Blog Post #5: Blogging for Practice

Blogs serve as a way to share information and gain insight into your own potential experiences by reading about someone else's. In this way, I feel the blogging has helped. However, I think it would have been better to allow us to share what we had experienced in our PDS's and what stood out to us the most. Sometimes, even asking questions or posting worksheets we created, sharing activity ideas and "things that worked" in the classroom. I felt we were too often asked to comment on the process of things and not enough on the details of them.

I think in general, blogs are meant to serve as a support system and a basis for other opinions, information, and encouragement. As pre-service teachers, it is important to have that "I understand, I'm in your shoes, too" type feeling when we read about our partners' experiences and thoughts. Also, it's important to have that over-head voice of our facilitator commenting to us and sharing with us more advanced and experienced thoughts/ideas. Both opinions are valued and can help build us up as preservice teachers.

My question to my partner: What is the biggest change (in yourself) you felt you have made since we started blogging (in the classroom, in teaching philosophy, in style of blogging, etc. etc.)?

Revisiting the Plan

I'll be doing a little bit of backtracking here because I realized I missed the blog assignments. I'm sorry about that, Anna.

Back when this was assigned, I had to revisit the "plan" I had originally made to tailor it to what my host teacher wanted me to cover. In her classroom for the first 8 weeks of the semester, a student teacher from the post-baccalaureate master's program was present in the same room. This was sort of "buzz-kill" from my previous semester of being given so many opportunities to teach and run through activities with the students. I was disappointed to simply "sit" in the corner and observe.

After the student teacher left, I had to re-evaluate my plan based on what they had already covered and also based on my observations as to what they needed. In this way, observing the students for 8 weeks helped me determine where they were lacking or what style of teaching I would need to use to reach them better. So, blessings do come in disguises!

My re-evaluations taught me that while I wanted to implement more interactive activities and ways of making sure students participated, different classes respond in different ways. I am in my PDS for two class periods. One class is cooperative and willing to participate no matter what the assignment. The other class is much more stubborn and less willing to participate, often needing reminders to stay on task and, at times, disciplinary action from my host teacher. I try to only call attention to problems if they become a significant issue. I realize that I need to figure out a method to deal with behavioral issues in the classroom, but I am not so sure there is one "hard and fast rule" to abide by. Thoughts on that would be appreciated.

Blog Post #3: Digital Storytelling

A regular "story" is only interesting when it is well-written, shares many details with the reader, has good "action" or conflict, and shares something worth telling. Likewise a digital story should have the same elements. It should be presented in a fashion that peaks the interest of those watching, should include music and media (Powerpoint/photos/etc.) to highlight the "action" involved and should share information worth knowing and sharing.

When students observe the tools we as teachers use, they notice whether we've put time and effort into what we have them do. A presentation like this is good practice for using the same tools for student lessons and the same elements as well. It shows careful consideration and planning behind our lessons.

The digital story examples I have seen have given background history on the school itself and then gear more toward the content of the participant. I think this is important because it gives the viewer a context for your content area and then shows how it relates to or affects the students. Music, photos, etc. can be used to supplement the slideshow information.