Pre-service Journal

ED 205 Education in a Pluralistic Society Pluralism can be defined in many ways. One definition that encapsulates the broad facets of pluralism is: a society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious and social groups maintain participation in, and development of their traditions and special interests while cooperatively working toward the interdependence needed for a nation's unity. Essentially this course helped me to realize that diversity and unity are factions that work together. I was never very integrated with different cultures during my upbringing but I have always considered myself to be an open minded person. This course has taught me to re-examine whether I am truly open minded. There is a strong likelihood that my interactions with individuals have been swayed by subtle pre-conceptions and judgments that, although based upon arbitrary factors, have none-the-less affected how I have interacted with people. My aim for the future is firstly to treat all individuals as human beings. Each person is important and must be respected and valued. Secondly, this course has taught me to re-examine the why behind the what that I believe regarding individuals who are different from me. ED 331 Educational Technology John Dewey stated that If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow. Educational technology has made that statement truer than ever. I did not realize how quickly technology has impacted instruction prior to taking ED 331. Now Ive seen that in order to be an effective educator I need to get on this bandwagon. Everywhere teachers are talking of flipping their classrooms, using digital devices such as tablets, smartphones, or response clickers to take assessments, and of differentiating their instruction through the vast plethora of online services. Thanks to technological advancements there truly aint no mountain high enough, aint no valley low enough, aint no river wide enough to keep collaborative learning from coming to you, me and classrooms everywhere. Parents are relying on teachers to post lesson plans, assessments and homework online. Students are finding new creative ways to express their ideas on the internet. Employers are reluctant to hire individuals who cannot demonstrate proficiency in technological skills. Since taking ED 331 I have realized how everpresent technology is in education. I have been fascinated at the potential to break open the creative learning experience, from formative assessments to performance tasks and beyond. I hope that as an educator I can continue to learn more about how to implement technology into my classroom and my instruction. ED 339 Techniques in Teaching Secondary Social Studies Im going to say something that is absolutely true, and we have all thought it at one time or another: too much time has been spent teaching educational theories that fly by the wayside in the face of the cold hard practicalities of the classroom. This course was premised upon that exact principle; and thank goodness for it, for it was not a waste of time. Instead ED 339 became a workmans shop for education. Each lesson provided me with a new tool to put on my educational tool-belt. I learned about the ins-and-outs of teaching that often fall through the cracks: how to handle your first day of school, how to make a quiz, how to design a worksheet,

how to create a lesson (and have it fit within a 45 minute time-frame), how to handle parent teacher conferences and how to be a professional in the workplace. I could go on. I was skeptical at first about ED 339, but essentially, this class was rubber to the road on the realities of the profession. It was in ED 339 that I learned about formative and summative assessments. It was here that I learned tips on how to effectively communicate with students. I learned what it looks like to be an authentic teacher; it means being an authentic human being in front of the class not an authoritative robot, hiding behind a desk and spouting off facts like a fountain. The most important take away however from ED 339 is that a good teacher creates an atmosphere of trust in a classroom. ED 339 stressed the importance of this, and I believe it is key to everything that follows. I hope to model all that I have learned in ED 339 as I grow into a teacher of character and virtue. ED 351 Teaching Children and Youth with Exceptional Needs in the General/ Regular Classroom Education 351, Teaching Children and Youth with Exceptional Needs, is designed to enlighten educators regarding the demands and strategies of teaching individuals with exceptionalities. This course was aimed at teaching future educators how to responsibly care for those who require additional interventions and accommodations. Prior to taking EDU 351 I had the preconception that the full inclusion of individuals with exceptionalities might result in learning deficits for both students with and without exceptionalities. However, since being enrolled in EDU 351 my thinking has changed because I have been taught that 1) I inherited this challenged when I decided to become an educator and 2) that interpersonal differences are the basis of symbiosis among individuals. I believe that when students of different abilities work together, everyone benefits. I have learned that as an educator it is my responsibility to modify my instruction and my assessments to provide for these differences and create the best possible learning environment for all students. I hope to accomplish this by adopting the ethic that fairness is not giving every student the same, but giving every student what they need. Therefore I agree with Lev Vygotsky on the principle of scaffolding, both between teachers and students, but even more between students and their peers. Just as InTASC Standard 2(j) affirms that learners bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning and peer and social group interactions.; it is imperative that I use individual differences to create an environment that is for the benefit of every student. So I believe in the idea of scaffolding, whereby individuals are built up according to the interdependence and interconnectedness of the various strengths and weaknesses found in the classroom community. ED 370 Introduction to Environmental Study and Environmental Education Henry David Thoreau once said Whats the use of a fine house if you havent got a tolerable planet to put it on? This quote captures the overarching ethic of ED 370. Very often the idea of getting an education is taken as a means to obtain a desire: a career, money, happiness or even intelligence. However, ED 370 stressed a far different twofold purpose behind education: 1) to teach responsibility and 2) to teach values. Prior to taking ED 370 I spent very little time considering the role of education in teaching sustainability. It seems like this has been lost in todays curriculum. ED 370 opened up my perspective about teaching with one simple statement. The statement that those who have the most attachment to the environment are those who spend the most time in it. Furthermore ED 370 taught me that the environment can be synthesized into education seamlessly. I have decided that, as a teacher, I am going to do all that I can to bring

nature into my classroom, but more importantly, I would like to see my classroom brought out into nature. I look forward to the various fieldtrips I might organize as an educatornot unlike the fieldtrip I took to the Menominee Forest while at UWSP or of the many spontaneous springtime classes I might have outside. ED 370 most importantly taught me to model values that promote a sustainable lifestyle and an appreciation for the environment. These are but small tokens Ive gained from the course, yet ones I shall carry with me throughout the entirety of my teaching career. ED 381 Educational Psychology I did not take ED 381 while at UWSP. Instead I took ED 230 while at UW Sheboygan which counted for transfer credit. ED 230 specialized in examining the thinking of adolescents and how to effectively instruct them in the classroom. The class highlighted various difficulties faced during the adolescent years and showed us how to address them as instructors. These themes centered upon appropriate classroom management strategies. The class urged us to use strategies that pertaining to specific stages of mental growth and motivation in adolescent students. ED 230 showed me how to adapt my teaching according to differences in students background and identities. We studied behaviorist, cognitive and sociocultural perspectives of psychology, as well as, instructional strategies geared towards different cultures and socio-economic statuses. ED 385 Teaching the Early Adolescent ED 385 taught me many things on the prospect of becoming a middle school teacher. I learned that middle school students are walking bubbles of contradictory emotions, expressions and confusions. They are in a period of transition. ED 385 taught me however the importance of being a role model for these kids as they venture through the awkward transition years of no longer being a kid, but certainly not an adultnot even a teenager! ED 385 taught me how to design my first curriculum. I also learned how to modify content to a younger age group, as well as to simplify my language so as to avoid confusion. ED 385 brought me on trips to two different middle schools to observe firsthand what the environment was like. I believe that middle school can be a challenging position for some teachers. I suspect that, in some sense, you have to be in touch with your inner child to truly acclimate to the environment. However, ED 385 taught me that when I graduate 1) I will never know exactly where Ill end up teaching and 2) teaching middle school is a worthwhile and meaningful experience. ED 386 Reading in the Secondary School I never knew there were so many ways to incorporate reading into the curriculum. Today with CCSS literacy is a priority across all subjects. I have heard it mentioned that every teacher must be a reading and writing teacher. ED 386 introduced me to the topic of literacy in schools and its importance in the classroom. The course presented a full historical overview of the development of literacy to the present day. Moreover, ED 386 opened up a way to think about literacy, not merely as dull eyes scanning a line or a labored pencil pressing a page; but instead literacy should be viewed as a way of thinking, engaging, utilizing and interacting with audible, textual, and visual stimuli. Literacy can be used even as a way to promote social justice and community action. I learned that as an educator, teaching my content area and teaching literacy are not two separate things. Prior to ED 386 I failed to note the unity between content and literacy. As I

prepare to teach I hope to develop a more in depth understanding of literacy strategies so that I can aid students and teachers alike in addressing the task of teaching literacy in all content areas. ED 390 -- Reading and Writing for Content Understanding You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace. Stock your mind, stock your mind!. The words of Frank McCourt echo the importance of taking literacy seriously in our respective disciplines. Reading and writing have for centuries been the primary means, the doorways, of getting into the mind. Yet many students fail to adhere to a love for learning due to a lack of reading and writing. ED 390 has provided me with a plethora of tools to help in the fight to make reading a joy, not drudgery, in the classroom. ED 390 has enabled me to write lessons around literacy, to engage the imagination through simple practices, such as Guided Imagery, and to create memorable learning experiences; all revolving around literacy. Prior to taking this course I would often think about literacy in a one-dimensional way: reading-writing. But ED 390 has opened my ability to use images, media and the good old imagination to bring new life to literacy. As a teacher I hope to use literacy strategies to teach content through the entire learning process. I would like to use literacy strategies as a means of helping students learn, and as a means of assessing student learning. Literacy is educations most formidable and flexible tool that has so often been treated like the rusted wrench in the tool kit. ED 390 has helped me polish off this trusty device and bring it back into the fold of my instruction. I hope as a teacher I can maintain this view and passion regarding the importance of many uses of literacy.