Jesús Moreno (referred to as Don Jesús by his students), a dedicated educator at Trinity-Pawling School, is known for his innovative teaching methods that blend language acquisition with experiential learning. As a teacher of Spanish 1; Spanish 4 Honors; and Spanish 5: Spanish Language and Experiential Art, Moreno continually seeks ways to engage his students actively in the learning process.
Intrigued by the concept of kinesthetic learning, a learning style in which the student needs to move or feel in order to learn more effectively, Moreno sought to implement this method last term by incorporating interactive woodworking projects into his Spanish 5 class.
Upon hearing about Moreno’s Spanish Language and Experiential Art class’s involvement with woodworking, Ricky Oliver, Director of Theater Arts, recognized the synergy between Moreno’s teaching methods and the theater’s needs for its upcoming winter production and reached out to Moreno to see how they could work together. Moreno’s daughter, serving as the assistant director of the play, further bridged the gap, making the partnership a natural fit.
Collaborating with the theater department, Moreno and his students undertook the challenge of building theater props “in Spanish.” Moreno’s approach focused on practical language application rather than rote memorization, breaking down the affective filters or negative emotions that hinder language acquisition.
Through engaging in hands-on tasks and actively participating in problem-solving discussions, students organically reinforced their language skills and mastered over 58 practical expressions, all while crafting six 8-foot-tall moveable columns to represent the stripes in the American flag for the play.
As Moreno continues to pioneer experiential learning at Trinity-Pawling, he advocates for educators to embrace innovation and flexibility in language instruction and hopes that his methods will inspire students to pursue their enthusiasm for learning.
by Missy McCluskey