Reflect on how you think your participation in this course has influenced your thinking about yourself as a teacher
This quarter has been challenging for both personal and professional reasons. I have had a LOT of different responsibilities pulling me into directions that may not have been in-line with others. This class has had a huge influence on me and my ability to manage my time while working on different fronts.
The hardest challenge was to try and complete the unit plan. While I had plenty of warning of when to start, I did not heed them as well as I should have and really put myself under the gun. While I needed an extra weekend to finish the project, I feel as if I did a good job. It was extremely difficult to think about a whole three weeks ahead and plan for that, but that is something teachers must do all the time and I am glad for the experience.
The book talks and mini-lessons were fun because we were able to see MANY different ways to teach English in different settings. Coming into the classroom, I was quite nervous about my ability to impact learning into my students, but I now have a number of different tools to back me up. It was great to get the TPA's from my classmates and take those home with me.
The concepts we went over early in the quarter were fantastic to learn about. I went outside of the classroom and downloaded a couple of "iTunes U" podcasts talking more about Paulo Friere's theories. Tovani's book is going to be a great resource for me to go back and review to make sure my students are understanding the books and materials I bring into the classroom, whether that's a history or English classroom.
The participation of everyone in the class was quite useful. From our discussions about Friere and Tovani, and then into the mini-lessons, everyone was great in giving constructive feedback and creating meaningful discussions because we were all engaged in the materials.
Overall, I learned a lot this quarter. I was extremely nervous about my abilities in an English classroom but now feel much more confident. The TPA's are tough, but I am glad we have been given the opportunity to practice them while still learning from our classmates.
