Blog #2

Peer Blogs- I really enjoyed reading through my classmates blogs and learning a little bit more about them and their lives. One blog that specifically stuck out to me was Courtney Hollins. Like her, I prayed for God to send me into the right field of work and He led me to education. She also mentioned that she is excited to teach Science and Social Studies which are my two favorite subjects. Courtney and I share the somewhat fear of teaching math. Like her, it is not really "my thing" but I know we can both conquer it! Another blog that I related to was Jordan Zila. I have known Jordan for quite a while through school, but enjoyed learning that she would like to teach 3rd grade. Like she mentioned, third grade is a time of transition for students and that provides interesting times in the classroom. When I worked at my elementary school, I always made a connection with the 3rd graders and agree with her completely on that. We also share the feeling of being slightly scared to write a research paper in this class.

Writing to Learn- I found this article very interesting and informational. One thing that stood out to me was the difference between writing to learn and learning to write. The article says that students learn to write when surrounded by models, demonstrations, and examples from the teacher. I personally relate to this because I am such a visual learner and I also learn by doing. For me to be most successful at learning, I need examples and models that I can follow, both correct and incorrect. Rubrics, checklists, and other similar sets of guidelines are also very important in this process. It is critical that students know exactly what is expected of them and that is communicated thoroughly by the teacher. I am a "list" type of person and learner. I like to know exactly what is expected of me and I can somewhat "check things off my list" when completing an assignment, and then receive teacher feedback accordingly, so I believe that is important. The information I read about teacher feedback, rubrics, and checklists, was very beneficial to me as I learn to become a teacher. I had a teacher in the 6th grade who would constantly make us write long papers and essays. However, when it came time for her to grade them, there was no method to her grading, so we as students never knew quite what to expect or how exactly she was going to grade that time around. With the use of rubrics and checklists, this situation can be avoided in my own classroom. A few questions that come to mind after reading that article, are which strategies are best to use in what situations? Also, are certain strategies better used in certain content areas? I believe incorporating writing to learn strategies in my own classroom will be beneficial for my students as well as me.