Course Reflection

1.    Reflect on the work you’ve completed in the course (text presentations, content portfolio, etc.)

     In English 486, we worked on text presentations, blogs, in-class discussions, and content portfolio over the course of this quarter. I really enjoyed creating a presentation for the textbooks I chose for visual literacy, writing, and literature. Since I started the teaching program, I have had so many how questions. These how questions grew when I decided to add English as a minor. Some of those questions consisted of, “how do you engage students in reading? Or how do you help students improve their writing skills?” So, I decided to choose textbooks that provided teaching strategies and answered my questions. Each textbook included teaching ideas that I began to use in my student teaching and that I will use in my own future classroom. I enjoyed presenting these texts to the class because I got the opportunity to share with my peers’ resources that I find valuable. The textbooks my classmates presented, I found some resourceful and valuable as well. In my student teaching placement, I realized that a lot of students are struggling reaching their reading goals because they are not reading at home. A classmate happened to present a reading textbook that provided strategies that I can use to help motivate students to read. The first step I took was reading my own book while my students were given time to read inside class. Throughout the course, we created blogs where we responded to texts we were assigned to read. I appreciated that you presented the creation of blog posts as a free resource that we can use as future teachers. This was my first blog post, so I was really excited about creating it. I believe blog posts are a great opportunity to share my ideas and what I have learned. I see myself using blogs post in my future English language arts class because I want my students to share their writing with their community and peers. As for the content portfolio, reflecting back to coursework and experiences that helped me learn the four categories of literacy strategies came easy. They came easy because I had great learning experiences thanks to teachers and professors I had. The teaching strategies they used helped me retain the information, make connections, and understand its purpose. By thinking back and understanding how it helped me as a student, I hope I can use the same strategies and build the same learning environment. 

2. Reflect on the theories and concepts we explored in readings and discussions

By reading and analyzing sections of the NES book and the common core standards, it eased my anxieties. I had developed stress and anxiety over common core standards because I always heard how much people disliked them. After analyzing them, I realized that the common core standards convey the four categories of literacy. I learned that the common core standards do not tell you how you are going to teach the content but outlines the skills, knowledge, and learning goals each student should meet. I believe the NES presents the same valuable information the common core standards presents. The NES covers various English language art skills, teaching practices, and essentials to teach ELA. The readings were due prior to the class in preparation for group and whole class discussion. I appreciated that you explained how you tiered the questions you created for the Socratic seminars. I understood what formal discussions should look like and that the questions I create should be open-ended. 

3. Reflect on how you think your participation in this course has influenced your thinking about yourself as a teacher

My participation in this course has made me feel prepared for what is coming. In the past, I dwelled on the idea of failing as a teacher because I have not learned everything that I need to know to be a good teacher. But thanks to Sean, he has helped me understand that I will not graduate knowing it all and that my learning will continue throughout my teaching career. I appreciated that Sean shared his teaching experiences and expressed how he grew over the years. The in-class discussions and presentations has helped me understand that there are so many resources that I can refer to for future lessons. It also showed me that there are thousands of ways to teach content and if one does not work, there are other options.