Interview with Professor Gloria Fernandez, Pedagogy in Spanish graduate, about her experience in her discipline and participation in the Aula Conectada project

Gloria Fernández is currently working as a teacher in the subsidized private school Alonso de Córdova in Renca. This school is part of “Red Educacional Los Conquistadores”, which tries to educate integral students with autonomous and critical thinking. In addition, they want to teach students to face the constant changes of modern society.

Regarding her own pedagogical training at USACH, Professor Fernández highlights the focus on Latin American knowledge in the program, ensuring that it is very gratifying for our professional development to get to know our own identity. Furthermore, the rigor and familiarity with the students are one of the main effects of the program. She is convinced that due to the relation between literature, linguistics and pedagogy in the program, she could establish dialogues that allowed her to open up to new perspectives and horizons, without strictly attaching to the academic standards.

Professor Gloria Fernández is also a part of –besides the Aula Conectada project— the development plan imparted by the Pedagogy in Spanish program at USACH, and this is the first year it has been implemented. This project is part of the renovation of the practical training line, which tries to establish links between the program students and remarkable graduates. As part of the mechanisms she pretends to carry out, the practitioner students from 3rd year will take place into discussions and observe the classrooms where graduated teachers work, being their first approach to the teaching work. That’s why it is so important to have teachers committed to support them and help them through their professional development.

Professor Fernández ensures that this network reinforces education due to its personalized modality, since it is oriented in the personal needs of each practitioner. “Being a supervisor requires a lot of time dedicated 100 % to support future teachers, not to put more burden in them or obstruct their path”, she says. In addition, she states that the most important things are being auto critic and creating spaces with permanent feedback. “Practitioners help me to refine my own teaching development. Sometimes we stick to the idea that we are doing perfect, but thanks to them we realize ways to keep improving even further”, she comments.

For her part, Professor Fernández is willing to continue being part of this process and keep helping to the education of future teachers.