Students were required to complete the following assignments throughout the course:
Assignments
This is a time to reflect on what you have learned so far, and where you find yourself now in your thinking about teaching and learning.
You can include whatever is useful to you as you write from your reflections on your own education, from your field work, from discussions in class, or from readings. It is up to you. What are you most confident about? What areas do you feel you need to focus on to become the teacher you want to be?
Expected length: 4 to 6 pages (1000–1500 words), but this is flexible.
Topic I
How have your thoughts on teaching and learning changed over the last three months?
- Give an analysis of your mini-lesson. What did you do well? What do you still need to work on?
- Describe any differentiated instruction you have observed. What are you inclined to try yourself?
- What do you want to learn more about?
Topic II “Excellent Practice” Ideas
- Describe successful practices you observed in the classroom—practices that you are interested in trying out in your teaching next month.
- Give a short description of teacher resources you have encountered and their particular strength (i.e., websites, textbooks, etc.).
- Describe successful beginning and ending class scenarios you have observed.
Topic III (On a Separate Sheet)
Give a description of your plans for January (what school will you teach at, what classes will you teach and who is your mentor teacher, do you have any concerns and if so describe them).
Students were asked to write a reflective paper based on the following topics:
Topic I
You shared ‘significant moments’ that you experienced in the classroom as you went through school. What were some common themes in terms of the best and worst experiences that people lived through? Are there things to do… and never do when teaching? Can you extend this to the type of teacher you want to become? Any concerns you have?
Topic II
Being aware of who you are and how you learn will give you more awareness and control over how you develop into the teacher you want to become. Reflect on your own learning.
What kind of learner were you in middle school and then in high school and now? What motivated you? What kind of teaching was effective for you and when were you turned off in the classroom? Does this raise any flags for you as to how you plan to approach your own teaching?
Topic I
Comment on the following questions from Expectations and Trust in the Classroom (PDF):
- Should a teacher have different expectations for students with different academic performance levels?
- How do you balance student effort and quality of work when grading?
Topic II
Comment on your readings concerning classroom discipline. Address the following:
- How would you respond if students in your class picked on a boy named Larry? Larry often came to school in dirty clothes and had body odor. The students shunned Larry (no one wanted to be his lab partner or do group work with him). You overheard the students teasing Larry in the cafeteria. Discuss several options you might employ (i.e. First thing I’d do. If that did not work, then I would…).
- Respond to the statement: “All misbehavior is the result of a discouraged student’s attempt to find a place and gain status in the classroom.”
- What did you find most useful in the discipline chapter in The Skillful Teacher? What strategies do you think you might employ? What are the guidelines/ basic principles that will guide you as you decide on the discipline strategies you will use in your classroom?
- What did you find least useful or disagreed with in this chapter?
- Have you ever been in a situation where you were the disciplinarian? If so were you comfortable in that role? Explain. What kind of disciplinarian are you?
Write about a classroom observation you have done this semester in terms of the 24 teaching techniques discussed in The Skillful Teacher (how to make a lesson more efficient and effective). You are unlikely to have seen 24 techniques in one class. Just focus on what you DID see.
- Describe in detail what happened in the classroom (narrative description of lesson).
- What skills did the teacher employ to make it a good lesson? What went well?
- Could the lesson have been improved (what would you have been done differently and why)?
Be sure to address all three points in your paper.
In the first session, students were asked to fill out the following questionnaire:
Your name:
Your email:
Year of graduation:
Have you completed 11.124 and 11.125?
The subject(s) you wish to be certified in:
The school(s) you are most interested in doing your student teaching:
Write a brief personal statement (this will become part of the folder submitted in your behalf for certification purposes).
Answer the following questions:
- Why do you want to be a teacher?
- Describe any experiences you have had working with children.
- What do you hope to learn this year?
- Are there any special circumstances/concerns I should be aware of in terms of your teacher application process?
For this final assignment, the following work is due:
- Prepracticum logs
- Curriculum project
- Reflective journal
- Graded student work samples
- Any other work you have done for this course (optional)
Summary of course requirements:
- Prepracticum work (high school observation journal)
- Mini-lesson
- Documentation for licensure
- Reflection papers
- Curriculum design project
- Class engagement. Points will be deducted for such things as absences, late attendance/early departures, being unprepared for class and lack of contribution to class discussion.
Course Info
Instructor
Departments
As Taught In
Fall
2011
