven’t got enough knowledge about art you will have a good time. Whereas in other subjects you have to pass an exam, in this one you have to present your individual work. It consists of a collage in which you have to glue parts of different paintings and pictures from a magazine. Also you have to do a project with your partners. That is, the group has to perform a painting with a background and different characters. As well if you are a very busy person, you should know that attendance is not required although you will have to coordinate with your group. In this subject, the most important thing is to be organized because there is no deadline for handing in your work. To summarize, I would recommend you this subject because it helps you to clear your mind if you have had a hard day.
Araceli González Daganzo

Diagnosis of Reading and Writing Process Difficulties

I am going to talk about a subject called “Diagnóstico de Dificultades en Procesos de Lectura y Escritura”. As you can imagine from its name, this subject was about how to treat the difficulties that little children can find when they are learning how to read and write. The teacher was very practical, she showed a lot of examples, she didn’t like theory. She seemed to be very prepared for teaching this subject, but we had some problems because she didn’t attend class frequently, even we had another teacher at the end of the subject. Of course, we had an exam and we had to hand many individual and group works in to increase our final mark. This subject had a lot of information in the virtual campus. The attendance wasn’t obligatory, but it was necessary to understand the problems in the process of acquiring the reading and the writing. I would recommend this subject to my partners because, as future teachers, you should know how to deal with these kind of problems. In my opinion, it was a very useful subject. You had to work, but finally the subject was easy to pass.
Leticia González García

Diagnosis of Reading and Writing Process Difficulties

I am going to talk about a subject called “Diagnóstico de Dificultades en Procesos de Lectura y Escritura”. As you can imagine from its name, this subject was about how to treat the difficulties that little children can find when they are learning how to read and write. The teacher was very practical, she showed a lot of examples, she didn’t like theory. She seemed to be very prepared for teaching this subject, but we had some problems because she didn’t attend class frequently, even we had another teacher at the end of the subject. Of course, we had an exam and we had to hand many individual and group works in to increase our final mark. This subject had a lot of information in the virtual campus. The attendance wasn’t obligatory, but it was necessary to understand the problems in the process of acquiring the reading and the writing. I would recommend this subject to my partners because, as future teachers, you should know how to deal with these kind of problems. In my opinion, it was a very useful subject. You had to work, but finally the subject was easy to pass.
Leticia González García

Motor skills in children with special needs

The subject I am going to talk about is named ' Psicomotricidad en niños con Necesidades Educativas Especiales' and the teacher is Carmen Sabán. The main topic of the subject is how we, as teachers, can improve motor skills in children who have special needs at school. The method we followed during this course was to organize ourselves in groups and read some articles. Next, a debate was held for all the class to join in. After that, we made -in groups again- a brief summary about the class. Although we didn't have to do a final exam - it was only for those students who couldn't go to class every day-, we have had to work on some topics the teacher gave us at the beginning of the term. We had to do two projects - one individually and the second one in groups- about Psychomotor skills and related illnesses. I strongly recommend you to enrol for this subject because I enjoyed it very much and I have also learnt a lot. I believe that this topic could be very useful for us because it is important to know what psycho-motor problems children can have and how we can help them.
María Paz Jiménez

Teaching History

“Didáctica de la Historia” is a subject where you only study the theory about the history of Spain. The teacher’s methodology is traditional: he speaks and the students write at the same time, and he usually completes his explanations with maps and texts related to the period which he tells us about. Moreover we have also a typical History exam; he put forward four themes and we have to choose two of them and write all the information that we’ve learnt. He is only going to evaluate us according based on the grade of the exam because attendance doesn’t matter, and we haven’t done any assignments or activities. I wouldn’t recommend this subject because of the method of teaching but I would like to suggest the teacher to change it and focus the subject more on the didactic part because what we really want to learn about is how to show History to the children.
Cristina Pascual

Adapting to Diversity in Education

Adaptación educativa a la diversidad
This subject deals with how to adapt the content of the lesson to the different abilities of the students. The course is divided into two parts: first, you spend a couple of weeks learning the theoretical aspects of educative adaptation, then the time comes in which you have to get together with a group of four or five people and create a 15-page-long paper dealing with the adaptation of a particular subject of your own choice. This paper makes 50% of the final evaluation which also includes a final test in which you may choose an option among four. The test is not very difficult to pass if you manage to understand all the abstract concepts this subject deals with. As far as the teacher is concerned, he is sometimes a bit confusing in his explanations, but when you need him to help you with your paper he gladly does so. Attendance to his lessons is not required, although it might be useful for you to attend if your group mates are not in your normal group or if you’re having troubles with the task. All in all, I think this subject was useful for me in the sense that it made me realize the importance of adapting your lessons to the variety of students you may find in the classroom. Would I do it again? Probably, but keeping in mind the hard work I had to do to understand the theory which, after all, I was glad to do because it broadened my understanding of Education and of my work as a teacher.
María Fernández Valverde

English Literature

Literature of English Language
I chose this optional course because it has to do with our degree. It is about Literature written in English, from Beowulf until today. Moreover, this course also includes a storytelling workshop. However, the main problem is that there is not enough time to see in detail all the Literature, so students are divided into groups to work on different authors according to different literary movements. Furthermore, there is a special work about Shakespeare about which we are required to make a presentation. Finally, students must pass an exam, but it is not difficult. On the other hand, attendance is required. To sum up, although you have to work a lot, I recommend this optional course because you learn a lot about the language we will teach in the future and, at the same time, you have fun.
Celeste Orellana Bravo

Active listening to music

“Audición musical activa” is one of the optional courses which I am studying during this second term. It consists of doing different musical activities, such as dancing or singing, thinking about how to do them in Primary Education and with those children who have learning difficulties. In this course we have to write a diary with all the activities which we have done in the classroom in order to be evaluated. Because of this, attendance is compulsory, so pupils who don’t come to class regularly have to do a practical exam at the end of the term. Finally, I would recommend this subject, because I find it very useful for future teachers and it shows us how to use music across the curriculum, attending to all of the pupils’ needs.
Marta García Coronado

Human nutrition and its treatment at school

“LA ALIMENTACIÓN HUMANA Y SU TRATAMIENTO EN LA ESCUELA”

This subject is very interesting. The contents that I have studied are related mainly to Biology and in the last part of the course some didactic aspects are included too. The teacher is very good and offers us good explanations. Attendance is not obligatory, but the teacher prefers the students to go and sometimes takes the register. There is an exam, but the most important element to get a good mark is a workbook where we have to include all the things studied and the exercises we are supposed to have done. My personal opinion about this subject is very positive since you can learn useful information that is very interesting for your daily life.
Concepción Perandones Santiago