Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

12th Grade Online Spanish Unit: STEM Careers in the Spanish-speaking World
New York State STEM high school

Godys Armengot Meja

University of Maryland University College

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Introduction
The unit will begin with a YouTube video, with optional closed captions, embedded in the course
home page on the course management system area for news items: Bienvenidos/ Welcome to
this unit on science and technology careers in the Spanish-speaking world. This a one-week
online unit for 12th grade students enrolled in STEM oriented high schools in New York State.
My name is Godys Armengot and I can be reached every day through the course management
system, by email at godys.armengot@gmail.com, in Google chat, or in Google Hangout.
Unit Description
This unit prepares you to read, write, speak, and listen in Spanish on the topic of science and
technology careers. In order to achieve college and career readiness level, you will explore,
discuss, and compare your own and others interests in science and technology, learn about
scientific discoveries and technological advances in the Spanish speaking world, expand your
vocabulary knowledge through videos and readings, write a one-page comparison essay, and
participate in two synchronous interviews.
The unit will be in your MyCourses course management area and you will find the welcome
video on the course home page under News. There are five days in the unit and each day will be
have its own lesson plan. The unit contains two required synchronous communications, via
Google Hangouts, and daily asynchronous communications through MyCourses and Flipgrid.
If you have any questions, please contact me directly or if you have a general question, use the
Preguntas/Questions discussion thread on MyCourses. The questions and responses posted in this
area will be visible to the entire class. You are always welcome to ask questions either in English
or in Spanish.
Content Standard
The content standard (adapted from English Language Art) will be for the subject: Spanish
language/12 grade/ New York State STEM high schools: Acquire and use accurately general
academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and
listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or
expression. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/11-12/.

Unit Overview

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

The goal of the week is for you to speak, read, listen, and write at a college and career readiness
level about STEM fields in Spanish. You will identify, share, and compare your STEM career
interests both orally and in writing. You will learn about recent scientific discoveries and
advances in the Spanish-speaking world, understand Spanish and Latin American cultural
expectations related to studying and working in STEM fields, and employ intercultural
communication techniques to make productive contributions to group projects and meetings with
Spanish speaking classmates or colleagues in STEM fields. The final assessment will be an
individual oral interview in Google Hangouts with your instructor where you will demonstrate
your communication skills and command of STEM-specific vocabulary.
Course Schedule
12th Grade Spanish Online Unit on Science and Technology Fields
in the Spanish-speaking World
The unit begins Monday morning and ends Friday at 8 p.m. EST.
Discussion postings and assignments are due by 8 p.m. EST.
This unit contains two synchronous speaking interviews, one on Thursday and one on Friday. All
other assignments for this unit are asynchronous.
Day

Lesson objectives

Media and
technologies used

Assignments

Day 1 Monday

Describe science
and technology
interests accurately
using general
academic and
field-specific
words and phrases;
Use the verb gustar
correctly to express
preferences

Course Management
System (MyCourses)
Wordreference.com
Forvo.com
Short topic introduction video on how
to decide what to
study:
https://www.youtube.
com/watch?
v=1nOeW3gzelk

1. Complete
vocation test and
email the results to
yourself and your
instructor.
2. On Flipgrid,
describe your
science and
technology
interests to the
class including why
they are interesting
to you using the
verb gustar.

Short video on using

the verb gustar:
https://www.youtube.
com/watch?

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

v=3uh2g80teUk
Vocational Test:
http://www.elegircarr
era.net/
Flipgrid for video
discussions:
flipgrid.com
Day 2 Tuesday

Expand Science
and Technology
vocabulary; Use
comparatives and
science and
technology
vocabulary to
compare interests

MyCourses;
Readings and videos
comparing
disciplines; Class
videos from last week
on Flipgrid; Google
doc or word
processor

Write a 1 page
comparison essay
in Spanish
comparing your
science and
technology
interests to your
classmates
interests.

Day 3
Wednesday

Discover and
describe scientific
and technological
advances in Spain
and Latin America

MyCoureses, Science
and technology
websites identified by
students (a
webliography will be
provided on
MyCourses for
inspiration and
assistance)

On Flipgrid
identify and
describe a recent
scientific discovery
or technological
advance developed
in a Spanishspeaking world. Do
not repeat another
students topic.

Day 4 Thursday

Understand
cultural
expectations for
studying and
working in science
and technology
fields in Spain and

MyCourses, readings
and videos on culture
in science and
technology fields in
the Spanish speaking
world

Use the interview

prompts provided
by the instructor to
discuss the cultural
expectations for
working in science
and technology

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Day 5 Friday

Latin America

Google Docs and

Google Hangouts

fields in the
Spanish-speaking
world with a
classmate on
Google Hangouts.

Acquire
intercultural
communication
and teamwork
skills in Spanish
for science and
technology fields

MyCourses, reading
on successful team
and meeting
interactions in the
sciences and
technology
disciplines
Google Hangouts

Oral interview via

Google hangouts
with instructor.
Intercultural
communication
role play for
science and
technology fields

Day 1
Objectives: Describe science and technology interests accurately using general academic and
field-specific words and phrases; use the verb gustar correctly to express preferences.
Media: Course management system (MyCourses), Flipgrid.com for short video discussions,
wordreference.com for vocabulary, forvo.com for pronunciation, A short Youtube video
explaining the correct use of the verb gustar, A short Youtube video in Spanish on strategies for
determining career/college interests, and an interactive vocational test in Spanish
http://www.elegircarrera.net/Test/General.aspx
Pedagogical Approach: The cognitive-behaviorist approach will be used for the grammar and
pronunciation while the social-constructivist approach will be used to encourage students to
share their own opinions and build the unique vocabulary knowledge that they require to create
the group discussion on Flipgrid about their science and technology interests.

Topic introduction and listening comprehension video

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Gua de Mapi #54 Qu debo tener en cuenta para escoger mi carrera profesional? (2015). No se
que estudiar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nOeW3gzelk

Interactive Vocation Test (screen capture of first 5 questions)

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Source: Lpez Fernndez, E. and Flores Caballero, E. (2016). Test de orientacin vocacional.
Elegir Carrera. Retrieved from: http://www.elegircarrera.net/Test/General.aspx

Grammar explanation video

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Source: Hillman, G. (2013) El verbo gustar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=3uh2g80teUk
Flipgrid for interactive video discussions

Scr
een capture of Flipgrid (2015).http://blog.flipgrid.com/

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Re-teaching: After the Flipgrid video discussion, I will give a short and friendly video response
to each student to model any revisions in the use of the verb gustar or with the vocabulary
accuracy. Any areas that need refinement will also be placed on the students list of practice
interview questions for the Thursday peer interview so that all students will have another chance
to practice these before the unit assessment, the oral interview, on Friday.
Extension Activity: Professional Email in Spanish-- After the students have the results of their
vocational tests sent to me in Spanish, I will email them back individually in Spanish and ask if
they liked the activity, if they found the results surprising or not, and how they compare to their
expectations or to other vocational tests they have taken in English. This will give students the
experience of reading and answering a real email in Spanish from a native speaker about their
possible career interests.

Vocational Test Results Email

Vocational test results from www.elegircarrera.net emailed to godys.armengot@gmail.com.

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Day 2
Objectives: Expand Science and Technology vocabulary; Use comparatives and science and
technology vocabulary to compare interests
Media: MyCourses; Flipgrid; wordreference.com; YouTube video on making comparisons in
Spanish; word processor for preparing essay
Pedagogical Approach: The cognitive-behaviorist approach will be used for grammar and
orthography while the social-constructivist approach will be used to encourage students to create
knowledge and share their own opinions, preferences, and comparisons about their science and
technology interests and those of their classmates.
Re-teaching: I will send written feedback on each essay as comments where I recognize the
students vocabulary use and use of comparatives. If there are any revisions needed in these two
areas, I will highlight the specific passages, provide additional video tutorials, and request that
the student resubmit the essay with the corrections.
Extension Activity: I will ask the student or students with excellent essays if I can share them
with the class. If they agree, I will post them in the MyCourses discussion and ask the class to
comment on the strengths they notice in their classmates work. This will give the class an
opportunity to give positive feedback and see high quality work at their level.
Day 3
Objective: Discover and describe scientific and technological advances in Spain and Latin
America
Media: MyCourses, Science and technology websites identified by students (a webliography will
be provided for inspiration and assistance); Flipgrid
Pedagogical Approach: The social-constructivist approach will be used to have students create
the group discussion on Flipgrid about the science and technology discoveries and advances in
the Spanish-speaking world while demonstrating independence in gathering vocabulary
knowledge. The cognitive-behaviorist approach will be used to give guidance on grammar and
pronunciation as needed.
Re-teaching: I will give a short and friendly video response to each student to model any
revisions in grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation. Any areas that need refinement will also be
placed on the students list of practice interview questions for the Thursday peer interview so that
all students will have another chance to practice these before the unit assessment, the oral
interview, on Friday.

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Extension Activity: After each student has presented a discovery or advance on Flipgrid, I will
ask students which of the discoveries or advances presented they find the most interesting and
why and which they would most like to work on with the team or scientists or technology
experts.
Day 4
Objective: Understand cultural expectations for studying and working in science and technology
fields in Spain and Latin America
Media: MyCourses; Readings and videos on culture in science and technology fields in the
Spanish speaking world; Google Docs; Google Hangouts
Pedagogical Approach: I will use a combination of cognitive-behaviorist approach for grammar
and vocabulary accuracy with the social-constructivist approach for students to produce meaning
in their peer interview. I will provide interview prompts in a Google doc for each student to
discuss the cultural expectations for working in science and technology fields in the Spanishspeaking world with a classmate on Google Hangouts.
Re-teaching: I will ask students to record their classmates answers in the Google doc with the
interview prompts. Then I will give feedback on their ideas as well as the clarity and accuracy of
the language by commenting on the Google doc.
Extension Activity: I will ask if one or two advanced groups would like to share their interviews
with the class either as a screen capture of the Google Hangout or the written record of the
interview on Google docs. I will post them on MyCourses and then the class will comment on
the strengths of the interview content and style.
Day 5
Objective: Acquire intercultural communication and teamwork skills in Spanish for science and
technology fields
Media: MyCourses, Reading in Spanish on successful team and meeting interactions in the
sciences and technology disciplines; Google Hangouts
Pedagogical Approach: I will use the social-constructivist approach for students to produce
meaning in their interview and the cognitive-behaviorist approach for grammar, vocabulary, and
pronunciation accuracy.

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Unit Assessment: Oral interview via Google hangouts with instructor. The interview is a role
play of a discussion with a co-worker in a STEM career from a Spanish-speaking country about
preferences, comparisons, and recent discoveries and advances (discipline-specific vocabulary)
in science and technology fields.
Conclusion: Online Design Summary
The pedagogical approaches of this unit are a combination of cognitive-behaviorist for the
readings and videos and one-to-one communications, and the social-constructivist for the
Flipgrid discussions and the open-ended discussion and interview questions that require students
to discuss, create, and construct meaning instead of recall (Anderson & Dron, 2011). The unit
provides students with the virtual environment to guide them through the process of expanding
their STEM vocabulary knowledge in Spanish while providing multiple opportunities for
students to produce meaning by contributing their own opinions, judgements, and conclusions.
Each day is focused on one or two learning objectives and particular skills (reading, listening,
speaking, and writing) are emphasized on different days.
The unit provides a variety of technology-based resources for students. My goal was to include
tools that would offer structure but to vary the presentation from lesson to lesson to encourage
flexibility and creativity that enhances the students engagement with the subject (Barbour,
2014). For example, while the students use wordreference.com to acquire discipline-specific
vocabulary needed to understand or express themselves and forvo.com to check and practice
their pronunciation, they also use Flipgrid.com to engage in short video discussions with their
classmates. They are provided with a webliography with information on recent discoveries and
advances in science and technology from the Spanish-speaking world. However, they are also
encouraged to find their own discoveries and advances by going beyond the webliography to see
what they can find on their own. They use YouTube videos for grammar tutorials, listening
comprehension practice and vocabulary practice, Google doc or a word processor for the
comparison essay, Google Hangouts for interviews and Google Docs to read the interview
question prompts and to keep a record of their classmates responses.
The final assessment is an oral interview that gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their
expanded discipline-specific vocabulary, their ability to communicate effectively in the target
language on career and college related topic of STEM careers in the Spanish speaking-world
while asking them to comment on their own preferences, comparisons, and interests, which takes
the unit beyond simple recall of information and into the construction of meaning and the
students own perspectives and approaches to the material.

References

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

Anderson T. and Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy.

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada.
Retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890/1663.
Barbour, M. K., Adelstein, D., & Morrison, J. (2014). The Forgotten Teachers in K-12 Online
Learning: Examining the Perceptions of Teachers Who Develop K-12 Online Courses.
http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1203&context=ced_fac
Gua de Mapi #54 Qu debo tener en cuenta para escoger mi carrera profesional? (2015). No s
qu estudiar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nOeW3gzelk
Hillman, G. (2013) El verbo gustar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=3uh2g80teUk
Lpez Fernndez, E. and Flores Caballero, E. (2016). Test de orientacin vocacional. Elegir
Carrera. Retrieved from: http://www.elegircarrera.net/Test/General.aspx
Unit Assessment Rubric
Oral
interview
rubric
Content 5
Appropriate
topic, wellconnected,
logical, and
engaging
Grammar 5
Consistent
control of all
grammatical
structures
reviewed
Vocabulary

Always
(5)

Almost
Always
(4)

Frequen
tly (3)

Sometimes
(2)

Rarely
(1)

Notes

Running head: 12th GRADE ONLINE SPANISH UNIT

5
Wide variety
of relevant
vocabulary
employed
appropriately

Fluency 5
Speech
smooth,
pronunciatio
n accurate,
no long
pauses,
hesitations,
or use of
English

Total
/20