In Response to Ending of week 9/27
In all honesty I would much rather journal about how crazy my week was! I am possibly the most clumsy human being to ever roam Springfield. Aside from the many stories I could tell; I shall respond to our previous week of class.
Each lesson plan was entirely enjoyable and completely beneficial to me as a student/teacher. Bobby's lesson was so unique to our class as he used the different questioning to help us gather information from the text. I felt like I learned very much about history and english at the same time. The lesson itself was challenging and engaging, there were times when I was unsure of my answers and I loved that! David's lesson was very engaging as well- I got to read Harry Potter! In my group with Dr. English and Schuyler, I believe, we discussed how we could turn works that were more emotional into something analytical. Likewise we talked about how we could turn something so analytical as a microscope how-to into a piece of emotion and power by using found poems. I love poems! This lesson caused me to wonder about how I want my students to read. Would I rather have them read and enjoy the text without fear and worry that they are going to miss some small detail that I will later ask them to write a 4 page paper on! I would love it if I could have my students read for fun and then go back through the text with an analytical pair of eyes. Many times when we return to a piece we find things we didn't know where there before.
Jessie's lesson was extremely engaging as well- it seems that everyone know how to draw me in! Even though I was having a bit of a rough start I caught on to what we were supposed to do. The text itself was so morally trying for me. I was given the role to read the text as historical which made me completely have to take my "justice, equality, anti-manipulation" goggles off and put on the sophisticated glasses of a historian. It made me tap into my prior knowledge while still allowing me to have some sort of emotion behind my conclusions of the text.
The pair share that we witness, like all the others, has me worried. I am better now, but each unit plan seems like a winner! Perhaps that should give me great happiness knowing that many books can be taught in different ways but still the message gets across in outstanding ways.
As far as backwards planning goes I love it. It gives me a sense of comfort knowing where I am going. I am one who typically gets very excited at the beginning of things such as projects and then slowly falls away, however backwards planning allows me to keep my excitement throughout the whole process. This excitement, I believe, will allow me to make better use of my planning time and passion within the lessons.
Each lesson plan was entirely enjoyable and completely beneficial to me as a student/teacher. Bobby's lesson was so unique to our class as he used the different questioning to help us gather information from the text. I felt like I learned very much about history and english at the same time. The lesson itself was challenging and engaging, there were times when I was unsure of my answers and I loved that! David's lesson was very engaging as well- I got to read Harry Potter! In my group with Dr. English and Schuyler, I believe, we discussed how we could turn works that were more emotional into something analytical. Likewise we talked about how we could turn something so analytical as a microscope how-to into a piece of emotion and power by using found poems. I love poems! This lesson caused me to wonder about how I want my students to read. Would I rather have them read and enjoy the text without fear and worry that they are going to miss some small detail that I will later ask them to write a 4 page paper on! I would love it if I could have my students read for fun and then go back through the text with an analytical pair of eyes. Many times when we return to a piece we find things we didn't know where there before.
Jessie's lesson was extremely engaging as well- it seems that everyone know how to draw me in! Even though I was having a bit of a rough start I caught on to what we were supposed to do. The text itself was so morally trying for me. I was given the role to read the text as historical which made me completely have to take my "justice, equality, anti-manipulation" goggles off and put on the sophisticated glasses of a historian. It made me tap into my prior knowledge while still allowing me to have some sort of emotion behind my conclusions of the text.
The pair share that we witness, like all the others, has me worried. I am better now, but each unit plan seems like a winner! Perhaps that should give me great happiness knowing that many books can be taught in different ways but still the message gets across in outstanding ways.
As far as backwards planning goes I love it. It gives me a sense of comfort knowing where I am going. I am one who typically gets very excited at the beginning of things such as projects and then slowly falls away, however backwards planning allows me to keep my excitement throughout the whole process. This excitement, I believe, will allow me to make better use of my planning time and passion within the lessons.
will get to late responses
Ending of 9/6 REFLECTION
This week during class we started our micro teaching lessons. Brie and Jennifer started us off with two very good mini lessons. They set the bar very high for the rest of us so I am extremely excited to see how everyone else will do, including myself! I loved Bries lesson with her 6 word stories. It was delightfully creative and really piqued my interest. I wrote a short note to myself after her lesson reminding me to one day use these 6 word stories for my future classroom. Brie's lesson definitely hit the mark with every student when it came to asking deeper questions. I believe that the true success behind her lesson was how she modeled what she wanted us to do. Modeling is key. I suppose that is something I had wished Jennifer did at the beginning of her lesson so that those of us who were off track would have been a little more on the money. My partner and I, in Jennifer's lesson, were off task... the only questions that I asked were doubting ones. For example, I highly doubt that flamingos are pink because of shrimp... what's the peacocks excuse? What about the Zebra? Someone please tell me about this Zebra being black and white, does he eat oreos? Or frosted chocolate mini-wheats? (That's my current breakfast...)
Yet again, I am off topic. as far as eliciting questions from our students I believe it is crucial for deep learning! Students who sit in on a classroom for history and are faced with the head title The Roman Empire within their textbooks expect that they will learn about the Roman Empire. They wouldn't be incorrect. However they might see that title and be filled with dread because they think that they have absolutely no interest in the Romans or their people. How can we teach students long lasting material when they have nothing invested in it? They have to be made to ask questions. Asking questions and finding a deeper interest in any subject will promote long retention and more meaningful learning. In math you could have students pick one of the famous theorist like Pythagoras and have the students write a short paragraph on that man and one funny fact about him to share. If we push our students to look deeper into what they are learning and find something to connect to, something to make them question it then they will be much more actively engaged. In and English classroom I would constantly leave room each day for questions, for quiet murmurings of why they had to learn this novel or why the author was such a bone head. Questions are welcome. Questions mean that there is something going on within their minds that is hungering for answers- and I would love to feed them all however I know I wont have all the answers which is when I will set their little chairs into a socrates circle and we will have a discussion until we find an answer together! I can't wait!
Yet again, I am off topic. as far as eliciting questions from our students I believe it is crucial for deep learning! Students who sit in on a classroom for history and are faced with the head title The Roman Empire within their textbooks expect that they will learn about the Roman Empire. They wouldn't be incorrect. However they might see that title and be filled with dread because they think that they have absolutely no interest in the Romans or their people. How can we teach students long lasting material when they have nothing invested in it? They have to be made to ask questions. Asking questions and finding a deeper interest in any subject will promote long retention and more meaningful learning. In math you could have students pick one of the famous theorist like Pythagoras and have the students write a short paragraph on that man and one funny fact about him to share. If we push our students to look deeper into what they are learning and find something to connect to, something to make them question it then they will be much more actively engaged. In and English classroom I would constantly leave room each day for questions, for quiet murmurings of why they had to learn this novel or why the author was such a bone head. Questions are welcome. Questions mean that there is something going on within their minds that is hungering for answers- and I would love to feed them all however I know I wont have all the answers which is when I will set their little chairs into a socrates circle and we will have a discussion until we find an answer together! I can't wait!
first WEEK'S REFLECTION
The first two weeks of school are done. While I am only a part time student I didn't realize how stressful this would all be. I still feel just as lost as I did in my previous school years. I am trying to keep with the pace of each professor and the work load given to me as well as juggle my responsibilities at work and as a mentor for two young women. This is difficult.
However, I have already experienced lessons that I will love to replicate later in my years as an educator. Several from my EDT course as well as my ENG 405 course.
Deep mapping... self exploration. I love it. I was always told by my friends in high school that I thought too much about changing myself and evolving- but to evolve is not to rip away all foundation of who I am. To evolve is to build onto what was already preexistent.
Last year I created a unit plan that involved students collaborating and creating their own blogs. Together they would write multiple articles or papers and separately they would contribute to their website as well. I think that as our technology develops our education should allow us to explore the world of electronic advances. A multimodal collaborative experience within a classroom is an exciting idea to me. I look forward to it.
However, I have already experienced lessons that I will love to replicate later in my years as an educator. Several from my EDT course as well as my ENG 405 course.
Deep mapping... self exploration. I love it. I was always told by my friends in high school that I thought too much about changing myself and evolving- but to evolve is not to rip away all foundation of who I am. To evolve is to build onto what was already preexistent.
Last year I created a unit plan that involved students collaborating and creating their own blogs. Together they would write multiple articles or papers and separately they would contribute to their website as well. I think that as our technology develops our education should allow us to explore the world of electronic advances. A multimodal collaborative experience within a classroom is an exciting idea to me. I look forward to it.