Ch 3 & 5 Reflections

      Reading these chapters made me reflect on my own schooling. One of the many factors that drove me to want to become a teacher were textbook teachers. Teachers would pass out a textbook at the beginning of the year and center everything around it - quizzes, vocab and content. As a student, I knew I was not getting all of the information that my teacher could have provided me. Reading the chapters , it makes sense that the authors do not advocate for the use of textbooks as they are difficult for many students to read and they lack the depth and understanding of a subject and give more of a survey of the topic.
       As a historian, I would never rely on one source to tell the story of an event. So why would I only use a textbook? I like the idea of using a textbook to cover the broader picture, but supplementing them with primary sources and other texts or media to show my students a variety of opinions and viewpoints. It makes me excited to think of the information I can show them using the technology we now have. It is also true that students may be excited if we "shake things up" and think outside of the textbook. It is essential that I teach my students literacy and writing, but I do not have to do that through boring texts!
  

UBD Response - Module A & F

      UbD is one approach that teachers may use in their classroom. In my opinion, it is a good approach especially for teachers such as myself that are teaching social studies. When I was in school, I would *know* the content for the exam the following month, but I did not *understand* it and I was forgetting the knowledge easily. Knowledge is at the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy and is essential that we push our students to the highest levels of Bloom's. To me, UbD just makes sense. It advocates that teachers figure out how they will assess their students first to ensure that the lesson matches up with the outcome. This "Backwards" approach helps teachers avoid giving students meaningless work or work that is too easy. Learning should have affects that extend outside of the classroom. It should not be copy and paste memorization, but a way for students to learn how to inquiry and make conclusions based on facts.

Wilhelm Article

Reading is such an important school in life. It is essential for teachers of all disciplines to understand that is their job to teach reading skills in their classroom. It is pointless when a child is suffering and we are using precious time to argue over whose "fault" it is. Reading is not simply reading the words, but it is comprehension and application into life. In the case of Nate as a teacher, it was important for him to understand that the content was important. But it was even more important for him to understand that the skills and tools students learn from teachers in the classroom should allow them to apply it to their life as a whole. Learning-Centered Teaching is a wonderful idea and how most if not all teachers should model their classroom. In my own personal high school experience I was not exposed to that kind of learning and much of it I have already forgotten.  I want the best for my students and this article has provided me some insight into how to do that.

Literacy Profile

     In high school, I had transferred from a small, Catholic school to a large urban high school. It was quite a difference, but the high school offered me many options that I would not have had otherwise. For example, many of the students of the school loved music, and the chorus, band and musical theater departments were award winning. I had decided that I might like to join chorus and musical theater to meet new friends and perhaps find a new hobby or two. I talked with the head of the chorus, and she drilled me on what I knew about music. She was asking me questions using terms such as “alto”, “soprano” and “musical range”. I was lost. I did not know what I was or what the terms meant and I was afraid that she would not let me join because of how clueless I seemed. However, she did not seem to mind that I did not know, and assured me that we would figure it out. She was one of the many people who have inspired me to continue learning about music. The musical theater director also helped me learn vocabulary and never made me feel as though I was asking something “stupid”. The classes built up the vocabulary. The classes also applied it to the subject so that it was easy to remember and became important because it was applicable to other subjects, such as learning to play an instrument. Through the four years, I went from knowing basically nothing to knowing enough to get into college level music classes, be in the select chamber choir and go on to be in musical theater productions. I would have not been able to get there if the music director did not take the time to help me build my vocabulary and understanding of the subject. 

          Music is considered to be a universal language and it can have applications in various subjects. I have made friendships over music, have helped the community learn about music and have just loved participating in making music. As a future teacher, I may be able to use music to connect with students who many not be interested in my subject. Perhaps even students can teach me more about music, and it could create a trust in the classroom as we are learning together and I am not just shoving content at them and expecting them to understand.