SPAN 320: Integrated Inquiry of Culture and Language
World Language Perspectives
Before coming to Longwood, Spanish had always been one of my favorite subjects. I had taken Spanish throughout high school but did not think I would take it any further besides the two required courses in college. However, my professor for Spanish 212 convinced me to become a Spanish minor, and I am so glad that I did. Spanish 320 was my first upper level course to obtain this minor. Needless to say, I was very nervous going into this course. I was not confident in my abilities, and I did not think I could succeed at this level. I made a short-term goal to become more integrated in the Spanish world and added gaining confidence to my long-term goal.
The artifact I chose to represent this class is an essay on the play, “La Noche Boca Arriba”. For this assignment, we ready a fairly lengthy play and had to compare the words of the play to artwork created about the storyline. For our essay, we had to compose an argument on which piece of art represented the play best or worst. This assignment was definitely not easy, especially since it was in all Spanish, but it for sure helped accomplish my short-term goal and push me to confident in my Spanish abilities, which was my long-term goal.
(“La Noche Boca Arriba Essay”, Bailey Nixon, April 2019)
HON 495: Love, Sex, and Friendship
Historical & Contemporary or Behavioral & Social Perspectives
Coming into Love, Sex, and Friendship, I was very nervous about how I would perform. This is the first philosophy class I have taken, and the packed syllabus made me question if I could handle all of the readings. However, I took Dr. Blincoe’s advice in the beginning of the semester about reading and analyzing carefully, and not giving up if a selection was hard. Throughout the semester, this is exactly what I did. I didn’t find any reading particularly easy, yet I tackled each one as they came. In this sense, I have learned a lot about my own skills and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed the readings and learning about these topics. Without a doubt, this class was one that I looked forward to and felt motivated to do the work.
My short-term goal for this class was to analyze and appreciate each selection assigned. Once again, my long-term goal was to gain confidence in myself as a student. The artifact I chose for this class our final research assignment. Essentially, we were required to write a letter to “friends” about either forming a healthy friendship or maintaining a long-term marriage. Once we chose, we had to incorporate selections from class and do outside research to find sources that would bolster our argument. For me, I chose to write about friendship, and I found the process of the assignment to be fairly straightforward. I did not struggle to find sources or to compose the paper. In this sense, I was able to surpass my short-term goal of appreciating the selections, and I made large strides for my long-term goal of building confidence.
(“Final Research Assignment”, Bailey Nixon, April 2020)
SPAN 342: Spain Since 1700
Global Citizenship or Aesthetic Perspectives
Ever since my first Spanish class at Longwood, I have fallen in love with the professors, knowledge, and culture in this department. While I have taken many Spanish classes here, this by far was one of my favorites. I absolutely loved learning more about Spanish history through the lenses of a variety of different literature genres.
While I did love this course and my professor, parts of this class were definitely challenging. Included as my artifact is the final paper that I wrote for the course. This was a fun assignment, but it was also a difficult one. For this paper, we had to compare two works that we learned in the course and analyze the gender roles found within them. Additionally, we had to research about the topic and include several scholarly articles. While I am confident about my Spanish writing, researching and including the research was definitely the hardest part about this project for me. Regardless, I gained many valuable skills from this project and class including more cultural awareness, better research skills, and stronger linguistic communication skills.
Overall, I am so happy that I took on the Spanish minor and took this course, and I have a couple of goals moving forward. First, in the short-term, I want to rent a Spanish book to continue challenging myself. I would like to take the summer to read this book to continue using my skills. Additionally, in the long-term, I would like to continue putting my Spanish knowledge to work in order to use this language in my future profession. While I will not be taking any classes, I still would like to research more about Spanish history and practice my listening, speaking, and writing skills.
(“Una mirada en los roles de géneros en la literatura española”, Bailey Nixon, May 2021)
ENSC 350: Humans: Creatures of the Coast
Quantitative or Scientific Perspectives
Since coming to Longwood, this was for sure one of my most challenging classes. While I was very interested in the topic, the assignments completed required large amounts of higher order thinking, something I really appreciated at a perspective level. An example of one of these assignments in embedded below as my artifact. For the Coastal Article Report, we were required to find our own source on an environmental issue of our choice. Then, we had to analyze the source and pull out key information that we learned about the environmental issue. In addition to this assignment, we were required to write and record 3 speeches and a final group project.
While I was definitely challenging by the topics discussed and the various levels of assignments, I did gain several important skills by taking this class. First, I strengthened my communication and speech skills by learning how to professionally and confidently write and deliver a speech. I believe this is especially important as a embark on my teaching career. Additionally, I strengthened my research skills throughout the class.
Overall, after taking this class, I have a couple of goals that I would like to pursue. My short term goal is to continue practicing the positive communication skills that I learned. As stated before, this is an important skill to have, and I now know that I have a strong foundation. Next, my long term goal is to continue to make n effort to learn more about the coastal environmental topics discussed throughout the course. I do not typically find information on these topics on my own, so this is a fun goal that I have going forward.
(“Coastal Article Report”, Bailey Nixon, January 2021)