Teaching Philosophy
Prof. Carla España with Brooklyn College undergraduate student Diana, winner of a Puerto Rican and Latino Studies award at the end of the Spring 2023 semester.
Photograph taken by Brooklyn College Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Professor and Photographer, Dr. Mike Mena.
Brooklyn College undergraduate students Ericka and Ines with Prof. Carla España taking books to the “Youth Literature and the Latinx Diaspora” Wolfe Institute & Puerto Rican and Latino Studies author panel, Spring 2023 semester.
Photograph taken by Brooklyn College Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Professor and Photographer, Dr. Mike Mena.
overview
My research, scholarship, creative works, teaching, and service live at the intersection of critical literacies, bilingual/ multilingual education, children’s literature, language ideologies, curriculum development, Latinx studies, and teacher education. I excel in creating a learning environment that is student-centered, anchored in research, and embedded with multimodal ways to process content through the arts. I integrate Latinx children and youth literature, film, podcasts, and other creative experiences in my teaching. To understand my teaching philosophy as an Assistant Professor in the Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Department and the Childhood, Bilingual and Special Education Program, one must consider the experiences that have shaped my approach to teaching undergraduate and graduate students.
roots in teaching
My teaching trajectory is rooted in my experience as a middle grade bilingual Spanish-English New York City public school teacher at Don Pedro Albizu Campos School in Harlem. The CUNY Graduate Center faculty nurtured my teaching philosophy as I took that experience and research questions to my doctoral studies. I had years of support in developing my pedagogy when I was an adjunct lecturer and clinical doctoral lecturer at Hunter College, CUNY, from 2010 - 2019, followed by two years developing a TESOL program at Bank Street College. While at Hunter College, I also traveled as a literacy consultant to schools across the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia My interactions with K-12 teachers and staff, shaped my understanding of how best to support both students and instructors with culturally and linguistically sustaining teaching.
Course Design
I bring all of that experience and intention into my teaching and mentorship across the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Education. Since my start at Brooklyn College during the Fall of 2022 through to the present semester, I have had the opportunity to mentor students and design new syllabi for Open Educational Resources/ Zero Textbook Cost classes. My connection with schools and the world of youth literature allows me to bring a perspective to the college classroom that weaves Ethnic Studies and Teacher Preparation.
research and mentorship
My teaching philosophy also anchors my research and writing. In Spring 2023 I conducted a research study titled, “‘Me dijo que mi español no es correcto’: A Study of Latinxs’ Relationship to Spanish and Bilingualism in Two Bicoastal College Courses.” My co-researcher, Prof. Luz Yadira Herrera (CSU, Channel Islands), along with Brooklyn College undergraduate student and my BRESI research assistant, Maricruz Sánchez-Hernández, collaborated with me in analyzing the data and writing an article. These types of experiences merge my teaching, research, writing, and mentorship interests.