Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Post 5 - Professionalism

Although we reviewed Chapter 3 in class today, I would like to revisit an important topic from Chapter 2. Now that you have read chapter 2 about the professionalization of teaching and we discussed a few of the issues in our last class, I would like for you to reflect upon your 13+ years of schooling and the examples your teachers have set for you. You need to think of a time, experience, or memory of a teacher doing or saying something that exemplified that he/she was truly a well-respected professional. OR you can write about a time, experience, or memory of a teacher doing or saying something that was not professional. Do not use names when you are talking about this teacher. It can be as simple as "One of my high school teachers always wore flip-flops to school." Or it can be a complex issue such as "One of the high school teachers used to go to student parties on the weekend and drink alcohol in front of the students." After you state the issue, type a few sentences about why you thought it was professional or unprofessional and how it affected your learning.
Please be sensitive to the fact that this topic is very subjective. Something you might think is unprofessional another person might think is not a big deal. Let's be aware of people's differing opinions. We need to make sure we keep this post PROFESSIONAL:-)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Post 4 - Your LU Program

One of my goals for you this semester is that you become familiar with the Lindenwood School of Education and what you can expect over the next 4 years of your life. In order to do this, you need to be very familiar with the Lindenwood website, and in particular, the School of Education section of the website.
The following link should take you to the School of Education section of the website.
http://www.lindenwood.edu/academics/education/

Please browse the site and find something new that you either didn't know before or that you didn't know was on the website. You only have to post one reply this week. It is not necessary that you reply to a classmate. HOWEVER, you must find something on the website that is different than what the previous posts have indicated.
Here are a few things to remember while you are looking for information:
1. It must be related to either Education or your Secondary Field of Study.
2. It can be a form you found on the Guide to Undergraduate Teacher Education, but you must specify what the form is about and when you would use it.
3. It can be something about Student Teaching, but be specific about what you learned.
4. It can be something about Foliotek, but be specific about what you learned.
5. It can be something about CBASE or Praxis, but be specific about what you learned.
6. You will not submit information about a form that another student has already posted.
7. There should be no repeat answers because there are 58 pages in the Guide to Undergraduate Teacher Education. You can access this Guide by clicking the Teacher Education link on the right hand side of the Education page. It is below "Student Teaching" and above "Faculty". Once you have clicked "Teacher Education" scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says "Teacher Education - Download resources" Click the Guide to Undergraduate Teacher Education. You will find sooooooooooo much information there.

See you guys next week!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Post 3 - Teaching in the 21st Century

We've really covered alot of material this past week...readings from the text book, the assessment article, and the youtube videos. You've participated in individual activities as well as group work. Let's think practical for a minute or two, what is your current state? How are you assimilating the information you have received up to this point? What mental activities have you been using to work through this material? You can respond to your thoughts about our in-class discussions, readings, activities, and/or youtube videos. Just a reminder to not only post your comment, but reply to one of your peers as well!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Post 2

I've posted many qualities of an effective teacher on the right hand side of our blog....take a look at the list, thinking about the value of each characteristic. After you've reviewed the list carefully, please post your response to the following question.....

Congratulations! You've just landed the teaching position of your dreams. You begin packing your things to fly to the new school district and realize, due to the increased costs of gasoline, you can bring with you only three suitcases. Each suitcase can hold only ONE quality of an effective teacher...which three would you take with you and why?


Don't forget to also post a response to one of your peers. Happy Writing!