Grace Paul (朱先揚)

As I looked back of the days that I studied at UVa STAR TALK program I could only say that every day I was here was so blessed with the opportunity to learn, to reflect, to interact with many fellow teachers who were also eager to lean.  The best of these blessings was to be able to learn from one of the renowned teachers, Dr. Tseng, in this field and obtained so much in depth instruction in my mother tongue. This the best STAR TALK experience that I ever had.

              There were many good memories about this experience.  First of all, I enjoyed every class that I had with Dr. Tseng very much. She is a rigorous researcher and professor, she never reserved to tell her honest opinion about the pedagogical practices, for example, after I presented to the class my preliminary IPA, she told me in the interpretive task, I should not be limited by the format that presented in ‘Implementing Integrated Performance Assessment’ book, I should incorporate other kind of assessments on students’ comprehension.  Second, she was so willing to teach students about whatever they wanted to learn, she never forgot about our requests and would address them willingly.  Last but not least, she was not only a well-known professor and researcher but also a wonderful person and friend, she cared each one of us academically, personally and emotionally.  I remembered there was one instance that one of the teachers was emotionally struggling with the idea of implementing student-center classroom practices, she would care and asked for our assistance. 

              Before I came to UVa, I was told this STAR TALK program was very intense and demanding.  I thought I would be under a lot pressure and would be working day and night. I did work very hard and some days I only slept a few hours, but I never felt I would be unhappy because of the work load.  Besides all the hard work, I also had chances to visit Humpback Ridge and Monticello.  It was fun and informational.   I also have met so many teachers and making friends at UVa.  I will bring all these good memories back and treasure all the support and friendship that I have had.