September+18,+2009

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September 18, 2009 It’s been another great week with TE 250. I am so impressed with their questions! The majority of the students in the class are juniors and seniors—only a few sophomores. I know that those who just changed their major and decided to pursue a teaching certificate this late are intensely passionate about becoming teachers. I also think it makes a big difference in the ways that they engage the content of TE 250. I really do think there is something different about the way a junior or senior makes sense of the class materials than a first year student. I don’t know what it is, exactly. Maybe it’s that the students who have more college experience are better situated to grasp multiple perspectives? Or maybe they are more comfortable with not having a set answer? It seems that last spring, I spent a lot of time convincing students that I didn’t have a “right” or “wrong” answer to give them. I was always trying to convince them that there were various ways to look at things—that each of the perspectives we discussed where just ONE of many ways to look at a situation. I wonder what needs to happen in order for us to help students see from MULTIPLE perspectives. I appreciate when Lynn says to me, “One way to look at this is…, or another way to look at it is…”. How we choose to look at/understand a situation allows us a different avenue for action, a different response based on our specific purposes, etc. How can I help students do this? TE 302 was just okay this week. I’m really disappointed with how class went. I feel like the students are annoyed about all the work required for this class. We work so hard to not give them busy work. I believe in all of the tasks in which we ask them to engage. I’ve done several community building activities, switched up groups, called on students, asked for volunteers, think/pair/share. It seems the same 4 or 5 people are willing to engage. Even in small groups, they seem really hesitant to share. I feel like I scaffold well the discussions. Maybe I need to rethink group work/class discussions.