If you're randomly reading this blog, I would love for you to take this quick survey about your personal learning style. It will be really helpful to my team and I as we analyze different teaching methods!
Thanks,
Megan
Click Here to take survey
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
action research, part one
So today was a long day. Today we started our new classes for the next two weeks-- Language and Literacy, and Action Research part one. It was also the first day that my cohort and I had to separate.... :) For the past two weeks, we've had the same classes with the same people, but today we broke into classes with just our authorization levels... (i.e., only the people who are getting authorized to teach elementary/middle school like myself were in a class together). We also adjusted to new professors and new assignments.
One of the things I love about the program are all of the teaching methods and "best practices" we learn. It might seem kind of funny that we spend some of our mornings drawing or journaling or doing literature circles or playing "common threads" games, but really, they're for a bigger purpose. I can't teach my students how to do these different things if I've never done them before! I'm definitely not spending $5,000 a semester just to play. Things have already started to get more difficult, such as our action research project we're about to begin.
Action research is a huge component of the MAT program at George Fox. Not only will I be spending two full semesters student teaching and developing lesson plans for language arts and social studies classrooms, but I will be conducting a year-long research project that has to do with some sort of classroom/student learning improvement. It's pretty awesome because not only is it a chance to discover something new that I may be able to implement in my own classroom, but it also provides a great resume building opportunity once the research has been completed and the results have been analyzed. I've decided to do my action research project on "Building Community in Diverse, Middle-School Classrooms." I want to study whether it's possible for students to build community and relationships with one another (similar to a cohort), when they are constantly moving to a new class every 50 minutes. It's easier to build relationships in elementary schools because the students are in their homeroom class all day, but building community in period classes has proven to be more difficult. So, I'm going to see a) whether it's possible, and b) if so, whether community-building in the classroom has any positive effect on a student's self-esteem and overall classroom participation.
But until then, I'm currently involved in an AR project with two of my cohort members studying differentiated instruction (how we can apply different teaching methods to different learning styles within the classroom, while not compromising standards and the integrity of the lesson). That project will be finished by the end of this week! And..... that's all for now. :)
One of the things I love about the program are all of the teaching methods and "best practices" we learn. It might seem kind of funny that we spend some of our mornings drawing or journaling or doing literature circles or playing "common threads" games, but really, they're for a bigger purpose. I can't teach my students how to do these different things if I've never done them before! I'm definitely not spending $5,000 a semester just to play. Things have already started to get more difficult, such as our action research project we're about to begin.
Action research is a huge component of the MAT program at George Fox. Not only will I be spending two full semesters student teaching and developing lesson plans for language arts and social studies classrooms, but I will be conducting a year-long research project that has to do with some sort of classroom/student learning improvement. It's pretty awesome because not only is it a chance to discover something new that I may be able to implement in my own classroom, but it also provides a great resume building opportunity once the research has been completed and the results have been analyzed. I've decided to do my action research project on "Building Community in Diverse, Middle-School Classrooms." I want to study whether it's possible for students to build community and relationships with one another (similar to a cohort), when they are constantly moving to a new class every 50 minutes. It's easier to build relationships in elementary schools because the students are in their homeroom class all day, but building community in period classes has proven to be more difficult. So, I'm going to see a) whether it's possible, and b) if so, whether community-building in the classroom has any positive effect on a student's self-esteem and overall classroom participation.
But until then, I'm currently involved in an AR project with two of my cohort members studying differentiated instruction (how we can apply different teaching methods to different learning styles within the classroom, while not compromising standards and the integrity of the lesson). That project will be finished by the end of this week! And..... that's all for now. :)
Friday, June 26, 2009
I can tell it's gonna be a good day...
I'm doing homework in the blue sky and sun with my hot cup of coffee, and listening to a song called "Dream." My new (and old) favorite artist is a girl named Priscilla Ahn. She is a simple girl with a piano, and sings songs that I connect with so much. They're little songs-- remembering times when we were little girl dreamers, playing pretend and changing every-day things into something bigger and more elaborate. Patches of trees became forests, cardboard boxes became castles, and my mom's clothes became fancy dresses. Why do we, at some point of our lives, allow ourselves to stop dreaming and settle for reality? It's important to not turn away from what really exists in the world, but we only live once. Why do we waste it on worrying, being mad or doing what people tell us we're supposed to be doing, but not what we really want? This is part of the reason why I want to teach. Kids don't really get to be kids anymore. Not like I was able to anyway. Exploring, playing pretend and just being totally oblivious to life for just a few years. I want my classroom to be a place where they can just be themselves for a little bit. We're of course going to learn, but not take ourselves too seriously. I know I'm only in my second week of grad school and will probably be hit with many realities in the next year, but I refuse to believe that we all have no choice but to settle in life. I really believe that the classroom can be so much more than just a place of academics and tests and reading, so I'm going to try my best to make that possible. I don't know. I guess I'm still a big dreamer and that will probably never change. And I'm okay with that.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Week two reflections...
So I had the best intentions to start this journal before grad school even started. I wanted to capture feelings, fears, questions, etc., but, that obviously didn't happen! Now here I am, already finished with two classes this term and done with my second week. I guess I'll just sum up the past couple of weeks and then start fresh with today. :)
I guess re-winding pretty far back into my life, it's pretty surreal to me that I'm actually here-- back at George Fox, pursuing my dream and immersed in one of the best teaching programs in the Northwest. I'm beyond blessed-- it's been such a long process. I will never forget the moment last summer when Lexie and I were on a train through the Alps, heading to into Germany. I was staring out the window, journaling, and thinking about all of the things I had observed in Europe so far-- the value of relationships, the importance of quiet time, the enjoyment of the simple things, and the friendliness of all the people. I had just started working for what I thought was my dream job-- in marketing with International travel. It was an exciting life initially, but one that ultimately left me unfulfilled as I sought for more meaning and purpose in choosing a life career.
So here I was, journaling, and I thought to myself, "If I could wake up each day and look forward to going to work-- to my real dream job-- what would that look like?" and I thought immediately, "to be a teacher." Then I started journaling about that and everything else I was thinking, and then just asked myself why I wasn't doing that? Life is too short to do anything but what is important to you! I had chosen this career because other people in my life wanted me to be successful, and from my growing up experience, money meant success. So anyway, I sat on the train with this renewed excitement and just started dreaming about going back to grad school and becoming a teacher.
Once I got home I immediately began looking into GFU's MAT program, talking with counselors, and studying for entrance exams. One thing led to another, and I began passing my tests, writing my essays, collecting references, and finally applied. Another 2 months later after interviews and assessments, I was admitted into the program. After 2 more months of waiting, here I am now, immersed in an experience and career preparation that is already changing my life.
Before I started two weeks ago, I was worried that I wouldn't be good enough; that I would be overwhelmed, that I lacked creativity, and that the financial aspect of the program would catch up to me. But I was placed in a cohort that couldn't have been a more perfect fit for me. The first day I knew that these amazing men and women were going to deeply affect my life, along with our cohort leader Ginny. I've already learned so much in two weeks!
We've talked about personal learning theories, what kinds of teachers we want to be in the classroom, wrote papers, opened up with one another about personal experiences which have affected who we are today, played silly games to teach our own students, had breakfast, laughed together, cried together and share the bond of our deep passion for investing in children through a career in teaching. I know I have a long road ahead in this program, but I don't want it to go by too fast... :)
I guess re-winding pretty far back into my life, it's pretty surreal to me that I'm actually here-- back at George Fox, pursuing my dream and immersed in one of the best teaching programs in the Northwest. I'm beyond blessed-- it's been such a long process. I will never forget the moment last summer when Lexie and I were on a train through the Alps, heading to into Germany. I was staring out the window, journaling, and thinking about all of the things I had observed in Europe so far-- the value of relationships, the importance of quiet time, the enjoyment of the simple things, and the friendliness of all the people. I had just started working for what I thought was my dream job-- in marketing with International travel. It was an exciting life initially, but one that ultimately left me unfulfilled as I sought for more meaning and purpose in choosing a life career.
So here I was, journaling, and I thought to myself, "If I could wake up each day and look forward to going to work-- to my real dream job-- what would that look like?" and I thought immediately, "to be a teacher." Then I started journaling about that and everything else I was thinking, and then just asked myself why I wasn't doing that? Life is too short to do anything but what is important to you! I had chosen this career because other people in my life wanted me to be successful, and from my growing up experience, money meant success. So anyway, I sat on the train with this renewed excitement and just started dreaming about going back to grad school and becoming a teacher.
Once I got home I immediately began looking into GFU's MAT program, talking with counselors, and studying for entrance exams. One thing led to another, and I began passing my tests, writing my essays, collecting references, and finally applied. Another 2 months later after interviews and assessments, I was admitted into the program. After 2 more months of waiting, here I am now, immersed in an experience and career preparation that is already changing my life.
Before I started two weeks ago, I was worried that I wouldn't be good enough; that I would be overwhelmed, that I lacked creativity, and that the financial aspect of the program would catch up to me. But I was placed in a cohort that couldn't have been a more perfect fit for me. The first day I knew that these amazing men and women were going to deeply affect my life, along with our cohort leader Ginny. I've already learned so much in two weeks!
We've talked about personal learning theories, what kinds of teachers we want to be in the classroom, wrote papers, opened up with one another about personal experiences which have affected who we are today, played silly games to teach our own students, had breakfast, laughed together, cried together and share the bond of our deep passion for investing in children through a career in teaching. I know I have a long road ahead in this program, but I don't want it to go by too fast... :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
