Posted by: cummia on: May 29, 2010
This course taught me a great deal about morals in education. I found that you don’t necessarily have to keep all religion and questionable things out of the curriculum. Some areas I am always concerned about pushing the envelope and my students are really missing out. This course helped me to better understand exactly how to teach it. The religious part of my paper made me really think of my own personal religious beliefs and how they fit into the classroom. I found a lot of correlations between the two. So this course was not only a career growing experience it was also a personal growing experience. I looked deeper into my faith then I ever have before and really enjoyed the insightful information the readings had to deeper the connection between classroom and personal ideas and believes.
Posted by: cummia on: May 29, 2010
This course was all about history of education. It was great to better understand the past educational system in depth. I knew the basics but didn’t understand all of the changes that have happened throughout the years and the reasons behind them all. From then I was able to better understand the current system in which we work in. There was a big part of this course discussing the question, “Why Teach?” This really made me reflect on my own teaching and why I went into teaching. The presentation was a great way to work collaboratively over the internet. It was interesting to me how many different qualities go in to teaching. Another part of the course was how to meet student needs. I feel like there was so much more to this course than the title said. The beginning started with the past and then really got into full details about classrooms as well as policies based around education.
Posted by: cummia on: May 29, 2010
This course gave great insight to so many different researchers. It helped me to understand the different learning styles within my classroom and how to better understand my students. There was great details about human development and how people work. The case analysis that we did at the end of the course really made me think it great detail about human development. What I really got from this course is to take every student as an individual and there is usually more to the story if a student is struggling. There is a lot you can do as the teacher to help get through these struggles if you are aware of them and take the time to help the child succeed by building on their strengths. So much is based on learning environment and this course also explained how to make a community of learners while building a safe environment for success. This can be done by leading by example and letting students know its safe to share and participate in class.
Posted by: cummia on: May 28, 2010
These research classes have been so informative. It really makes me understand the importance of data and how exactly it was collected. In research I when I designed a research project it was great to realize all the different variables and possibilities of a research project. While designing it I really had to think about everything that goes into a research project. I would eventually like to perform the research study that I had planned because I think it would be interesting to see the outcome of whether recess plays a role in student achievement.
When I started Research II I was so lost and confused but as I continued to read and reread the textbook it really started to make better sense for me. The project going through it step by step really gave me a better understanding of statistics in general. I began to realize how their can be errors in research and all the different variables. The different ways in which to manipulate the data using the different data given was really interesting. I was very intimidated by statistics but through this course I have a better understanding and respect for the subject. I like the fact that I know more about data and how to intrepret it instead of just going by what someone tells me which might not always be accurate and could have biases.
Posted by: cummia on: May 27, 2010
This course has taught me so much about inclusion and many different disabilities. The process of inclusion is rather lengthy and takes a lot of time. It’s well worth it so that students can be successful in the inclusion process. It’s important for everyone involved. It requires a lot of team work between the whole team to make the IEP as well as make the inclusion plan. This course really help me have a better background knowledge of what is important to consider when planning for inclusion. The project in which I did was so beneficial not only in the classroom but also in my personal life. I chose to do it on asperger’s which I have a girl that I know with it so now I have a better understanding of how to better assist her. Not two weeks after I started researching I had a new student in my room with the same diagnosis. With the information I had I was able to be a better effective teacher by having not only an understanding but a set of tools to use to help this child be successful.
Posted by: cummia on: May 27, 2010
This class was great at better understanding the diverse world in which we live. Since everyday we are dealing with a variety of people and different needs this class was great at dealing with all of the cultural differences you deal with as a teacher. It included great ways in which to deal with them and some great background information about culture in general. In the book by Banks he identifies what exactly culture is. During this course and working through the modules and projects I was able to learn great techniques to deal with cultural differences. Dr. Mvududu states “teachers who are aware of their own thoughts and behaviors in cross-cultural interactions are better prepared to respond in ways that will improve teaching and learning in culturally diverse classroom settings (2008, lecture 1, slide 2).” This quote really made sense to me and made me more aware of my interactions and then how to better improve my teaching and build in my classroom a great sense of community regardless of your culture or background. I have continued to use the things I was taught in this course in my classroom through discussion and sharing of students differences.
Posted by: cummia on: May 27, 2010
This course was so great in helping me better know the standards and become more familiarized with them. The project that I did during this also gave me great practice at designing a curriculum using the format given in “Understanding by Design.” I had never done design in that way so it was great to be able to do that. While designing my unit I used the OSPI website a lot and really navigated around to learn more about the state standards and different examples of ways to apply them in the curriculum using life examples. The CBA that I used in my design was a great project that I did with my students and they really enjoyed it. The design process allowed me to have a better understanding of what I was teaching and why. Many of the parts get overlooked and we just go with the curriculum handed to us and many times don’t even know until after the fact what standard it goes with. I now after taking this course make sure to align everything with the standards and use the design process taught in this course. It is more time consuming but so worth it when teaching the lesson.
Posted by: cummia on: May 27, 2010
This class was such a wonderful class and I learned so much. This is the first year my school is switching to standards based grading so this was a great time to take this course. I learned so much about assessments and how to properly assess. Learning targets was also a big aha for me. Since teaching is so intentional it was great to begin with building hte learning target and then build the rest of the lesson including the assessments. I was able to take another class through my district based on the same textbook from Stiggins, “Classroom Assessment for Student Learning.” So this course was a great starting point of learning all that goes into standards based education. I was able to apply everything I learned in this course in my classroom. I used my final project to do a CBA in my 3rd grade class. It was so great to have it all organized in this format and everything was so intensional and I was able to go in great detail and the students learned so much and the CBA’s turned out great. I am excited to take more classes on standard based education. Since this course my teaching is more intensional my assessments are much more informative to me and my students.
Posted by: cummia on: May 15, 2010
In this course I learned a lot about the whole process of Curriculum Design. I realized that there is so much more to look at than just simply making a lesson plan. All of the readings throughout the course were very helpful to better understand the whole process of curriculum design. The book “Understanding by Design” by Wiggins and McTighe was a great resource throughout this class. The project was a great way to implement all that I had learned. Before this course I didn’t put to much detail into my lesson plans or lesson units. When going through the process and getting feedback I realize now that there is so much more to it than what I had been including. The curriculum map itself really shows a lot of detail for a unit and made me think about what “appropriate” really means. I needed to make sure that not only what I was teaching was appropriate but that I also included activities and assessments that were appropriate as well meaning that they went well with the unit and met the standards in which I was teaching. I look forward to continuing to use this format when building other units in the future.
Posted by: cummia on: March 8, 2010
This week reading Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe really made the whole curriculum design much clearer for me. At first I was really struggling with a entry point but the figure on page 257 of Wiggins and McTighe really cleared it up. I liked how it was set up was really clear for me to better understand the entry point and how it relates to the whole design process. It allowed me to narrow down my entry point. I’m still unclear on how to make the whole design but how this has been set up I just add a little bit to my design each week which makes it much less overwhelming. Going through this process has really allowed me to have a clearer picture of the steps taken to make a curriculum design. I also see how beneficial this is overall to know exactly why each piece is in the design and why and what you are teaching. Sometimes I think with the curriculums we use we just take the authors word for it that it hits everything needed for our students. This process really allows me to be more intentional on what I am teaching and why, which will also give my students a clear expectation. I am very intentional with making sure my students know what they are learning but it’s usually not this indepth. I’m excited to use what I have learned in this class more even with the curriculum I’m required to use in the classroom.
