Maritza Medina González
medinago@msu.edu
| EDUCATION |
Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia July 2011
Bachelor’s Degree in Basic Education with Emphasis in Humanities: Spanish and English
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI Expected, May 2020
Master’s Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL)
| PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE |
English and Spanish Teacher
District Secretary of Education, Bogotá, Colombia
April 2013 – September 2016 & September 2017 – June 2018
- Planned curriculum programs for different levels in secondary school to establish the institutional pedagogical framework for teaching languages in many different educational communities.
- Assessed the students through many instruments of evaluation, providing evidence for their successes and failures, giving feedback regarding the learning process, and redesigning the methodology to ensure high success.
- Promoted the English language and encouraged the educational community to use it as an instrument to develop a real process of globalization and an ideal intercultural environment.
- Participated actively in school life, working to stimulate in the students an interest in language, and modelling life through my own resilience in spite of my disability.
Support Teacher for Blind Students
Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia
August 2017 – October 2017
- Helped blind students improve their learning process according to their corresponding studies in the university through different strategies for learning such as: literacy process in Braille, mathematics, English, technology, and others; re-editing written texts to make them more accessible for blind students; designing didactic materials to support some specific subjects; and other activities that assist in academic development.
- Empowered students with disabilities, motivating them to know their rights and act stronger in community life by actively participating in all academic, social, and cultural events with the other students in the university.
- Promoted respect and value for students with disabilities in the educational community, helping others recognize disabled students’ abilities and necessities, and encouraging true educational inclusion in all aspects of university life.
Spanish Language Assistant, British Council Exchange Program
Olchfa Comprehensive School, Swansea, UK
October 2016 – May 2017
- Aided the Spanish teacher as part of the teaching process, performing real communicative actions with the students using the Spanish language.
- Promoted the Spanish-speaking culture in the school, encouraging the students and teachers to explore more about Spanish and South-American traditions and life styles.
Braille Instructor
Public Library El Tintal, Manuel Zapata Olibella (Colsubsidio) Bogotá, Colombia
August 2013 – May 2014
- Stimulated library users to explore and learn about the Braille system, holding workshops with didactic materials to promote understand through practice.
- Promoted blind people’s communicative skills, emphasizing Braille as an efficient tool to have access to the written culture.
- Encouraged other blind people to learn Braille, showing the advantages and benefits it brings to daily life.
| LEADERSHIP & VOLUNTEER WORK |
Volunteer English Teacher
Asociacion El Arka, Bogotá, Colombia
February 2014 – September 2016
- Planned, developed, and coordinated the project “English: A New Tool for Discovering the World” that was designed to teach English as a foreign language to blind people.
- Created and adapted didactic materials to teach English to blind people, making all resources accessible for all students.
- Participated in many association activities, creating and looking for new ways to empower the blind community in society.
