I can relate to the feelings Allison Coon had after reading the syllabus. I also thought that the Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Project seems very interesting as I have never had the opportunity to learn in such a way. To be honest, when I was little I never had a “pen-pal” and always wanted one! It will be interesting to here opinions and ideas from others in a different part of the country. Also like Allison, I am a little concerned about the blogging process. Although I don’t find it to be too time consuming, I must be mindful to stay on top of the due dates. In addition, I agree with Alyssa Williams statement that everything in this class will be beneficial and engaging. So far, I have enjoyed class as it has not simply been lecture. I appreciate that the assignments are not typical because they seem new and exciting.
I believe the article disclosed a lot of important information regarding how to write to learn. The information provided was different than what we are used to reading and learning about because it did not deal with the action of writing. Rather, it dealt with writing as a deeper thinking process. It explained that the process of writing is important as it engages students, extends thinking and deepens understanding. In particularly, the pre-reading, note taking and summarizing strategies seem to be very useful. I will keep this article and refer to the different strategies as they appear useful in my future classroom. Different strategies will be useful for different situations. For example, if a student feels overwhelmed by writing a summary, a useful tool is a “Framed Paragraph”. This strategy reminded me of one we had learned in our 407 known as a “Story Frame”. Both of the strategies prompt the students by providing them with the beginning of a sentence to finish using their own thoughts.
In addition to the strategies, the article emphasized that modeling and feedback are essential for the students to learn through writing. I also believe those two processes are key to the whole writing process. How can a student be expected to produce a quality piece of writing without being exposed to the process through guided instruction and modeling? Without modeling, they would not know what quality writing looks like or what the process entails. Feedback is equally important, including the use of rubrics. Rubrics create a common set of criteria for a teacher to look for in the students’ writing so that there is no bias regarding grading. Rubrics are also great tools for self assessment. Furthermore, modeling and feedback will most definitely be present in my classroom.
After class, I chose to continue my attempt at improving my listening according to the five suggestions. The suggestion I chose to focus on was “savoring”. I was reading a book in my bed and had the air conditioning on. I stopped and “savored” the noise coming from the vent. It’s low monotone buzz was constant and actually made me feel peaceful. I would have never taken time to notice that prior to watching the TED video.
