The article, "How Technology Meets Today's Education Challenges," immensely grasps the essence of why technology or digital learning is so important, especially in the 21st century. The main idea that resonated with me most are the three critical challenges with technology in schools, which are Tomorrow's Needs, Today's Budget and Teaching. Tomorrow's Needs explains that students are not prepared in the ever so changing world due to the fact that school's are not up to par with digital learning. Today's Budget explains that schools are undergoing financial crises where they do not have the necessary funds available to upgrade technology. Teaching explains that there is an absence of effective teachers in school systems. Based on the article, to be an effective teacher, means to "personalize learning so students are given the full learning potential." Personalizing learning utilizing technology or digital learning in the 21st century will not only meet the needs of all students, but will also prepare students for the workplace. As a teacher, one must face challenges of all sorts. Reading this article made me think of my role as a teacher and how to go about incorporating technology in my classroom to ensure that students receive the effective instruction they deserve. The Personal Learning Networks created in class are definitely the start of many things yet to come. Creating the many Personal Learning Networks in class made me very well aware that technology waits for no one. It is extremely important for teachers to keep up in order for effective learning to take place. The direction of the program is extremely different from the last, however, I am extremely excited to see what it entails. In relation to the article, I am excited to discover the many other Personal Learning Networks and strategies of technology I can utilize in my classroom.
Reading Reflection #2
Looking back to Clinical Practice I, I taught a week long unit on how to write a persuasive essay using the prompt titled "Who Gets the Heart?" To explain the prompt in a nutshell, there are six recipients in need of a heart and only one can receive the heart. Each recipient has a different story. Some recipients are young, some are old, some are rich and some are poor. The students had to choose a recipient and explain, in a letter to the Hospital Board of Directors, who is deserving of the heart and also explain the reasons why. There were different lessons incorporated in the unit to help students with writing the actual persuasive essay. Throughout the week long unit, students were given graphic organizers to compartmentalize their reasoning, sample essays to see multiple examples, rubrics to know the expectations and a peer review workshop to help them revamp their essays. Writing this persuasive essay prepared students of what to expect on the CAHSEE. There was a lot of thinking involved in doing this assignment and also actually completing it. In reference to the Reflective Questions, students did this persuasive essay assignment to attain a sense of the CAHSEE and help them prepare for the CAHSEE that they will eventually take sometime during their high school career. The whole point of the assignment was to not only write a persuasive essay, but also help students with their reasoning and critical thinking skills. My expected outcome for this assignment was for students to learn the process of writing a persuasive essay using their critical thinking skills. This unit had no relation to what came before it, however, the students were aware that the writing focus for this particular unit was to write a persuasive essay. The assignment was clearly explained, but there were a lot of questions on writing Introductions, which I think the majority of the students had a problem with. As soon as I gave the students sample Introductions from past student essays, they had a better idea of how to write their own. There was more than enough time for this assignment because there was plenty of time given in class. There was also some flexibility with turning in the final assignment. I feel that there were some other strategies that could have worked for the students to do this assignment successfully, but it would have taken more than a week to incorporate in the unit. If I can change this assignment, I think I probably would incorporate more activities with the reasoning and finding the pros and cons. Since a majority of the students had an issue with writing their Introductions to their essays, I guess I could have incorporated a separate lesson on how to write an Introduction to an essay. As a teacher, it is best to reflect on the pros and cons of any assignment or lesson to see what works and what doesn't. Some of the things that works for a class may not even work for others, which is why teaching is definitely a learning experience.
Chapter 9: Teaching Thinking in the English Class
Things that...
Supported Students' Thinking:
- Small-group discussions
- Arguments
- Class discussions
- Provide Exemplars
- Graphic Organizers
- Questions
Could Have supported Students' Thinking:
- Dramatic Performances
- Conversational Roundtables
- Unmagnetic Poetry
- Life Graph
- Denser Questions
Adding Metacommentary
Complete the following metacommentary templates using thoughts
and ideas from Maureen Magee's article "Literary Classic Shelved for Writing."
Use these templates to write an essay on the pros and cons of shelving literary
classics for writing.
1. In making a case for literary classics, I am not saying
that...
2. In making a case for writing, I am not saying that....
3. But my argument will do more than prove that literary
classics should be shelved. In this article, I will also...
4. But my argument will do more than prove that literary
classics should not be shelved. In this article, I will also...
5. My point about literary classics reinforces the belief
held by many educators that...
6. I believe, therefore, that the literary classics should
remain part of the curriculum. But let me back up and explain how I arrived at
this conclusion...
In this way, I came to believe that shelving the literary
classics is a big mistake.
Who Poem
Lauren who plans out her somewhat eventful days
Who Poem
Lauren Who?
And asks "What do I need to do?"
Who is student and procrastinator
Who is optimistic and responsible
Whose brain cells meander
Is on the run
Who tells me "Get this done"
Who tells me "You can do this"
Whose mind is always filled
Always something to do
Is anticipating
Is hopeful
Is faith and determination
Who arises every morning
Is future English teacher
Asking "What do I need to do?"
"What
do I need to do?"
Reading Reflection #4
Reading Reflection #4
By the time the year/course ends, I want my students to be able to have learned something as do all teachers would only hope for. I would like for them to have acquired the skills and knowledge necessary to progress with their learning experiences. I believe the best way to assess skills and knowledge is through utilizing multiple assessments. As Burke states in The English Teacher's Companion, assessments should be meaningful, challenging, engaging, integrated into the larger context of the course, one of several measures by which a teacher is determining the student's progress or performance and specific in their focus. Instruction is just as important as the assessments in that it should be meaningful, challenging and engaging. In regards to determining final grades, Burke states that there should be a balance between "effort and ability". I would definitely use the following strategies to assist me in determining final grades as suggested by Burke: self evaluation, keep your own account, create a course rubric and draw up a contract.
Activity # 1
Agree or disagree. Students should have the opportunity to revise any paper after you return it with comments.
I agree with this statement because I feel that students learn from revisions and comments. Giving them this opportunity will allow them to learn from their mistakes and avoid any future ones when writing a paper. Writing is recursive, it is an ongoing process. In order to learn, it is definitely necessary give opportunities for revisions.
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