I am taking away two things from this course: #1 - I am on the right track, so keep plugging forward, and #2 - I can still improve in making my classroom even more engaging.
I have come to understand, through my supplemental reading book, Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom by Meyers and Jones (1993) and our discussions that I have created an active learning environment in my classroom that inspires, excites, and motivates students to step outside of their own learning comfort zone and strive for more. I have learned that my crafted activities promote my students to take responsibility for their own learning, encourage self reflection and build intrinsic motivation.
In terms of improving my classroom, I have already begun the process as I have identified 8 Video journal prompts, have contacted my school's blackboard 9.1 guru for assistance in designing a quick tutorial on using the blackboard blog option, and I have networked with David Robertson to assist me in teaching the personal narrative paper for my class. Unfortunately, my course expectations - 30 total contact hours - limits my ability to create a 100% service learning component, however I am working with my department chair and a fellow teacher to create a peer tutoring program to provide a form of internal service learning within the college. Additionally, I have spoken with my Student Services department to possibly devise a "Write to Know" brochure for students to receive during their initial orientation program to the college. While I have listed off many learning strategies that I have initiated over the past four weeks, they are grounded in a deep rooted belief that an actively engaging environment that requires students to take control of their own learning by making my role a "human google" where students find resources and information.
In the end, I am taking the resources we have explored and I am permanently adding them to the classroom so that I can become a stronger and more proficient teacher.
To this end...check out the following video prompt, as I think it represents how I plan to teach in the future - by pushing my students even harder to maximize their limits:
Kerri,
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure working with you this term. You have provided me with some great ideas and showed me how even at the secondary level students can be actively engaged in their learning.
By reading your blog posts it is obviously you went well beyond the scope of this course in terms of getting out there and searching for resources. The sources you found were integrated into your modules of learning. The connections were clear and concise and related to the objective of the modules at hand. You will continue to be an outstanding educator as you seek out new resources for you classroom.
Keep up the outstanding work!
Casey
I think developing a tutoring service is a great idea. You have devoted a great deal of extra time to finding new ways to engage your students. I know that your college students will greatly appreciate your extra effort. I think a lot of times professors forget that secondary students need to be engaged also. Great work and good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou have developed to a lot of wonderful engaging opportunities for your students and I am impressed with your analogy as a "Human Google". It is such a wonderful thing to be an educator so dedicated to making sure students succeed while at the same time gaining lots of knowledge they will take into their future endeavors. It has been great learning from one another and I think it is wonderful that no matter what the level, the goal is to create engaging lessons for our students that make them strive to be their best. I wish you the best of luck with all of your wonderful plans!
ReplyDelete