Through the completion of my graduate program in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, I have gained an immense amount of knowledge and a plethora of skills which I have used and found valuable in my seventh grade English classroom. My outlook on student learning and my empathy towards students has also been positively affected by the program. These learning opportunities have led me to become a better educator both inside and outside of the classroom. One of my most influential experiences took place with my very first class, ED 523 taught by Dr. Howe. In this course, I learned about the Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework created by Wiggins and McTighe. This framework focuses on a backward design approach that uses big ideas, essential questions, and authentic assessments to create and guide curriculum (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). The design encourages educators to “start with the end in mind.” Along with UbD, I also learned about a calendar-based curriculum mapping process created by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. The curriculum map allows for educators to examine curriculum both horizontally in a course and also vertically over the student’s K-12 academic career (Jacobs, 1997). The understandings I have gained from this course have completely revamped my way of teaching. I have been using the unit plan and curriculum map I created in this course for the past two years, and my students enjoy it more and more each year. Learning the importance of using big ideas and essential questions in the classroom have made me a better educator and has assisted my students in learning content and skills that they can transfer to all academic areas and into their everyday lives. I now use big idea and essential questions in every ... ... middle of paper ... ...ed student engagement and academic achievement in my classroom. I know that I am a better teacher, mentor, and role model because of these experiences. Works Cited Goodman, G.S. (2007). Reducing hate crimes and violence among american teens. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Guillaume, A.M., Yopp, R.H., & Yopp, H.K. (2007). 50 strategies for active teaching: Engaging k-12 learners in the classroom. Upper Saddle Ridge, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Jacobs, H. H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum and assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Marzano, R.J. (2007). The art and science of teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Wiggins, G., & Mctighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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Show MoreMcTighe, J. (2010). Understanding by design and instruction. Defining the role of the classroom teacher. In R. J. Marzano (Ed.), On excellence in teaching, (pp. 270-299). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Stiggins, R. J. (2006, November/December). Assessment for learning: A key to motivation and achievement. Edge, 2, 3-19.
Schiffma, S.S. (1991). Instructional systems design: Five view of the field. In G.J. Anglin (Ed.),
Rogers, C., Lyon, H., & Tausch, R. (2013). On Becoming an Effective Teacher. New York: Rutledge.
The low percentage of high school students, who successfully transition to college without requiring developmental courses, supports the rationale for action research on K through 12 curriculum development ability to produce college ready students. The Pennsylvania Common Core clearly notes that curriculum standards should align college and work expectation. Unfortunately, the inability to meet the demands continue at the forefront. As a result, I chose to approach this research from Problem Based Learning Theory (PBL). PBL focuses on the investigation and resolution of messy, real-world problems – Curriculum Development (http://www.learning-theories.com/problem-based-learning-pbl.html). Comparison data from the K through 12 and Community College serves as guiding questions establishing what is missing from helping students meet academic demands.
Mr. Fauth has encouraged me throughout my experience to try new teaching strategies with students that I have not previously thought of. I believe teachers who have the opportunity to work with Mr. Fauth will also benefit greatly from his drive to encourage others and his ability to collaborate on new ideas and strategies to incorporate in the classroom. The positive experience I had while working with Mr. Fauth and his class reinforces my dream and desire to continue to work towards my goal to become a
Reminisce for a moment, on that one teacher throughout your educational spectrum from elementary school up until your highest educational acquirement, who influenced your teaching aptitudes through deliberate, critical examinations of your course work. As students, we often deplore the tendency to call these teachers out in aid of our errors, often pretermitting the purpose of their examinations—, which is to correct our mistakes. Even the most efficacious educators undergo constructive evaluations, not to corroborate their blunders, but to highlight those blunders, and re-approach them in diverse ways until they are mastered. This is the true artistry of teaching that is, understanding that enhancements and improvements are always necessitous for the effectiveness of your instruction.
Through the semester of Winter 2016, I was assigned many essays, reflections, projects and journals. These are artifacts that demonstrate my growth in my course learning outcomes. The
Through my four years at Mercer University, my outlook on teaching, students, and the classroom has morphed into a greater understanding of what is best in the classroom. I have seen first-hand what happens when students feel like their teachers care about them. I have also seen what happens when you have parent and community involvement in the school. I hope to take what I have learned over the past four years and implement into my own classroom.
Lang, H., Evans, D.(2006). Models, Strategies, and Methods for Effective Teaching. USA, Pearson Education Inc.
Strategies, or methods of instruction, include the ways in which the content/information is transformed into new learning for the students. The content can be transformed directly from the teacher to the student through lecture, demonstration, drill and questioning, or more indirectly where the teacher's role is to facilitate learning situations through grouping, discovery, inquiry, role-play and simulations (Freiberg, Driscoll, 1996). Wilen, Ishler, Hutchison, and Kindsvatter (2000) stress that building a positive, supportive learning environment is an important goal for all teachers who want their students to succeed in learning. To maintain student interest and achieve higher results, they encourage teachers to use a variety of methods. They suggest four strategies for "generating an academic climate" in the classroom (p. 30): 1) be task oriented and aware of time. Teachers often find themselves in a situation, which limits the amount of time they can spend on a certain topic. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers try to rema...
This course has added another lens to my administrative perspective. I hope to be more conscious of the decisions I make for my students in the future. We must examine education through an equity lens. By applying the lens to every decision we make and learning to disintegrate the inequities.
There was a significant amount of knowledge given in this course, involving concepts that in our teaching career will be extremely important. From this course I have gained a significant amount of learning experiences. I had the pleasure learning about how the educational system has come to be what it is today and who were the important people in the creation of the public education, like Horace Mann. Watching the videos and reading the chapters required has opened my eyes more of how a teacher should respond to different situations involving a student, For example when we read the chapter on the laws that revolve around the educators and the students. I had absolutely no clue that students had rights while in school property. Another learning
Evans, D. N. (2006). Models, strategies, and methods for effective teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
The syllabus is a commonly created and shared document in the education world (Parkes & Harris, 2010). For some high school, and most higher education courses, it is the first form of contact between an instructor and their students. The organization and content of the syllabus sets the tone of the course and stands as a resource throughout the semester or year. Continual analysis, reflection and refinement helps to maintain the syllabus as a dynamic educational resource for every student in that class (Slattery & Carlson, 2010). An effective syllabus provides, not only an introduction and overview into the course, but also outlines the academic standards and essential questions that are to be covered, shares the course schedule and