Blog Post 6 - Final Blog

As we have just finished the final in this course, a nice overview of the class is fresh in our minds. As I look back at what was taught and learned in the course I am excited to be able to apply it in my teaching. Especially because for me, teaching is just a few weeks away.

I have decided to come up with a sort of bulleted list of the things that stick out to me that I have learned in this course. This list is obviously not everything that I have learned, but simply what sticks out to me the most and what I perceive to be the most important.

Firstly, through this course I have learned great things regarding literacy. Previous courses I have taken have focused on literacy, but through this course I feel I have gotten the best understanding.

I have come to a better understanding especially of critical literacy. I have always felt that I am a critical thinker, but I have learned how to better help my students become critical thinkers. This will be done by giving students a variety of views through various texts. Also, teaching students to question “who what where and why” is important to helping them think critically.

On top of critical literacy, I have gotten a good view of the students’ levels of literacy through a great activity I completed through this class. For my self-selected project, I conducted a survey that evaluated and compared students’ levels of literacy. It was a very fun and rewarding project.

The next thing that sticks out to me that I am excited to implement in my class is writing. I am excited to implement the different forms of writing and the six traits of writing. Along with that, I have learned, and am planning on implementing using rubrics effectively. I feel rubrics make assignments and projects easier to understand for students and easier to evaluate for the instructor.

Another thing I am excited to implement is my newly gained knowledge on vocabulary instruction. This semester I was placed in South Cache for my clinical experience. The teacher I observed used vocabulary words extensively. Through observing his class and learning the techniques, I feel as though I am highly prepared to properly teach vocabulary. This includes the number of words that should be used, themes, multiple encounters, etc. This is important in teaching social studies as vocabulary is traditionally used often. I plan on using vocabulary to prepare students for larger projects such as essays or projects in History and Government classes.

The last topic I would like to point out is that of differentiation. I took another course this semester that dealt with assessing students. Through that class and this class, I learned many strategies of differentiation. I have learned the importance of giving students a choice in what they do (where possible). I know that by doing this, they will be more motivated in completing the activity at hand. I learned this first hand through the self-selected project. Due to the fact that I chose and designed the project, I was highly motivated to complete the project. I hope to be able to give students choices as well so that they can be motivated and excited about assignments and projects. Through the instruction of differentiation, I have gained a better understanding of the definition of “fairness”. I plan on differentiating in my classroom according to time, choice, interest, number of problems, etc. I also feel that this is easily done in social studies. Social studies subjects are not set in stone or as black and white like math or sciences. Therefore, I am able to implement differentiation on projects and assignments.

I could go on for numerous paragraphs explaining what I learned and how I plan on implementing it. These paragraphs would include topics of reading in the classroom, oral language, before/during/after reading instruction and activities. I learned many important concepts and teaching strategies through my participation in class and I plan on implementing these effective strategies in the coming weeks, months and years. 

Blog Post 5 - Discipline Specific Reading

As I have taken countless history and government classes in my educational lifetime, I obviously cannot remember all of the texts I have read or examined. However, some do stick out to me, because they were either really good or down right horrible. Obviously, the standard or typical text for social studies are the non-fiction texts. Specifically, textbooks are used quite often and in higher levels, non-fiction narratives and biographies are utilized often. I have never really complained about this, I thought that that is just the way it is. I didn’t really realize there was any sort of alternative. In fact, I have quite enjoyed the texts I have encountered in my discipline. I love a good non-fiction book. I actually rarely even touch a book that is fiction. I feel that there is so much truth out there to be learned and history is more compelling that a story someone made up. (Excuse my cynicism) My wife of course has her own theory to why I am not interested in fiction, she thinks I have no imagination. (There is probably some truth to that)

A few examples come to mind when I think of memorable texts that instructors have used in the past. I remember in high school, Mr. McLeod (my biggest teacher influence) did a great job at introducing different texts in our US History class. I remember reading historical fiction concerning the early days of America and watching films depicting the Civil War. I also remember back in 6^th grade learning about the Egyptians with Mrs. Russell. She brought hieroglyphics and we even made signs with our own names using hieroglyphics. That was very memorable. Recently, I took a Supreme Court class here at Utah State and the instructor, Judge Stewart, had us examine the opinions passed down by the Supreme Court. This was very valuable to be able to interpret and examine these opinions. I’m sure he could have gotten a text book that summarizes the opinions, but he found it important to teach us that skill.

The most unpleasant experiences I have had with text in my discipline almost all have to do with the dang textbook. Teachers would assign us to read straight from the textbook. That was just always so awful and dry to me. Other times when I have not enjoyed the text is when a teacher assigns a dry reading that has nothing to do with the content covered in class. It seems just like busy work. This past Monday night, a polisci professor of mine emailed us with a link to a reading we were to complete by the next morning’s class. The text was very long and very hard to understand. I struggled through it, but in the end I had no idea what it meant and why I was reading it. The next morning in class, the instructor didn’t even address the reading and the reason of why he assigned it. This gives me even less motivation to read the stinky old texts he assigns.

The previous example is in contrast to the Supreme Court instructor mentioned earlier. He assigned very difficult readings, but along with them he also assigned us to create outlines with very specific parameters. This helped us read for understanding. Also, we knew that we would be going to class and we would be called on to discuss the text. This was a very useful strategy to help us read for understanding and to instill some accountability.

As a think about what kind of teacher I will be, I think of these examples. I have come up with a couple of conclusions. First of all, there will always be a reason for examining a certain text. It will not be used to fill time or to keep the students quiet. Secondly, I will help students examine the text while striving for understanding. This can be done in a number of ways including assessments, outlines, cooperative learning activities, etc. Additionally, I will often give students some choice in what they read. I hope this will help them gain interest and examine the text with the right kind of motivation.

MPEG Streamclip Assignment - Branches of Government

Citation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNeviHf464

Blog Post 4 - Affective Dimensions of Writing

Growing up and going through the public education system, I never thought I was a good student. I admit that I had some learning difficulties and was diagnosed at one point with ADD. My grades were mediocre and I especially struggled in math classes. There was one area that I excelled in and I always felt comfortable, writing. I have always felt that writing has come natural. I feel as though when I am able to take my time and organize my thoughts, I can articulate myself well.

Those of you who are reading this blog may argue differently on the ability of my writing. Nevertheless, it is definitely an area where I have at least felt comfortable. I think this is why I have enjoyed the last two or three years of school so much. My first two years of college consisted of generals classes which included math, sciences and classes that didn’t involve much writing, my grades suffered as a result of that. However, when I started here at USU I began taking History and Political Science classes that involved extensive writing. I have thoroughly enjoyed every semester of it and my grades definitely reflect it.

As a full-time student, a working man, and a married man, I don’t have much free time, so I am not able to do much writing recreationally. However, I still am able to get in the occasional facebook post or blog entry. In the past, when I had more time on my hands I have enjoyed writing recreationally through personal journal entries, letters to friends and family, and of course communication through social networking.

This past summer I had the opportunity to do an internship in Washington D.C. at the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. This was an experience of a lifetime. However, it did come with some sacrifice, particularly two big sacrifices. Firstly, my wife was not able to join me in Washington due to her work situation, so we spent about three months apart. Secondly, the internship was unpaid. Due to the fact that my wife and I were not together, I wanted to stay connected with her and other family and friends through a blog. I kept a blog and updated it almost daily with pictures and stories of my experiences in DC. I spent a lot of time with it, but found that as the weeks passed my followers were stacking up! I often got many compliments from people I hardly knew telling me how much they enjoy following my blog and how much they enjoy my writing style. It sure made me feel good.

The following pictures are photos from my DC blog...

As I reflect on my experiences with writing, I think of how I can help my future students become just as, or even more passionate about writing than I am. Of course I will be teaching social studies, which traditionally involves a lot of writing, so I hope to be able to establish a positive attitude about writing in my classroom. There are many ways I can do this, but I feel as though the most important way is to let student choose what they want to write on. That way they can choose something in which they feel passionate. Of course I will have to have them stick to a certain subject (like the civil war), but they could still choose a certain aspect of it that particularly interests them (like the underground railroad). I have felt most comfortable in writing when I am not restrained or confined in the assignment. I hope to limit the restraints with my writing assignments so that my students feel comfortable in their writing. 

INST 4015 - Picasa Assignment

As part of my assignment, I have uploaded three photos using Picasa.

The following photos are from my summer spent in D.C.

These are my feet on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where MLK gave his famous speech.

Arlington Cemetery - Hallowed Ground

The Capitol during the Memorial Day Concert

Affective Dimensions of Reading (Blog Post 3)

Reading and I have traditionally had a rocky relationship. Through my years in school (up through high school), I never read recreationally. I of course read for school assignments, but other than that there were few exception in which I read when it wasn't required of me.

Despite the efforts of LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow, I did perceive reading as something "nerdy" so, I wanted nothing to do with that. Also in elementary school I had some learning difficulties with reading out loud and I had trouble pronouncing my Rs. Another factor is that I saw reading as a punishment. Reading was always an assignment or if you were misbehaving you had to stay quiet and read a book. So, as anyone can see, there are a number of factors that prevented me from wanting to read.

When I was 19 years old I left to serve a two year religious mission for my church. During this time I of course did much studying and reading. I see this as the turning point in my life as far as reading goes. Ever since, I have been interested in reading, however, my preferences are narrowed. I only read non-fiction. I don't have much of an imagination, but I do love history and politics. So, I do read a lot of historical books and biographies. Additionally I often read religious texts. In the last few years I have not done a lot of reading for myself. I often find it hard to find the time when I am required to read for so many classes.

As I am about to switch my hat from being that of a student to that of a teacher, I often think of how I can create an environment in which students will have a natural desire to read. I have come up with a few ideas. Primarily, I have vowed never to make students read as a form of punishment. This will create a negative stigma around reading. Also, I think it would be important for students to choose. Obviously, there are occasions when there is no way around it, but for the most part, I think students should be given the choice of what they want to read. The few exceptions that I actually read when I was a wee one was when I was given the choice of what to read. As I will be teaching social studies, there is often a lot of reading involved. A key would be to let students choose the subject or topic of which they are most interested and read a text about that. I feel this will eliminate the feeling of "having to do it" and replacing it with "wanting to do it". Additionally, I see it important to cater to the individual student needs. I was embarrassed to read out loud, so if I find there is a student that feels anxious in the same way, I wouldn't require him/her to do it unless they felt comfortable.

I now see how reading is such an important tool in the educational process. It is essential. It is going to be my responsibility as a future teacher to remove the negative stigmas that surround reading and foster an environment that makes students want to read.

Connecting School and Home Experiences (Blog Post 2) - Traveling the Countryside

One Summer, when I was middle school age, my Dad needed to attend a business convention in Veil, Colorado. So, he decided to make a trip out of it. We had a big truck with a big camping trailer, so the plan was to load up my Mom, Dad, the four kids, and the dog and travel to the land of rocky mountains.

My Dad did something that I will alway admire. He detected that I had an interest in geography and social sciences, so he gave me a big atlas book (this was before the days of google maps) and he instructed me to plan the road trip. The trip was to be 10 days long and I was to map out our route, find place to stop for the night, and find points of interest along the way. It was a challenge, I had to learn how to better read a map and learn of historical locations. Nevertheless, I was in heaven. I was surprised my dad trusted me with such a responsibility and I tried my best to rise to the challenge.

The trip was a wonderful success and is still one of my fondest childhood memories. We saw many neat locations as I guided my Dad with my big atlas. The lasting affect of that experience is a greater love and interest for social sciences. My father saw I had an interest and helped me to foster it. Due in part to this experience, social science became more than just another subject in school I had to complete, it became a genuine interest and passion.

As I reflect on what kind of teacher I will be, I often think of this experience. Students do not learn through rote memorization and will definitely not be interested learning in that manner. It is my responsibility to design an environment and opportunities in which learning and interest will foster as did mine. Additionally, it is my responsibility to recognize student interest, skill level and background and do my best to draw from those to aid the students in the educational process.

My father was not a professional teacher, but did something that affected me astronomically. I hope to play a similar role as I attempt to draw off students' background and experience to increase ability and interest.

INST 4015 Assignment

Hey ya'll!! This post is for an assignment I am doing for one of my classes.

In conjunction with the assignment, I had the opportunity to look at a few educational blogs. They were all awesome and all gave me great ideas of how to use blogs in the education field.

The first blog I saw was Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog. This was a great blog outlining a class of six year olds in Canada. This gave me great ideas, especially using technology with younger students.

The second blog I saw was Mrs. Yolli's Classroom Blog. This blog was very impressive and very interactive. It had great videos and links. It was neat to see how that class gets to interact with people from all around the world using technology.

The third blog I examined was Mr. Longhorst's Web Classroom. This blog was probably my favorite because it was specifically for a History Class in Secondary Education. This gave me great resources for integrating technology in teaching social studies.

I am also following many other blogs (mostly my classmates). These blogs are linked in with my Google RSS reader. This is a great tool!
Two of the links are:

http://its-a-wonderful-life-as-mr-bennion.blogspot.com/2011/09/molding-minds-not-metal.html
http://rustedpleasures.blogspot.com/2011/09/social-studies-blogs.html

These are blogs from two classmates of mine. Very good insights already received from them.

Well, thats it, I hope I covered everything!

Assignment 1: Introduction

Well, a little about me: My name is Shawn Walker. I am a 24 year old married college student currently attending Utah State. Some of my hobbies include golf, watching Aggie Basketball, golf, traveling, and golf. Perhaps to get a better sense of who I am and what I prefer, I have compiled a evaluatory list concerning some very important topics:
Coke > Pepsi
Duke > UNC
James Bond > any super hero imaginable
Red Sox > Yankees
Salty Snacks > Sugary Sweets
Phil > Tiger

I hope this gives you a sense of who I am and what I believe.

My major is History and my minor is Political Science. I am also pursuing a path to become endorsed in teaching Spanish. Although I feel quite confident that the direction I am taking is right, I was not always so sure concerning my educational pursuits.
Utah State is actually the third college/university I have attended. After high school I attended Dixie State College and focused on golf and the fairer sex. My grades suffered and I did not enjoy school. After one year in the sun of Dixie, I spent two years on a religious excursion to Southern California. Upon my return to Utah, I resumed my education at Weber State University to continue my general coursework. My grades improved slightly, but I still did not enjoy school and had a hard time getting motivated. I dabbled with a few ideas of what to major in, but nothing felt right. It was at this time I got married and moved to Logan. I didn't go to school for a couple of semesters because I was finished with all my generals, but I had not idea in what I should major. During this time of confusion and indecision a good friend and dear mentor gave me some invaluable advice, "Do what you love and what you're good at." This was extremely simple advice, yet extremely profound. Needless to say, I did exactly that. I subsequently enrolled in History and Political Science classes and became emerssed. I began to thoroughly enjoy school, additionally, I excelled. It was a whole new world.
As I am in the last semester of my coursework here at Utah State, I am sad, yet excited to move on to the next stage of life. I definitely have a passion for what I study. I am one of those guys who stops at all the historical markers along the highway, has to read all the plagues at a museum, and treats the first Tuesday in November like my Super Bowl.

I am excited to become a teacher, specifically a teacher in the social sciences. I love stories and I believe that we can learn from the stories of the past to better our future.

I hope whoever reads this enjoys it. I really do enjoy writing and I enjoy learning stories and passing them along. With this said, I may be sometimes long-winded... just a warning.

Good Day.