Four major strands of work: 

communication, research, technology, and collaboration.

Communication: 

I feel that communication is an essential part of our learning.  As teachers it is important that we have meaningful interactions with our students and that our students are able to apply these same skills with their peers.  Communication is a dynamic part of what makes us who we are and what we know.  Having good communication skills in our own class is what makes us successful college students.   We will want to offer the same for the students we teach.

Research

One of the types of research we have done in our class this semester has been to learn more about literary elements and genre.  Research is like exploring, there are many wonderful treasures that can be found.  We are doing this type of research through our Chautauqua characters.  Once we research, we use our proficient communication skills to share our newfound knowledge and experiences. 

Technology

I love technology – almost all the time.  I have enjoyed creating the blog page for our class.  This has been a new and exciting technology experience for me.  Having the freedom to design our pages with quotes, poems, and pictures gives us the opportunity to express ourselves.  I was a little self-conscious about others reading what I had written, but the more I write the more I enjoy it and the less I worry that others will judge me critically.      

Collaboration

Our small class size has allowed me to build closer relationships with other students.  We can always bounce our ideas off one another and get valuable feedback.  The opportunity to hear others ideas and teaching strategies give me an abundance of information to take into my own classroom.

Five dimensions of learning:

Confidence and independence

I feel that I started my college career a shy student.  With each college class I gain more confidence and independence.  As I learn more from each instructor at UNM, my confidence in my teaching abilities grows.  Working in the classroom allows my confidence in my abilities to expand with each student I assist. 

Knowledge content

I think one of the most important lessons that I am learning from this class is how important it is to make every student that walks through the classroom door feel welcome and comfortable.  As teacher we must take ownership of learning about each student’s cultural background and helping all students to gain an understanding, appreciation, and respect for each culture.  I think our experiences in the classroom will be very beneficial in helping me extend my knowledge about diverse learners and levels. 

Skills and strategies

I think that I am continually orchestrating and fine-tuning my skills and strategies.  My experiences in the classroom, communicating with teachers and colleagues will allow me to see first hand how the skills and strategies I have acquired since entering UNM can help the students be successful in their writing project.

Use of prior and emerging experiences

I have had some prior experiences with students last year at Ladera and when I was a kindergarten aide in Texas.  I think any type of exposure in the classroom helps us to grow as a teacher.  I know that each child is an individual and will learn in their own way.  I know that no child comes to school with a plan to perform poorly.  I know that the more experiences I am willing to learn from, the better teacher I will become.  It is important to learn from our experiences, use what works well, discard those that do not, and eagerly search for new skills and strategies.

Reflectiveness (critical awareness)

I am enjoying our class and our discussions.  I really liked reading our book and meeting with our literature circle.  I think that as teachers we can enrich our own teaching skills by having book talks.  This is a good way to learn from one another. 

I look forward to going to Apache this week so we can start working with our students.  I look forward to helping the students write their Chautauqua stories and I will value what I can learn from them.

Midterm evaluation

I think that with my participation in discussions, the technology skills I have used to design my blog page, my promptness to class, and with the completion of my Chautauqua story I should have an “A.”

I think working in the class with our students will help further my development as a teacher this semester. 

I think it would be nice to have another literature circle.  I want to implement reading circles in my own classroom, even if it is first grade.  I want my students to learn that reading is important and that when we share what we think and have learned, it also helps our peers to grow as individuals.