My Professional Biography

N. Ann Chumbley-Snider
Professional Biography
University of Nebraska-Kearney
MA-Curriculum and Instruction-TESOL

Professional Qualifications
1981-1983 Grossmont Community College, El Cajon, CA, General Education
1979-1981 Cuyamaca Community College, El Cajon, CA General Education
1985-1987 San Diego State University, San Diego, CA Speech Communication
1993-1995 University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, B.A. Family and Consumer Studies,
Environment and Behavior
2001-2003 University of Nebraska-Kearney, Transition to Teaching Program, 6 hours TE 401
2001-2003 University of Nebraska-Kearney Communications, SPCH 457, 3 hours, Rhetoric
SPCH 400, 3 hours, Teaching Speech

Professional Experiences
2002-Present University of Nebraska-Kearney. English Language Institute. Adult ESL. Teaching reading, writing, academic speaking, conversation and culture in English to International students.

Fall 2009 University of Nebraska-Kearney. Communications. Taught one sections of SPCH 100. (I was scheduled to teach two more sections of SPCH 100 Fall 2010, but because of budget cuts was unable to.)

Fall 2010-Present Central Community College. Kearney Campus. Teach English to Adult ESL learners and their families.

Fall 2009-Spring 2010 Developed a Mentoring program for our International Students in the English Language Institute. Took at-risk students and matched them with fellow teachers for weekly follow through on academic work.

2002-Present TOEFL proctor three times per semester. English Language Institute, UNK.

2002-Present Organize and carry out various fields trips for International Students: Public Library, MONA, Kearney Hub, and other field trips. Also organized and carried out cultural experiences such as Easter Egg hunts, Thanksgiving day feasts, and Christmas day celebrations to help introduce American culture to international students and their families.

Fall 1990-Spring 1991 Taught English to International students and their families. Eagle Heights Community Center. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, WI.

Fall 1993-Spring 1997 Helped teach reading skills to illiterate women and their children. Salt Lake City, UT. Literacy America program.

Fall 1985-Present Teach daily and sometimes weekly religion classes to high school and college students. These students have varied depending on the semester and the location we have lived.

Fall 2009-Present Seminary and Institute Supervisor, Church Educational System, LDS Church. Responsible for training and supervising of 24 volunteer religion teachers of youth ages 14-18 and college age in Central Nebraska and northern Kansas.

Professional and Educational Goals
As you look at my biography it has probably become apparent that I have in some ways “put the cart before the horse.” I already teach adult ESL students on a daily basis. After doing this for a number of years I want to focus in on some more specific goals to develop my professional knowledge and abilities. Some of these might include but are not limited to:

1. I want to acquire more skills and techniques for the classroom. I want to become a “master teacher.” I need more in-depth knowledge to do this.

2. I want to be able to share my acquired knowledge with others by being a "teacher- mentor".

3. I want to gain a broader perspective of my profession by learning from experts in the field, both at UNK and beyond.

4. I would like to continue to present and publish in professional settings my new found knowledge at conferences and in publications. I will be able to do this as I deepen my knowledge through this C & I program.

Use of Technology
I feel comfortable using most technology. I teach daily in various classroom settings. I use computers, the ELMO, projectors, smartboards and other learning devices in my daily teaching.

I try to keep current on the latest in software. I use word processing programs daily and have a current Facebook account. I also keep a current blog. I use PowerPoint presentations in my classroom many times during the semester. I also expect the same use of technology from my students.

I recently presented a 25 minute PowerPoint presentation at MIDTESOL in Dubuque, Iowa. I was able to share with other ESL educators my thoughts and ideas using technology.

Each semester in my “academic speaking” class that I teach through he English Language Institute here at UNK, I ask my students to present several speeches. These speeches are always accompanied by some form of visual aid. This visual aid might be a simple picture placed on the ELMO all the way up to a complicated PowerPoint and video presentation. I try to make it so that I can help navigate my students through this process of using these forms of technology. These students are also required to make use of various search engines to find “information” from solid sources for these speeches.

In addition to the above mentioned speech class I also teach writing classes. These classes range from very simple to the more advanced writing. I also require all students to use word processing applications like Microsoft word to complete basic writing assignments.

It has been so amazing to me the places that I have been able to “take” my students during a class session using technology. I love that technology allows me to help my students go to places outside the classroom that we could not necessarily get to on a given day. I know that my students benefit from the virtual field trips we take. It also allows my teaching to be more engaging and lively as I teach certain themes and topics.

Technology is vital in every classroom. I can’t think of a subject that can’t benefit from the use of technology in some form or another. Students expect and are already using the advanced forms of technology. We as teachers need to come to them. We need to be ready to meet them in the arena where they presently are and also move forward with them.

I feel comfortable using the following technology applications:
Microsoft
MS word
Word Perfect
Excel
Windows Movie Maker
Blackboard
A bit of Photoshop
Facebook
BlogSpot (blogging program)

Experience with Diversity

My life growing up in San Diego provided me a perfect background for dealing with and experiencing diversity. I attended both public and private schools. I attended an “integrated” middle school/junior high school. By ‘integrated” I mean that the make-up of student body in this school was four “White” students, three “African-American” students, two “Hispanic” students and one “other” category of diverse student. Students for this junior high came from various parts of San Diego and were bused to my school to try to create “a balanced” environment of learning.

During my high school years I often spent time in the hills of Tijuana delivering Christmas presents to the people who lived there. Many of the houses were made of materials like cardboard or pieces of metal siding. These "relief" items included food, clothing, toys and personal toiletry items. What an amazing experience!

After High School I traveled to Europe and experienced diversity with other cultures and countries. My love of travel and experiencing new cultures and countries has never stopped.


Hamburg, Germany 1984

In 1984-85 I had the opportunity to live for 18 months in Northern Germany and learn to speak fluent German. During this time I was exposed (and had the opportunity) to meet many people from Turkey, South Africa and Ghana. This added to a very “European” experience for me.

The Snider Family, Summer 2010

Life since my marriage some 20 years ago has been one experience with diversity after another.



In Madison, WI I spent a few evenings a week beaching English to students and their families at the community center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

In Salt Lake City, UT I lived in the downtown area. My daily path crossed with the homeless, the mentally ill and many senior citizens and cultural diverse individuals. I worked closely with women who were staying at the YMCA Battered Women’s shelter. Along with this, I assisted with helping illiterate women learn to read. Salt Lake City provided me and my family an opportunity to learn about the gang population and some those aspects.

In Saratoga Springs, NY, I worked twice a week with youth ages 12-18 who came from various diverse backgrounds. Even in this very affluent area, I experienced youth with many ethnic and socio-economic varying backgrounds.

Since coming to Kearney, NE, I have taught in the English Language Institute here on the UNK campus. I have between 30-80 students per semester including summers from all over the world. I have traveled to China and also various parts of Europe along with many parts of the United States.


My skills this semester have also included me teaching English at Central Community College. These students are again from various cultural and economic backgrounds. I have been able to include the families of these students as we have gotten library cards, taken field trips and celebrated traditional American holidays.


*The wives and children of my UNK Colombian policemen are attending my CCC classes to learn English.

To me Kearney is a cultural Mecca with students from all over the world. My daily path crosses with more diversity than just the “normal” Kearneyite.

In Search of A Master Teacher

One of the exciting steps in becoming a Graduate Student at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, is that I have been given the opportunity to create a Professional Biography.

Over the next several hours I will try to create a place where I can put information that will be helpful to both myself and to those that will help me in the next few years to become a Master Teacher in the area of Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in TESOL!

Let the journey begin!