Managing a Faculty Career 🕴🤵

Today, we had a wonderful meeting with a wonderful woman. Dr. Ro Dibrezzo is the vice provost for faculty affairs and professor of kinesiology. She gave us a session about managing a career as a faculty member. She is awesome. She has a presence while she is talking and she has the ability to grasp the attention of her audience. She gave us some advice from her experience and her position in the faculty. If you are the teacher, remember that you have the power. you have the power over the students and the administration. the students know that you are in power so, use this power to become a better staff member. The second point is not to be casual. Being casual with your students is different from being their good example. I guess I will make use of this advice in my upcoming life.    

Dozen Keys to "A's" in Teaching 🔑 Smile 😁

Often start with a "SMILE". these words were said by Dr. John A.White. Dr. White was the keynote speaker for the Baum Teaching Workshop. His presentation was about "55 Years Affairs with Teaching." This man I consider him an ideal example of a teacher. He started his talk with a smile. the smile that hooked us up to listen and learn of more than 50 years of experience in teaching. He wanted to share with us a story of success. A dozen keys to "A's" in teaching. Dr. White believed that Attitude, Aspiration, Availability, Allocation, Ambition, Affirmation, Awareness, Anticipation, Attentiveness, Adaptable, Application and Ability are the keys to be successful in teaching.  I believe that in teaching when it is related to yourself it will be successful. I think I would be myself as these little things mean a lot. I definitely will carry this experience to my colleagues to learn and know more about the passion of life and the passion for teaching.         

My True Color 📙📘📗📒

What do you think is your true color? This is the title of our first session on our journey. That was not my first time to hear about that test. I conducted that test about two years ago and I was sure that my color was blue. I got surprised when I conducted the same test this time with a different result. This time I become gold. I was thinking about how the color could change. I believe that I grow up with every single minute I spent in teaching. I think that a good teacher must be a combination of all the four colors. When Gavin started to tell us about each color and its meanings, I figured out that I am a teacher how I can combine different qualities to match my students who have much diversity in their learning styles and how should I match all these styles with different teaching styles. In my opinion, as a teacher, I should meet most of the students’ needs that grantee success in different occasions of teaching. Mixing the colors is important. I believe I could do much more when I know what are the true colors of my students regarding their learning abilities. I wish I could do this in my classes. This class helped me for a better understanding of my students. 

The Respected Matthew 👨‍🏫😍

I think that Matthew is an ideal example for a teacher. He is a cooperative, well-organized teacher. Actually, I would like to be like him. I have learned from him to make use of every single moment. He is creative and very curious. He likes to ask about everything. He is eager to know and to learn. He takes care of his lifestyle, and he is also taking care of his students. Positive feedback is one of his merits. The creative teacher, in my opinion, is usually beloved by his students. I like him so much. He used to provide us with information and materials that add much knowledge to us. I really appreciated his effort with us during the classes. Thanks a lot, my teacher. I think you have succeeded in achieving our target.  

Lovely Christina 👩‍🏫😍

Today was the last day we will see our lovely teacher and friend Christina. We spent about 5 weeks together. I liked Christina so much. She is a lovely smart teacher. She has a very pleasant smile. I have learned a lot from her. She worked with us on two points the academic writing and the pronunciation. I have learned a lot of activities and techniques. I liked how supporting she was to us. She usually cares about us. She asks me about my work and my family. Her smile reminds me of a famous Hollywood actress “Julian Moore”. She has the same eyes and smile. She encouraged us to write more and more until we become more perfect and be able to publish. I will take the chance and I will keep writing. She usually gives us a positive feedback. I have to say thank you to Christina. We love you so much and I will make sure to keep in touch with her. I hope to be friends for ever. Thank you Christina.    

Hi technology, I am here! 📽🕹

Today, I visited the global campus building. I was lucky to meet dr. Shelly again. She invited me last time to visit the global campus. It is the place where we design the online courses, electronic curriculum, and the virtual reality programs studio. I spent my time there in checking all the new technology available there. We checked the VR lab where I played and experienced a lot of the games and courses such as the human body, the spaceship, the American landmarks, the bear forest and the Disney coco movies. After that, I went to the chrome studio where we can produce videos and electronic programs. This reminded me of the unit for producing electronic courses at Mansoura University. That encouraged me a lot to produce more and cooperate with them when I am back to my home university.       

Fayetteville Farmers Market 🌹🌻🍓🍇🍉

Today is August 11^th. We had visited the farmers’ market is a very Fayetteville market. We saw people from all over Arkansas. The market is not only about farming products only, but it is a mix of art, nature, and handicrafts. I like it very much. It is not only for buying and selling items. It is a gathering and enjoying time activities. I have tried new things like the Kamoutcha, it is a mix of tea and juice, a chocolate coffee. I saw a lot of vegetables and flowers. As well as, a lot of people and friends. I saw different bands and singers. I saw paints who draw wonderful pictures of the city and carpenters who were very talented with their handmade crafts. I enjoyed the time very much for the reason that I have spent the day with an American family -Dr. Dennis Beck- my mentor. I met his wife Jane and his kids; Hana, Kaleb, and Jude. I actually liked the harmony among them. I always ask any happy family about the secret of happiness of long relationships. All the answers were about passing the trivial things and building bunds. I will do my best to achieve that with my family.  
   

Using Technology in Our Classes 👨‍🏫💻⌨📲🖱🖨

Today, we had a very interesting session about using technology in our classes with Shelly Walters I have learned a massive amount of information about how to work with technology especially in education. The first and the most important information is “I have to think about the target (Design the course first then try to put them in the electronic management system).” I have known a lot of useful websites and tools that I will use in my classes and in my research. I already knew and used some of them. Some of the digital clouds such as One Drive, Google Drive, and DropBox. In addition to some live chatting programs like Zoom, Skype, Adobe Connect, Collaborate, and Google Hangout. As well as, teaching management systems like Moodle, Blackboard, Google-Class, and Edmodo. Besides, some free websites that I could use to help me in preparing materials such as Audacity, Boom Writer, Diigo, Voice Thread, and Text Poll. This class actually shaped the way for me to invest in my upcoming works. 

What the best college teacher DO!!👨‍🏫👩‍🏫

In a two days’ session with Dr. Jennifer Beasley about What the best college teacher doing and providing support for an everyday learner. Think dots is a very interesting game we started the session with and it is played with a paper and a dice. I started to know more about myself in this session. When Dr. Matthew answered a question about a discerption. He answered the question in total but I liked to make it more simple and easier. Reading and management a differentiated classroom is also a recommended book to read about classroom management. A very point that I have learned is to tell the students that we are not all learning by the same way as we have individual differences. The class was interesting because we did a lot of activities. I like the thinking dots and guided discovery way. In the second session, we preceded the talk with the goal and what we are supposed to do with the data. Why do institutions of the higher education use data? In Egypt, we are targeting the GPA, the test scores, ratings, and course evaluation. In the USA they use the same as what we have in addition to feedback and observation. By the end of the session, we discussed the protocols for examining the data. I think we are in the line with the American system which means that we are about to improve our higher education system.  

SOAR- ESL Boot-camp for Public School Children 🚍✍

 Today, We had a very special day at a Middle school. we had to observe classes at the SOAR - ESL Boot-camp for Public School Children. The day was really amazing, and we enjoyed it a lot.

when we got into the school, the program manager was waiting for us with her lovely team. They were ready with the breakfast; sandwiches, juice, water, and yogurt for the kids as well as we. She gave us some instructions and then directed us to the class. there were four classes two for reading one for maths and one for writing. I was lucky to attend all of them.


The first class was reading. In this class, there were four kids and two teachers. They started with a quick warm-up and then a lead into the reading. They unblocked the new vocabulary and then they mad reading circle. all the teachers and the students were reading together by turn. I enjoyed their interaction very much. I am eager to apply these circles in my classes.
      
The second class was reading, though. This time, the class was three students and a teacher. the class was interesting too. The teacher was conducting a kind of individual assessment. She set with each student alone and evaluated their performance in reading including top-down and Bottom-up skills. That was really interesting for me because in my classes I do not have the chance to work individually with the students.

The third class was a writing class. There were eight students and two teachers. They were using a very interesting writing tool called OREO writing planner. That was my first time with it. I saw the students are really active and into the learning. I usually use the Sandwich writing planner but of course, I will try the OREO next time.

Finally, I went to the Maths class. That class was fun and full of activities. the teachers were not only teaching maths but also, taking care of the pronunciation and the meaning of the new words. The class was about fractions. The students were really active participants and they proved smartness in personality and in mentality. Of course, I will use these techniques in my English for maths classes. By the end of this day. We felt very happy to set and spent the day with such promising kids.           

Hospitality Day! A day with an American Family. 🇪🇬👪🇺🇸

Yesterday, I spent the whole day with an American Family. Early in the morning, an old man called Jhonnie and his mother in law Dorthy. She is really a nice friendly woman. She sent Bob and me to Walmart to bring some groceries. and then I went with Bob to the neighbors garden to bring some fresh vegetables. We went through the garden and we had a lot of talk about the similarities and the differences between the American society and the Egyptian society in different fields such as the social, educational, financial and economical. When we were back, Hhonnie and I baked bread and banana cakes together and then, we had the lunch. It was really delicious. After the lunch, I started to tell them about Egypt and the places where they can visit. I had some sort of games like hieroglyphic symbols also, I wrote their names in Arabic and we did coloring some photos from Egypt. Bob used to host students from all over the world and I was lucky to be his first Egyptian visitor. I wrote my name in their visitors' book I was number 129 visitor. Lately, we went out in around and visited some places like Sam's, Walmart, Shoe Carnaval and the mall. The final part of the day, We took a family photo that Jhonnie will put in her Visitors' Album. She prepared me a carryout lunch and I gave them some souvenirs from Egypt. Finally, Bob drove me back to the Hotel with a promise to see each other again. 

Bob came to the hotel where I live to pick me up. Bob is really a nice man. We had a short conversation about my plan for the day, and I told him I will spend the day like what you do regularly. He took me on a ride for almost an hour in and around Fayetteville. I saw a lot of houses and green areas. then we headed to his house. He introduced me to his wife

I was really worried about the day. I thought It could be boring and I would not get much fun. On the contrary, It was a wonderful idea to spent with a host family. That forced me to speak in English all the time. I had to keep the conversations on. in addition to that, I had to see the others' culture and how really it affects the communication and the interaction between people from other countries. I think also, it achieves one of the targets of the program about exchanging and crosses cultures. For my future plans. I think I might be one of the hosts in my country. When I will have the chance to talk about my country, learn from the others and convey my message to the others all over the world.                 

Teaching Pronunciation 🎤

Yesterday we had a class about teaching pronunciation. The class was from Dr. Christina.there were 27 students in the class. It was a mix of the Egyptian, the American TEFLers, and the Mexican Teachers. In that class, we had some ideas for teaching pronunciation. the class was divided into mixed groups of the three nationalities. We had a great chance to practice a variety of activities in pairs, groups, and the whole class. Games like peas in the mouse, check yourself and the same sentences, different meanings. Also, She provided us with different materials for pronunciation activities like Mastering the American Accent. I really liked that class. I used to use some of these resources in my classes even me myself used them in learning the language. I guess these kind of classes are really interesting because it involves much interaction rather than lecturing all the time. I believe
that I am going to follow these steps when I am back.       

Literacy Assessment and Interventions 👯‍♀️

Literacy Assessment and Interventions class were by Dr. Linda Eilers. The class takes place in the auditorium. I was surprised by the number of the students we had about 22 kids plus 22 teachers. the kids are aged between pre-k to grade 7. It was about preparation for literacy camp. this camp will start next week. the class was about assessing the kids level by using different assessment tools like pictures, books, and reading passages. they were covering every single part of the language from the alphabet to reading passages and even by a physical response. they used different books like "PEA body picture vocabulary test","Assessing Reading Multiple Messages" "expressive vocab test" and "Strategies for Reading assessment and instructions". Dr. Linda and her staff are really helpful the explained to us every point of the class and how the assessment process goes on. the teachers are well trained and they are MAT students. this means that they are working as teachers or they are seeking their licenses to practice teaching. The class is going in the shape of one to one. We have noticed a child who is only 4.5 years old and he is really very smart. I liked him very much. one of the good stories that Dr. Linda told us was about a 6 years old girl who spent her night crying because of her mother and her teacher asked her to write a letter to her mother not to make her cry anymore. I loved this class very much. I really agree with the process of the learning and I think we should do the same stages in my institution. They started first with the needs analysis and then started to adopt the programs for each student separately and when they are going to lunch the program they are seeking. in some of these stages, it is duplicated in my institution. but we lack the accuracy and the designing process. I wish I could have the chance to do it.       

Learning Circles 👨‍🏫 👨‍👧‍👧 👨‍👧‍👧 👨‍👧‍👧

My second class observation was with Dr. Stephen Burgins. the class was about "Learning Circles". The class was held at PEAH 206. The students are 16 pre-service teachers of different ages. The class started the class earlier because they have an assessment after that the class started with introducing today's lesson. First, the teacher started with a video "Bunnies can fly. Prof." Then with a peer game. The class was really funny. The main purpose of this lesson to teach students to learn about the different stages of learning circles "Exploration, Explanation, and application". The teacher used different activities varied between individual, peer, group and whole class. I think that students are enjoying their lesson. After that, the teacher explained the meaning of the learning circles and the theoretical part. So, they learned "learning circles" through "learning circles". I think I agree with this technique as I believe learning by practice is better than the presenting the new information theoretically. I will try to do this in my following classes.              

Lifestyle and Career Development 🕺

Today was the first day I had a classroom observation at the University of Arkansas. The class was at 9:15 am with Dr. David Christian at GRAD 239. The doctor started the class with a friendly talk with his students about their free weekend activities. then, he proceeded with a reflective reading activity about " The 11 Best Career Quizzes to Help You Find Your Dream Job."
       
        Dr. David started telling them about what are they going to do all the week. the Dr. started with something like an introduction ceremony between the Egyptians and the students. After that, the teacher told us about the subject of the lesson which was "life career Assessment".

        The teacher used different materials like; the board, the computer, powerpoint presentations, the internet and mobile phones. Rather than the number of the students is about 9 students. the teach created a fun atmosphere.

        We had an activity role play, to practice a life career assessment between a counselor and a client. After that, the teacher started to reflect on the activity. It was really a good experience to attend such a class.       

Learning Teaching Through Chinese 🉐🏯

In 2015, I had the chance to attend a Chinese class. That was my first time to meet an English teacher who could teach such an interesting class. The teacher was really funny and I had so much fun that day. the teacher used many activities and different techniques to make us understand what he is doing. He used a group of pictures to tell us about the meaning. He made us repeat after him different sentences that were written by him on the board. After that, he made us practice these sentences many times and through activities like matching and ordering. Finally, we started to practice these sentences without seeing them and then we moved to the free practice. I thought that really a good example for an organized class as he started with unblocking the difficult vocabulary and then, he presented the new information in different ways and after that, he made us practice. It was a nice class that I will never forget.

Little Rock 🏔🎑

Last weekend, we went on a trip to Little Rock. It is known to 

be the capital of the state of Arkansas.The day before, we had a class about Little Rock. This class was a mixed class between the Mexican and the Egyptian. we started the class with a game by Dr. Gavin. she made us skim a paper for one minute. it was fall of information and then she divided the class into two small groups and we started the game and our team won. after that, Dr. Gavin started to tell us more about Little Rock. We knew a lot of incidents in the 50th of the last century and how the crisis of the Junior high school that left a scare in the USA, started a new era in the history of the civil rights in the USA. the next day we head up to Little Rock at 8:30 am. The destination took about 3 hours with a break in the middle of the trip. once we arrived Little Rock. we visited the Historic Central High School and we saw the place where the chaos goes on. After that, we went to the state Capital Building where we had a tour in the building with different rooms senates. We took a lot of photos in and out the building and also we took the famous half million dollars picture. Then, we checked in the hotel and we went to have the dinner at one of the famous restaurants there"The Flying Fish". The food was really delicious. After while, we went in a walk around the city and we were walking in the rain however the weather was too hot. We went to the hotel and we felt in a sleep. The next day, we visited the Clinton Museum and the Presidential library. We took a lot of photos and we so a lot of information about president Clinton, even the presidential secured car. Also, I saw some of the gifts from the Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak. The next stop was Heifer Organization. It is a non governmental organization that works in charity and helping people to go over poverty by learning to give. "passing the gift" is their slogan. We saw the exhibit, farms, and animals that they are working with. I appreciated them a lot. finally we took the bus again to Fayetteville. It was really a nice trip, full of information and I learned a lot form it.         

 

Campus Safety Briefing 👨‍✈️🚔🚨

Today we had a session on "Campus Safety". We had some souvenirs to corporal Porter and officer Arso. We had a lot of information about safety in the university and what we should do if we saw a crime, had an accident, being harassed by anyone. In addition, they gave us a lot of information about emergency cases and how we should act to them. We also talk about the difference between the police department in the USA and in Egypt.Officer Arso surprised us when he talked in Arabic as we knew later that he is from Iraq and he is working in university of Arkansas as an officer.Corporal Porter was really funny and we had so much fun with both of them. we had some pictures with them. finally we promised them that we are going to visit them later.   

The Fulbright Reception 🤵🍷🥂

Yesterday, We had a Fulbright Reception with University of Arkansas Chancellor, Faculty, Staff, and the Current Fulbright Scholars. Imagin that you are standing in a room with people from over 28 countries all over the world, What would you feel? They were talking in different languages, studying different majors. I met people from The USA, Egypt, Canada, Mexico, Zambia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania and different places all over the world. we listened to Chancellor who give us a short talk about the history of the Fulbright also, we listened to talks from the dean and the vice dean. about the relationship of the Fulbright and the other countries. I met my mentor Dr. Dennis Beck for the first time and we talk about my research, Egypt and some personal stuff. I met other mentors who are working with my colleagues. I met some other students from India and Saudi Arabia. we had drinks and snakes and of course some photos. I spent a nice time with all those people around me. I wish I could see them again.     

My First Bowling Game 🎳

Today, I went to the bowling game with my Egyptian colleagues, the Mexican team, the TEFLers and the pre-academic cohort. That is the first time in my life to go bowling alley. I used to watch it on the television, but that was the first time to play it. all that I know about the rules is to throw the ball to hit the bowling pins. the rules are really easy as the game itself. we were divided into three mixed groups and we played a game that lasted for 2 hours. I got the first place in the first game, but in the second game, I won. that was a really big surprise for me and all my team I have got many strikes that day. I was really happy and all my friends too. Outside the bowling alley, there were three graffitis. they were really awesome. we had a lot of pictures there. I wish to go there again.