Brandon D.
Crowder
Bio
I was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in the United States, where I lived until I moved to Madrid, Spain, in 2020 at the age of 25. After graduating in 2017 from my local university, the University of North Alabama, I worked my first full-time job in the banking industry. I learned my duties and responsibilities quickly and were able to perform them well. However, after some patient consideration and self-analysis, I realized that the education field was where my passions and skillset would have the best fit. In July of 2020, I officially resigned from my position in banking, having been accepted in a program to teach English as a language assistant in Madrid, Spain. I moved to Madrid in September of 2020, and in October, I officially started my position in a public high school as a language assistant in English classes. I completed two years in that school, the maximum allowed through this program. To continue my stay in Madrid, I changed to a new program (Teach and Learm at Instituto Franklin-University of Alcalá), in which I worked as a language assistant in a new school while also earning a Master in Teaching during the 2022–2023 academic year. The experience in Spain has confirmed my passion and abilities in a career in education. Upon completing the program, I decided to return to the United States where I would continue pursing a career in the education field. In June of 2023, I accepted my current position as a TRIO Talent Search advisor at James Madison University, and I officially started the following August. When I was a middle- and high- school student myself, I received academic support through participation in my local TRIO Educational Talent Search program. If it was not for this program and the work of my Educational Talent Search advisor, I do not know if I would have been as successful getting in and graduating from a four-year university. When I decided to switch to the education field, I remembered this program and gained an interest in the advisor role. It stayed in the back of my mind even as I gained valuable experience in Spain as a language assistant. Therefore, knowing the success of TRIO programs from personal experience, I am happy to give back as an Educational Talent Search advisor myself. My goal in TRIO is to now help other students achieve their goals and reach academic success in both their secondary and post-secondary studies. In my free time, I enjoy staying active through exercise and various sports. I love nature and outdoor adventures. I also spend time playing the guitar and singing, occasionally performing in public contexts. Finally, I enjoy eperiencing new cultures and traveling.
Education
In May of 2017, I graduated from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts. My concentration was Public Communications, complemented by two minors: psychology and Spanish. During my undergraduate studies, I completed two study abroad trips. The first was in July of 2016 with the Department of Foreign Languages. Our group stayed one month in Salamanca, Spain, where we intensively studied Spanish. We stayed with host families and attended Mester language school five days a week. The second study abroad trip was at the end of my studies, in May of 2017. Technically being a graduate already, I participated in this trip through the university’s Continuing Education program. Over the course of around 3 weeks, we toured the country of Peru, learning much about the history, geography, and culture along the way. In October of 2020, I completed a 150-hour certification course in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I completed this course, accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training (ACCET), through the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). In June of 2023, I earned a Master in Teaching through the Teach & Learn Program of Instituto Franklin-University of Alcalá in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Teaching Philosophy
My philosophy on teaching comes from the perspective of teaching English as a foreign language, but it contains concepts that may apply to teaching and education in general. Firstly, students learn through a variety of activities that maintain their interest and accommodate for all learning styles. In addition, relating with the students and displaying compassion and empathy for their general wellbeing are essential; these help create a meaningful connection between student and teacher as well as foster a positive atmosphere for learning and success. At the same time, however, the teacher must also maintain a healthy distance of authority and professionalism. In an international context, cultural awareness is important so that the teacher may adapt to the cultural context. Discipline is necessary to maintain control of the classroom so that learning is maximized. From the beginning, it is absolutely essential that the teacher clearly communicates the expectations for respect and proper behavior, the positive consequences for the proper behavior, and the negative consequences for deviations. Throughout the year, the teacher is accountable for acting consistently according to the defined expectations and consequences. In addition, from the beginning, the teacher is responsible for cultivating a positive learning environment for students. For English learning as a foreign language in particular, students often struggle with confidence and fear of making mistakes. In a positive learning environment, students may feel safe to work with the language and even make mistakes without feeling discouraged from those mistakes. English learning must be achieved through a balance of speaking, listening, reading, and writing as the students both learn and practice these. Students learn best when they are taught English in context so that from the beginning, they know how the concepts are applied in real life. Furthermore, translations must be kept to a minimum—only when it is absolutely necessary in the moment to find a word or short phrase. This way, students may make direct connections between the words and their meanings as well as learn the proper structure of the language as opposed to thinking of English only in terms of their native language. Furthermore, the classroom should be an immersive environment as much as possible to maximize learning and practice. This, of course, varies depending on the students’ English level. As with any career, a strong work ethic and good values make up the core of a teacher’s success and effectiveness. A teacher must not only possess strong characteristics, but he or she must act consistently with them. This is why one of my most important values is integrity. Along with integrity, I strive towards a standard of excellence in regards to quality work, respect, empathy, collaboration, efficiency, and innovation.
Experience
Although I officially entered the education field relatively recently, I carry plenty of relevant experience. In 2005, I first began involvement with a martial arts organization called the World Tang Soo Do Association. Several years later I reached the rank of black belt as well as certification as instructor and regional judge. I stayed active in the organization until 2016, leading and assisting during weekly classes with groups of both adults and children. At times, I worked with students individually to teach them proper technique. During the regional tournaments, I also served as a judge. During my undergraduate studies, I was a participant in the university's Honors Program. One requirement of this program was to complete a capstone project. This involved research and a public presentation of the findings. I combined this project with the internship requirement of my major of Communication Arts. Starting in the fall semester of 2016, I conducted a case study regarding communication anxiety and Hispanic parents of elementary school students. In the spring semester of 2017, I officially started the internship, observing and training with the ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in a local elementary school called Weeden Elementary in Florence, Alabama. This lasted until May. During this internship I completed the research project. I documented the project in the form of an academic paper and publicly presented the findings at the same elementary school—the ESL teacher and other school officials being present. From February 2017 to June 2019, I held a part-time position as youth director for a church called New Bethel Baptist Church, located in Tuscumbia, Alabama. My duties included preparing and leading lessons/activities for Wednesday night youth services, coordinating youth events/trips, communicating with parents, maintaining the youth group social media, and managing the yearly budget. As previously mentioned, I worked full time in a bank before changing to a career in education. I started as a bank teller in First Metro Bank, based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in April of 2018. In April of 2019, I was promoted to credit clerk; I served this position until my resignation in July of 2020, having already been accepted in the language assistant program in Madrid, Spain. As a credit clerk, I performed quality control on all documents associated with new loans and loan renewals, ensuring fair lending and that loan documents followed policies and regulations. I handled all loan types, both personal and commercial. In addition, I maintained customers’ credit files that were secured in our department. Bank teller responsibilities included conducting everyday transactions, handling large amounts of cash, balancing drawers and vault, interacting with customers to fulfill their daily banking needs, and holding various responsibilities related to bank branch operations. In October of 2020, I started my position in Spain as a language assistant, officially called Auxiliar de Conversación in Spanish, in the high school called IES MarÃa Guerrero, located in the town of Collado Villalba of the Community of Madrid. There I served two years, the maximum allowed for this program, until June 30, 2022. The first year I held the position through the Teach in Spain program of the Council of International Educational Exchange (CIEE). In exchange of a program fee, CIEE served as a mediating party to provide assistance and information relating to the rather complicated processes related to visas, living abroad, etc. When I renewed to serve a second year, however, I applied directly with the Spanish government through their program called the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP). As a language assistant, I led classes alongside the main teachers in groups of ESO and Bachillerato (mainly ages 12–18). I planned and led various activities to practice speaking, grammar concepts, pronunciation, and others. In addition, I worked with students individually and in small groups to prepare them for the official exams (Cambridge, Trinity and LanguageCert) to certify their B1 (lower intermediate) and B2 (upper intermediate) English levels. In the first year as a language assistant, I was required to complete an online course called MOOC. During this course there were several modules relating to teaching English as a language assistant in Spain. Furthermore, I was required to compile a portfolio of the various classroom activities that I created and complete a final project, which involved coordinating with a specific lead teacher to plan an original class lesson/project. I documented the portfolio and final project digitally through sites on Wix. Satisfactory completion of the MOOC was required in order to maintain the language assistant position for a second year. ​ From September of 2022 to June of 2023, I participated in the Teach and Learn program at Instituto Franklin-University of Alcalá, during which I continued as a language assistant in a semi-private school called Trinity College, located in San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain. In addition to teaching English as a language assistant, I also earned a Master in Teaching degree through the Teach and Learn program. Currently, I am back in the United States and serving as a TRIO Educational Talent Search advisor at James Madison University. As an advisor, I have the privelege and responsibility of serving around 250 students each academic year who participate in our program. These students come from multiple schools in the local area. Through the program, we provide a variety of services to promote academic success and preparation for post-secondary studies. These services include advising sessions, workshops, tutoring, academic camps, STEM activities, and field trips. As an advisor, I directly plan and provide these services with the support of the TRIO director, school liaisons, volunteers, school personnel, and other TRIO staff. In my role, I also develop and implement recruiting strategies as well as build and maintain positive collaboration with the administration, counselors, teachers, and parents from the schools that we serve. In various times both in the United States and Spain, I've tutored students one-on-one in English and math. I've also tutored English online through the platforms called TutorABC and Cambly, where I've tutored teenage and adult students both in small groups and one-on-one.