Learning Letter

Hey Everyone,


This quarter has just flown by, but after reflecting on these past few months, I realize that I have accomplished a lot of things and have had a lot of experiences in this course that will make me a better teacher.  I found this course to be incredibly meaningful and worthwhile.  I had numerous opportunities to reflect and develop my own pedagogical skills and philosophies.  I particularly liked the progression of the course from theoretical discussion to practical work.  I found it appropriate for us to discuss and explore pedagogical concepts so we had a solid framework that we could build upon and utilize in our assignments.  Overall, I feel like taking this course has enabled me to take that next step towards becoming the teacher I want to be, and I feel so much more prepared to teach literature.

I completed a lot of work in this course.  The book talk, mini-lesson, and unit plan assignments I completed gave me multiple opportunities to work towards becoming a better teacher.  I really loved the book talk assignment.  I don't think I've been free to read whatever book I wanted for a class since 6th grade.  This assignment reminded me of something I discussed with my classmates in my composition course over the summer: at some point in our educational system, writing stops becoming fun and becomes a chore.  I feel like this happens with reading as well.  Many kids are excited about reading in early grades, but that enthusiasm slowly wanes.  For this reason, I would love to find a way to incorporate an assignment in my own classrooms that is similar to this book talk assignment.  Learning is so much more effective when it is personalized and meaningful, so if I could incorporate an assignment where students study a book of their own choice, I think my students would really benefit from it.  For me, the book talk assignment gave me an opportunity to read a book that I have been wanting to read for a long time, Fahrenheit 451.  This book is commonly taught in high schools, so I also had an opportunity to read a book that I will very likely end up teaching.  I love reading, so it was so fun for me to be able to read a book of my own choosing, and I also loved being able to hear about the books that my classmates chose to read.  I got to hear about a lot of books that I am interested in reading, and I plan to read some of them very soon.

The mini-lesson I taught is another assignment that I learned a lot from.  It is so rare to be able to teach a lesson and get immediate feedback that is as extensive and specific as the feedback that I was able to get after I taught my mini-lesson.  I found the feedback session very beneficial, so I am very grateful for the experience and would like to thank my peers for their contributions.  Teaching my mini-lesson was also a great experience for me.  I'm still developing as a teacher, so I love being able to get as many opportunities to practice as I can get.  By completing the mini-lesson, I was able to determine some areas of my teaching that I need to improve on.  Namely, I need to continue to work on my enthusiasm, mentally rehearse my lessons better, and draw out higher-level responses from my students.

The unit plan project was one of the most extensive assignments I've ever completed.  It was an exhaustive process but well worth the effort.  This project was also very practical for me.  In a little over a week from now,  I will actually begin teaching the unit I designed.  So even though I completed my unit plan for this course, I am still making improvements to it, which emphasizes one important concept I learned during this quarter.  In my eyes, unit plans are never really "done."  I think it's important to always look at unit plans as a work-in-progress.  I first noticed this concept in my placement classroom.  My mentor teachers use the same unit plans from year to year, but they modify it every time.  Even while my mentor teachers are teaching a unit, they will make notes for next year.  When I made my unit plan, I made a unit that is applicable, well-researched, and effective.  However, it can still be improved on in many ways.  I am already taking what I have learned from designing my Odyssey unit plan to make an even better version of it, and I'm excited to have an opportunity to utilize what I have learned.

The process of making a unit plan for this course was overwhelming.  It took a lot of effort, and it required me to spend a lot of time thinking about what I wanted students to learn from my unit and how I was going to get them to learn it.  Based on my experience and what I heard from my classmates, it seems like starting with your objectives is the best way to go.  Since your unit's objectives influence all aspects of your unit, it would make sense to start there.  I also found it useful to sit down with a calendar and make what is essentially a rough draft of your unit.  This allows you to plan out lessons that build off of each other and work towards reaching your objective.  Making my unit plan was definitely a challenge, but I am really glad I did.it.  I feel like it will be so much easier for me the next time I have to design a unit from scratch.

We discussed a lot of pedagogical theories and concepts in this class.  I like how we started out by reading about discussion in a democratic society.  In many ways, discussion is the foundation for effective learning and instruction, so I thought it was appropriate for us to start there.  Having meaningful discussions in my classroom is something I really strive for, so I liked being able to read and discuss how discussions can and should be used in the classroom.  One concept that really influenced my teaching philosophy was the concept of utilizing problem-posing education instead of the oppressive banking form of education.  It is important that teachers look at their students as more than just minds waiting to be filled with our knowledge.  We cannot directly transmit what we have learned.  We teachers know what we know because we worked it out for ourselves and did the mental processes that allowed us to reach the understandings that we have.  If we attempt to directly transmit what we know, then our students will miss out on opportunities to make personalized connections and actually have a meaningful education.  Social justice is another concept I want to be sure to remember.  Specifically, I want to be sure that my pedagogical practices are socially  just.  That is, I want to be sure that I teach in such a way that I am respectful towards all students and their dignity, and I give all my students equal opportunities to succeed in their own way.

My participation in this course has influenced my thinking of myself as a teacher primarily by giving me opportunities to think about what kind of teacher I want to be and what kind of classroom environment I want to create.  I want my classroom to be a place that students want to be.  I want my classroom to be a place where students can create meanings for themselves and learn in their own ways.  And I want my classroom to be a place where students are comfortable, enthusiastic, and willing to take risks so they can improve.  To create such an environment requires a lot of effort and skill on my part, but after completing this course, I feel like I have a much better idea of how I can create the classroom I desire.  If I continue to reflect upon my own development as a teacher, keep working on creating effective unit and lesson plans, and effectively execute my lesson plans with enthusiasm, then I can become the respectful, inviting teacher that I wish to be.

-Brad

American Born Chinese - Response

American Born Chinese is a very interesting and entertaining graphic novel.  I haven't read many graphic novels, so this was a fairly new experience for me.  However, I really enjoyed reading American Born Chinese, and I think it has shown me how valuable graphic novels can be in the classroom.

This graphic novel didn't feel like an assigned reading to me.  When I sat down to start reading this book, I ended up reading it all that night because it was so entertaining.  The simplicity and accessibility of graphic novels make them very fun, easy reads.  Yet, they are still capable of telling great stories.  This accessibility and entertainment value makes graphic novels excellent instructional materials.  Students can easily pick up a book like American Born Chinese, read it, and understand it.  There is nothing intimidating about graphic novels, and students who read them will be able to have literary experiences that are comparable to those of regular novels.  Graphic novels still transmit a story that students can analyze, reflect upon, and compare to their own understanding.

American Born Chinese would be a particularly excellent graphic novel for use in the classroom because it depicts universal themes that we readily relate to.  Much of American Born Chinese is concerned with the struggle to accept yourself as who you are, which is something that many kids have difficulty with while they are growing up.  This graphic novel also presents an excellent depiction of discrimination, intolerance, and ignorance.  The main characters in this novel are clearly discriminated against because of who they are and who they associate themselves with.  There are also some flat-out racist parts of this book which show how inhumane and irrational prejudices can be.  Ultimately, this graphic novel is a story about fitting in, and it is worthwhile to read because it shows how barriers to fitting in are created and destroyed, and it depicts this story in an incredibly accessible, humorous, and entertaining format.

Night - Response

Night is one of the most haunting and disturbing books I have ever read.  Elie Wiesel's memoir is a poignant depiction of loss and the absolute evil of man.  Despite the horrors this book discusses, it is hard to put down.  The book is very well written and powerful.  Night gives us a rare look at the reality of the Holocaust, and I think this book should continue to be widely read throughout the world.

Night is a story that becomes progressively depressing as you read it.  The tone starts off as ominous and only goes downhill from there.  This strongly evokes the utter hopelessness of the Holocaust.  Eliezer and his family are clearly in a bad situation from the get-go, and you never get the sense that things will improve.  As the story progresses, all we see is loss.  Eliezer loses his innocence, his family, his friends, and his faith throughout the ordeal.  Eliezer also becomes increasingly broken physically and mentally throughout the story.  Wiesel's testimony is clearly horrific, but it is a story that must be told.

What always shocks me about the Holocaust is the absolute evil that man is capable of, and this book continued to illustrate how evil humans can really be.  It is so amazing to me that the Holocaust was actually able to occur and that people willingly participated in the mass extermination of millions of innocent people.  Even if people were raised in an anti-Semitic culture, it's hard for me to wrap my head around how people could devalue the life of humans to such an extent.  Night and other stories and historical accounts of the Holocaust are important so we don't ever forget the evil that occurred in our past.  These Holocaust stories need to be told so that humanity doesn't ever repeat the incredible evils that happened during the Holocaust.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Response

Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a very entertaining and humorous book that is unlike anything I have ever read.  This book is an excellent work of young adult fiction, and young readers will find this book very appealing for many different reasons.

Scattered throughout this novel are little comics and drawings from the narrator that serve as illustrations for certain thoughts or scenes.  Most of the drawings are quite humorous, and they add a lot to the novel.  The drawings also greatly aid comprehension.  The drawings in this novel clarify what the narrator has said by either providing a visual representation of what's been said or by explaining what's been said in a different way (i.e. through imaginings, exaggerations, etc.).  Simply the fact that this book does have drawings will entice a lot of young and/or reluctant readers.

This book will also be very appealing to young readers because of the voice of the narrator throughout the novel.  The novel reads like a kid telling his story; in other words, it really is like a diary.  Young readers will be able to relate to the narrator because he uses the same vernacular as they do.  Additionally, the narrator, like many other kids, struggles to make sense of his world, and he must deal with the same awkwardness and embarrassments that come with adolescence.

I think that a lot of kids would genuinely enjoy this book.  It is an easy read, it has pictures to accommodate the text, and the narrator is very relatable, humorous, and likeable.  However, I could see several problems with trying to implement this text in the classroom.  There are a lot of things in this book that are flat-out racist, which could be disturbing for a lot of people.  There is also a fair amount of swear words in this novel; I don't think the swearing is excessive, and it is used at good points to accentuate meaning, but the book doesn't refrain from using the f-word and certain slurs.  Additionally, this book pokes fun at religion from time to time, which may not sit well with certain people.

Overall, I think this is a great young adult novel.  This book will definitely appeal to a lot of young readers; there are a lot of things within the story that young people can relate to, and the story is very funny and entertaining.

Things Fall Apart - Response

I really enjoyed reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  I haven't read many works of African fiction, so this book was pretty different from what I usually read.  I think this book provides a lot of insight into African culture while still telling a story that is universal and easy to relate to.  The protagonist of the story, Okonkwo, is a flawed hero trying to make a name for himself, and while his hard work gains him prestige and fame within his community, he never fully escapes his fear of being perceived as weak like his father.

One aspect of this book that I found to be challenging was the Ibo vocabulary spread throughout the book.  I didn't realize until I finished this novel that there was a list of definitions in the back, so I struggled to make sense of certain terms and often had to rely on the context of the text.  While reading, I was reminded of how English language learners must feel when trying to make sense of a word or words.  There are certain words that we understand only because they are commonly used in our culture, so it was interesting to have the roles reversed somewhat where I was reading a book that contained words from a language that I had no familiarity with.

I thought Okonkwo was a very interesting character in this book.  I saw him to be a bit of a tragic hero.  He is obviously very skilled and competent, but he is so stoic that he never is able to feel comfortable showing the love that he clearly feels.  He is also so concerned with being perceived as tough and brave that he never seems to enjoy life as much as he could have.  His life, essentially, was out of balance; he tried so hard to not by like his father that he was the extreme opposite.

I was a little disappointed with the second half or so of this book.  I was enjoying reading about life among the Ibo people, but in the second half of the book, the story becomes a fairly typical story of intervention by white men.  I realize that this is historically accurate and essential to the novel, but the last several chapters started to feel like the story that we have all heard before.  However, this book does portray the destruction of culture better than any book I can remember at the moment, which was why I thoroughly enjoyed the whole novel.  Also, most of my disappointment is most likely because I wish that the Ibo tribe could have just continued in their ways.

TPA Guidelines - Response

I have been working with the TPA lesson plan format quite regularly for the past year, so this handout looked pretty familiar.  No matter how many times I see it, the TPA always looks overwhelming with its numerous questions.  Writing up a TPA lesson plan obviously isn't the most fun or exciting thing in the world, but I find this format very beneficial, and I understand why teacher candidates are required to create TPA lesson plans.  What is great about the TPA lesson plan is that it forces us to look at all the things a good teacher must keep in mind while planning and delivering a lesson.  There are certain things that a lesson just absolutely has to address, and the TPA lesson plan format holds us accountable for those things.  It helps us consider all aspects of a lesson that need to be considered.  We who are student teaching know that teachers don't spend hours filling out TPA lesson plans, which may make the TPA lesson plan seem like busy work for teacher candidates.  But in reality, teachers who have been teaching for a while have simply internalized all the things that are in the TPA lesson plan.  By filling out these lesson plans, we are drilling into our mind the importance of objectives, assessments, differentiation, standards, rationale, etc. for every lesson.  The TPA is a pain, but it will ultimately be worthwhile and make our teaching much smoother in the future.

I was very intrigued by one section of this handout- the section titled Research and Theory Evidence.  This section asks us "How is [our] lesson/instruction supported by research and theory?"  It would be difficult for one to have all of his or her lessons backed by solid research or theory.  Teaching is sometimes experimental, so I wonder if the TPA allows for experimental plans.  Can this section be fulfilled if your lesson is backed by your own research or theories?

The Content and Academic Language section was thorough and overwhelming.  It is interesting how it asks "What are students doing with language to express their developing understanding of the content you are teaching?"  It makes sense that all lessons should address this, but I don't believe I've ever consciously considered this when planning my own lessons.

Differentiated Instruction is one area of the TPA that is always a challenge for me.  It always seems to me that my lessons do provide equitable learning opportunities for all students, but it's hard for me to know for sure.  Also, after our class discussion on differentiated instruction and how we should attempt to design lessons that are differentiated from the get-go, I came to the conclusion that the TPA lesson plan should have the Differentiated Instruction section higher up on the lesson plan.  I think it is always the second to last thing, which I feel reinforces the notion of creating a lesson and then going back to it and trying to find ways to differentiate rather than making it differentiated from the beginning.

Differentiated Instruction Individual Exploration - Response

For my individual exploration on differentiated instruction, I found an article by Dr. Ruthanne Tobin titled "Differentiating in the Language Arts: Flexible Options to Support All Students."  This article is geared more towards elementary education, but I felt that this article has a lot of useful applications for secondary classrooms as well.

In this article, Tobin explains how classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, making differentiated instruction essential.  She explained how all students need their intellect, language, culture, and imagination validated, and differentiated instruction can help teachers validate their students by promoting responsive teaching.  Tobin defined differentiated instruction by explaining that "differentiating instruction means establishing a learning environment in which students are more likely to get their individual learning needs met."  This differentiation requires teachers to modify their content, process, and products of student learning in response to the readiness, interests, and learning profile of their students.

One of the most interesting things I read in this article is the idea that we need to accommodate not just the needs of students but their preferences.  Tobin elaborates by explaining that giving students choices and accommodating their preferences plays a key role in motivation and engagement.  I think this is a very simple but important point to keep in mind.  It makes sense that students would be more motivated and engaged if they got to do activities in class that they preferred to do.  In spite of this, it seems that many students experience an education that does little to accommodate their preferences.  Tobin mentioned one way of differentiating instruction would be to give students an opportunity to choose their own book, which is also one way of giving students choices and accommodating their preferences.  Students could potentially pick out books that are too easy or too hard for them, but that is one way that they can learn about themselves and evaluate themselves.  I think that giving students the option to choose their own books occasionally would be an excellent way to differentiate instruction in an English Language Arts classroom

Another differentiation technique I read about was to give students multiple response options.  This means that students can respond to a text or an assignment in multiple ways.  For example, students could be given the option to demonstrate their understanding of a chapter from the book by writing a summary, acting out a scene, drawing a picture, creating a diorama, giving a presentation, etc.  The teacher gives students options, and students choose which assignment they would prefer to do.  Additionally, instruction can be differentiated further if the teacher tiers the activities so there are several different levels of difficulty.  I think this is another good way to differentiate instruction, but I think it is essential that the teacher makes sure that the options require a similar amount of effort or else students would most likely pick the task that requires the least amount of effort.

Lastly, yet another potential differentiating technique I read involved fostering open discussions with a responsive teacher.  The key in this strategy is to validate student's unique contributions to the discussions, which will validates students' intellect, culture, and imagination.

I was able to gain a lot of insight regarding differentiated instruction from this article.  I have a much better idea of what differentiation actually looks like when put into practice, and I understand how differentiated instruction is beneficial not only because students may need it but because they prefer it.  Everyone likes having their preferences accommodated.