What's happening in IPTE?
"The partnership with the University of Colorado Denver provides expert, built-in staff support, serves as an external resource, and offers a rich, well-prepared talent pool from which to draw".
IPTE Communiques
November 13 - Registration begins. Students can register on or after their assigned time.
- Many IPTE courses will have waitlists – Please register and get on waitlists as we typically open additional sections to accommodate every TC. Check SMART frequently for course additions and updates.
- If you have not been placed in a Partner School yet, you can still register for all courses other than internships until you are placed.
- Be thinking about prerequisites and PLACE or PRAXIS II exam and how they fit into your semester plan.
- Remember all prerequisites and PLACE or PRAXIS II must be passed before your IPTE 5913 internship.
January 3 – Some IPTE Partner Schools will begin spring semester as early as today.
- Remember – IPTE TCs are depended on to be available according to the district calendar.
January 15 - Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
- Campus Open/No Classes.
January 16 - First day of spring semester classes.
January 18 - Last day to be added to the wait-list of a course.
January 25 - Last day to add using SMART
January 31 - LAST DAY TO:
- By 5:00 PM - DROP full-term courses with tuition adjustment. Drops after this date will appear on your transcript.
- College Opportunity Fund hours will not be deducted from eligible student’s lifetime hours.
- - Withdraw from the term without a charge.
- - Last day to apply for spring graduation.
March 19-25 - Spring break.
- Remember – IPTE TCs are depended upon to be available according to district calendars.
"What office is there which involves more responsibility, which requires more qualifications, and which ought, therefore, to be more honorable than that of teaching?" - Harriet Martineau
Hola estudiantes! During my 1st semester of the IPTE program at the University of Colorado Denver, I was constantly faced with the subject of ESL in schools. As I kept thinking about it, talking about it, and living it while student teaching, it really peaked my interest to learn Spanish. Having the ability to communicate with students and families that speak limited or no English in my classroom became a goal for me in preparing to be a teacher.
I decided to travel to Ecuador to study Spanish for 5 weeks last summer. I went to Ecuador a beginner in Spanish, and left at an intermediate level with basic Spanish speaking skills. My weekdays consisted of 1 on 1 classes, 4 hours per day. The weekends consisted of plenty of opportunities to practice my Spanish by spending time with my host family, soccer games, weekend trips, and new Ecuadorian friends! The choices I had were endless, and the experiences were priceless.
By putting myself in the position of a second language learner, it really helped me understand how my ESL students might feel in my classroom. Upon returning home, it was difficult for me to speak Spanish because I was not completely “confident”. This helped me realize that my students might not be 100% confident in their English skills.
Immersing myself in the culture and language of Ecuador was one of the most rewarding and beneficial experiences of my life. The exhilarating feelings I get when having an actual conversation in Spanish with someone is elating! I hope that I can help my ESL students in having those same feelings with English someday, while at the same time helping them preserve and practice their own language.
Traveling and absorbing yourself in another culture is one of the greatest ways to learn a foreign language. There are several research tools and search engines I used to find my school, but the process can be overwhelming! The two websites I found most helpful were www.123teachme.com and www.spanishabroad.com . They provided good websites, student tutorials, and basic information. Buena Suerte!
