Reflect
on the work you’ve completed in the course (book talks, mini-lessons, unit
plans):
I have to admit that this class was harder than I
imagined it would be. In hind sight I
wish that I would have done my book talk on the same book that I used for my
unit plan; I think that would have made the work load a little easier. Overall, I can truly say that I felt that I
learned from all of these assignments and they have lead me down the road to
becoming a better teacher. It’s hard to
describe what assignment I found most useful, because I know that I have
learned from them all.
The book talk assignment was amazing. I love having a small collection of books
that are appropriate from Secondary readers without actually having to read
every book. I was the most scared of the
mini-lesson assignment. I’ve never
enjoyed teaching in front of my peers, I’ve always felt more comfortable teaching
in front of a group of students; I cannot explain why. But, I really had a lot of fun teaching my
lesson and I think that the rest of the class had fun with it too. Then there was the dreaded unit plan. As much as I hate writing TPA’s and developing
assessment strategies, I really cannot say anything bad about this as an
assessment for future teachers. Each
time I complete a TPA I feel that I learn a little more about what it truly
means to be a teacher, and I feel that I am more prepared for when it comes to
creating meaningful lessons for my students.
Reflect
on the theories and concepts we explored in readings and discussions:
There were several difficult texts that we were asked
to decode this semester. Without the
group discussion, I’m sure that I’d still be in the dark with some of
them. I think overall, that I really
learned from Cris Tovani’s book I Read It,
But I Don’t Get It I and the information that was addressed in the
Assessment Strategies Hand out. I have
always thought of myself as a strong reader, and for the most part reading and
comprehension come hand in hand for me.
So when I encounter students who do not share the same learning style as
me, sometimes I become confused and frustrated with myself with not being able
to relate/ help my students to understand.
I really liked the Assessment Article because of all the ideas it gave
me for different ways of assessing student learning. I appears that the days of using objective
multiple choice tests are slowly beginning to fade away. I’m not complaining because I hated those
myself in school. This article as
explored the use of Double Entry Journals as an assessment strategy that Cris
Tovani mentions in the Appendix of her book.
Reflect
on how you think your participation in this course has influenced your thinking
about yourself as a teacher:
I think that anyone who is considering becoming a
teacher should take this course. Yes it
seems to focus primarily on reading and English Language Arts, but really what subject
these days doesn’t include reading. With
all the articles and books that we have been exposed to during the course, it
has given me a lot to think on in my future classroom. Participating in the class discussions has
also opened my eyes to the many different learning strategies that everyone
encompasses. It’s also taught me that
teaching is ever evolving and to be the best teachers we can be for our students
we need to keep up on learning these new strategies as they are presented.
