Lesson 8 Blog Assignment

Now that you have created your own blog and used it through the previous eight lessons, describe in detail how you will use your blogging skills in your classroom.


When I began this course over the summer, my intention was to explore and begin preparing for a career as a secondary education language arts instructor.  I am returning to work after five years at home with young children; before motherhood, I was the coordinator of the Writing Center at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and a freelance writer.

Things are now in flux as I have returned to Writing Center tutoring part time and enjoy it immensely.  I'm now weighing whether I should bide my time and wait for a permanent position to be available in this area, or if I should continue to prepared for teacher certification.

Either way, using the blog for this course was a valuable experience, as I can see its merit to either career.

At one time, the CGCC Writing Center published a student newsletter.  It was very informative and we had a positive response from the community, but it was also a burden in that I needed to find instructors and/or tutors willing to generate content for the article.  I also had to write my own articles, conduct research and interviews, edit, work with the graphic designer on layout and coordinate publication and distribution services.  Even though we only published the newsletter quarterly, it seemed I was always working on it :)   The newsletter was funded by a grant; when the grant expired, so did the newsletter and it's never been revived.  I still find value in that type of communication - not only did we share valuable content, but it also gave us a chance to "introduce" ourselves to students who hadn't used our services yet.  Without that, we're just a sign hanging over the door - and for many students, we are an intimidating unknown.

Using this blog for your class has stirred my muse.  I can think of many ways that a CGCC Writing Center blog could be a valuable outreach to our instructors and students.  It could be organized and structured like the newsletter, but be much more fluid in terms of production dates and content.  Instructors could include a link to the blog in their syllabus and perhaps require students to occasionally answer questions about the blog to ensure they are checking us out periodically.  If we can have a clear, focused marketing/content plan and can demonstrate our value to students, we would have a powerful content and marketing tool.  This also gives us the opportunity to differentiate ourselves in the writing and community college community - some colleges have a well-deserved corner on the market for their website content; attempting to duplicate their efforts is pointless.  But a blog is flexible, fluid, responsive and can add our voice to the education community in a way that is original.

Now, should I continue to pursue teacher certification and become a high school English/literature instructor, I can also see the value of the blog in the classroom.  One way I could use is simply to duplicate your model - invite students to reflect on the concepts they are learning and apply them to their education, future career or life.  High school students are also a fun bunch in that they usually have very strong opinions on a variety of subjects and giving them a platform via a blog would be, at the very least, interesting  :) 

I would have to think about whether this would be a class blog, where everyone can participate and see each other's entries, or a private blog between me and my student.  In some online classes I've taken, blogs have been somewhat irritating.  Some instructors require class participation via the blog and so after logging in to find 67 blog posts, I find I have to wait through dozens of "I agree!" and "So true!" type of posts by students making a superficial attempt to participate.

I'm intrigued by using a blog as a type of class project that would be created/maintained by my students but published for the community at large.  Maybe a Writing Center-type site, full of helpful articles/tips about effective writing.  I'm not sure if high schools use learning communities like the community colleges do; if so, I could see a blog being a fun way to synthesize the concepts being learned between the two classes.

So, no matter where I land in the future, I can see blogging being a valuable addition to my marketing or education approach.  The trick will be to keep the purpose focused and relevant for both me and my students.

Thanks for a great class!  I learned a lot and enjoyed being "in the classroom" again.  You're a wonderful teacher!

Shannon

Lesson 6 Blog Assignment

After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

The most important information I gained from these two chapters was to keep an open mind. At first glance, I didn’t believe either of these subjects would be relevant to my intended profession (secondary teacher, language arts) but after reviewing and thinking about the information presented, I see that’s not the case. There will be opportunities for me to incorporate the beneficial effects of music in my curriculum, whether it’s including music in the classroom environment or incorporating music in my assignments. As to math, I learned the most about questioning my assumptions about the innate abilities of my students. If pigeons can do math and chimpanzees can plan warfare, then any student in my classroom has the potential to surprise me with their hidden abilities.

Lesson 7 Blog Post

After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?

As a future secondary ed teacher, this question has great relevance for me. I will be working with a group of students who look a whole lot like adults in terms of their physical development. And they will think of themselves as adults, craving all the freedom and self-determination that comes with full maturity. But behind the latest hair style and carefully applied make-up lies a brain that is still under construction and in fact, is undergoing the same rate of growth and development as the brain of a 2- to 3-year old.  When we consider the challenges toddlers face with impulse control and emotional regulation, it helps us understand why our teenagers are so moody, oppositional and impulsive. It reminds me of one of Bill Cosby’s routines about his children.  “WHY did you do this?” he asks of his young children after one mishap or another.  “I DON’T KNOW!” they wail in return.  I think that perfectly captures the essence of mentoring or parenting our children at all ages – they really have no idea why they do some of the things they do. The problem is, at some point, we adults start expecting adult-appearing teenagers to really think and react like adults… but they can’t.  They need us to continue to be patient, explain what’s happening to them, and guide them through this last phase of childhood with grace, understanding and dignity.

Blog Assignment #6

After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

The most important information I gained from these two chapters was to keep an open mind. At first glance, I didn’t believe either of these subjects would be relevant to my intended profession (secondary teacher, language arts) but after reviewing and thinking about the information presented, I see that’s not the case. There will be opportunities for me to incorporate the beneficial effects of music in my curriculum, whether it’s including music in the classroom environment or incorporating music in my assignments. As to math, I learned the most about questioning my assumptions about the innate abilities of my students. If pigeons can do math and chimpanzees can plan warfare, then any student in my classroom has the potential to surprise me with their hidden abilities.

EDU 270 Lesson 5 Participation Assignment

After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

I am planning a career as a secondary teacher with a specialization in Language Arts and possibly other writing-intensive subject areas.  These chapters reinforced for me that for many students, reading and writing-intensive subjects are their worst nightmare. Sometimes students are just wired to be more analytical and don’t enjoy long writing projects. Other students misunderstand the writing process and think it is all about grammar and punctuation and get stressed out about that. And some students may have undiagnosed or inadequately addressed learning disabilities that are making writing torturous for them. After many years of writing and learning about writing, I am eager to share with my students all the many ways to tackle a writing assignment.  Even the most analytical, writing-phobic student may be surprised to learn that there are ways to tackle writing projects that appeal to their sensibilities.  And students who love writing but might find other subject like math/science challenging, it could be helpful for them to learn how to apply writing strategies to tackle these harder subjects (ie, using a math journal to write about and reinforce what they are learning in class is often the best way for right-brained students to absorb analytical information).  In the event that trying different approaches doesn’t help a student, I need to research and consider when a learning disability might be interfering with my student’s ability to learn and perform.

Lesson 4 Blog Response

What does it mean to be relational as a teacher? How will you interact with your students to accomplish this?

Being relational as a teacher means consciously working on building a relationship with each student through consistent, positive interactions.  It means interweaving what I know with who I am so that students feel that they are interacting with and learning from a real, live human being.  If I can create a bond between me and my student, if I can make them feel that I really care about them and their learning, they will work harder for me and take more risks which I need them to do in order to learn.

Some ideas I have for building relationship:

* personalized comments/feedback on work, not just letter grades

* finding positive ways to deal with classroom discipline/behavior issues like restlessness, chattiness, boredom. 

* avoid bond-destroying behavior like shaming or humiliating students in front of others

* model respect by treating each student as well as I would treat any adult

* when appropriate, sharing stories about myself

* eye contact, active listening

* include sense of humor, fun, silliness in the class

* smile!  lots of people don't

Lesson 3 Blog Response (Dougherty)

After watching the videos on Attention, Emotions and Learning, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher.

This lesson builds upon what I learned in Lesson 2 – that as a teacher, I have to think “big picture” about what I am doing to set my students up to succeed.  Knowing my stuff in terms of my subject expertise is not enough.  I am not the educational equivalent of a UPS driver, just delivering packages of wisdom for my students to learn.  I am more like a director of a theater production – I have to guide my performers but I also have to consider how every environmental detail impacts the audience’s experience of the play.   Lesson 2 taught me to think about how my classroom affects my students at the physical level:  light, temperature, sound and smell.  Chapter 3 tells me to think about how my classroom affects my students at the emotional level.  Have I created a safe and nurturing learning environment where students can relax and take some risks?  Have I spent time arranging and decorating the room to foster the belief of every student’s competence and ability to learn?  Am I pleasant and safe to interact with or am I demanding, harsh and quick to judge/punish?  Am I resource to my students or just one more thing they must survive during the long school day?  This is sure to be a great balancing act and I appreciated the point that the “Emotions” video made – that any of us who are responsible for young people’s development (parents, educators, caregivers) can get burned out and stressed out.  When we do, our ability to create positive interactions is severely limited, so we need to take care of ourselves by way of diet, rest, exercise and outlets for our stress.  I see this in my parenting experiences – if I get to run 4-5 times a week, I have the patience of Job.  If I don’t, then I am often disappointed in myself and with my snappiness with my very young children who don’t know what to make of my stormy moods.