Thats all folks!!!!

Taking the course Research in Social Studies Methods for Childhood Education with

Dr. Smirnova was definitely a worthwhile learning experience. I had always thought of social studies as a boring and unimportant subject. I never enjoyed social studies in school because of how boring it was. It was direct instruction all the time in every lesson. I remember how tedious it was studying for tests. I had to create flash cards and study for hours trying to memorize dates, people, facts, and concepts. From early on, I knew I did not want to be that kind of teacher, but there was only one problem; I didn’t know any other way.

           

Dr. Smrinova has taught me the value of social studies; most importantly, she made social studies fun. She taught me how to create, design, and implement meaningful social studies lessons that will motivate and enhance student’s understanding of the subject. I appreciate her admiration of technology and how she encourages her students to use it when creating lessons. Because of Dr. Smirnova’s love for technology, I have developed a better understanding of the impact that technology has on students learning. Without a doubt, I will implement technology in my lessons when I become a teacher. Additionally, I learned that a firm social studies education will deepen student’s knowledge and understanding of the past, the present, and will help them to plan for the future. When learning social studies, students are encouraged to critically think and are provided with the skills for productive problem solving and decision making that will led them to develop their own personal values and make positive decisions.

Another important thing that I learned in this class was how to write test questions. In all of my previous courses, I was never taught how to do this; in fact, I never even gave it much thought. Dr. Smrinova was the one to teach us about different question types such as divergent questions. They are the why, how, if questions and are important because they challenge students. These questions will show you if your students have a good understanding of what they learned.  Also, I learned how to write multiple choice question which prior to taking this course, I thought were easy to set up. I now know that they require much more thinking then I previously thought because the distracters cannot be too obvious. Additionally, I learned how to write true/false, short response, and essay questions. Having the skill to be able to write proper testing questions is important because it will allow you to more accurately assess your students understanding.

One of my favorite activities that I learned during this course was the jigsaw activity. This is because I was never really fond of group activities. With group activities, I feel that not everyone contributes equally. However, the jigsaw is designed so each student is responsible for teaching others as well as their own learning which is a way to ensure that all students equally contribute. I would definitely use the jigsaw activity in my classroom for all subjects.

Interviews

Wow, what an amazing experience the interview process was. It was definitely a worthwhile learning experience. I’m so grateful that Dr. Smirnova included this activity in her class because of important it is for us. I really think that other teachers should include this activity in their classes as well.  

I learned so much from this experience, most importantly, I learned that I need much more practice interviewing. During this process, I was told that I need to OWN my philosophy statement not just be able to recite. Additionally, I learned that I need to have confidence during the interview process and to be myself so that the interview knows that I’m a confident teacher. I also learned that it is important to turn your negatives into positives. For example, even though I do not have actual teaching experience, I do have a lot of experience working with autistic children, subbing, and I was fortunate enough to observe a wide range of classrooms for fieldwork. Everyone has negatives, what is important is that you do not dwell on them, and you are able to show what you do have. When being interviewed, it is your time to show what you can do and the experience you do have.

The questions were an eye opener. I was not at all prepared for the abstract questions that were asked. One of the questions was, “What color do you think of when you think of an inquiry lesson?” When I first heard this question, I was like =0  I responded tie dye because in inquiry lessons students work together. I thought this was a great response, but I was not at all confident in my delivery and also it took me a little while to come up with that. Faith however, was able to very quickly come up with yellow because she thought of a yellow rose which represented friendship. What a great answer she had and she was confident in her response!!!!

I’m so grateful that I had this opportunity because it gives me time to practice and really work on delivering confident responses. The questions that I thought were easier to respond to where the scenario questions. Basically, they asked “What would you do if students were working in groups and some students were not doing any work or were fooling around?” Like many on my peers, I thought of the JIGSAW activity because all students have equal responsibility and they are all responsible for their own learning.

I can’t say it enough this was definitely such a valuable experience and something that I wish we could have practiced more. With so many teaches and so few teaching jobs, it is so important that you stand out. One way to do that is to give a great INTERVIEW.

Geography Awarness Week

Wow, I have never heard about geography awarness week, but what an awesome idea. There are so many activites that teachers could incorporate in their lessons to enhance student understanding of geography. One activity that I would use is "Explore the Environment." I learned about this when Jesse and Corey did their microteaching presentation. This activty encourages critically thinking and allows students the opportunity to explore the environment that surrounds them. Students will learn about so much such as longitatue and latuide, bodies of water, landforms and etc...I especially like this activty because it is fun for students. Instead of reading from boring text books, they are encourged to explore, discover, predict. One way to add to students understanding of a topic is to relate it to them and this activty does just that. Once student learn about their own environment, their knowledge could be extended to learning about the geogrpahy of other areas and how it affected different cultures and beliefs.

Social Studies Philosophy Statement

·        I want to design a positive learning environment that fosters critical thinking and encourages students to ask questions, so that they can obtain meaningful and purposeful instruction.

·        I will encourage purposeful discussions while fostering respect for other’s viewpoints.

·        I will create purposeful activities so my students can deepen their understanding of the past, present, and future.

·        I will encourage the use of multiple instructional tools: textbooks, newspapers, internet, SMART board and etc… to support a highly collaborative, interactive, and safe classroom.

·        I will inspire learning.

This course has helped me to develop an understanding of how to teach social studies, so that students receive purposeful and meaningful instruction. I learned that social studies instruction does not have to be boring. In fact by designing a highly collaborative and interactive classroom that includes a wide range of instructional tools, social studies can be exciting for students.

The assignments and especially the field work for this course helped to shape my views about teaching social studies. I was able to see firsthand how highly collaborative and interactive lessons added to students learning. Designing lessons that encouraged students to work together and that incorporated technology was an amazing learning experience for me. The students had fun and really enjoyed learning and that is exactly how it should be. When students are motivated to learn they will deepen their understanding of the topic and mostly importantly, they will have fun.

Dr. Smirnova has taught me to appreciate social studies and everything that it has to offer. From taking this course, I definitely learned many skills that will help me become a better educator. I especially learned a lot about cooperative learning and how to design activities that are fun for students. This course increased my interest in teaching social studies because Dr. Smirnova taught so many great ways to engage students.  As a future educator, I promise to follow my philosophy statements, so that I can create a classroom that inspires learning. Most importantly, I promise to make social studies fun and interesting for students. 

Superwoman Was Already Here!

Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Maria Montessori."

Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society.” I’m a firm supporter of a Montessori education and I believe that all children should be able to get an education that Montessori provides. I especially support Montessori schools because they encourage students to ask questions and that is something that is so important for a child’s learning and understanding. It saddens me to know that many teachers and even parents do not encouraged these questions that children naturally have. Children learn by asking, so why would anyone especially a teacher, take that away from them?? It is a shame to know that because teachers are being forced to teach to the test, education is suffering. I want to be the type of teacher that encourages students to ask questions and be able to design a productive day like Montessori teachers do.

The SMILE BOX

I have never heard of THE SMILE BOX before. It is such a great tool for teachers and a great way to incorporate visuals in their lessons to add to student learning. The smile box can be used to show students pictures of places they are learning about, to display student work and so much more. This really is a great tool to use in the classroom because it brings learning to life. It is one thing to read and write about something, but with the smile box, you can actually see what you are learning and even include real sounds so students really get an understanding of what they are learning. The smile box brings learning to a whole new level.

Third Grade's Geography Projects

These students were so happy and proud to present their projects. They looked like they worked very hard on creating them.  I especially liked how they put their own style in their project in order to create totally different presentations.  I think it is important to have projects that encourage creativity. If all the students in a class room had the same project, it wouldn’t be as much fun. 

 I also like how this project included so much information and learning for the students. Even though these were Geography projects, during their presentations the students also talked about civics and even SCIENCE.  This project is an excellent exmple of how different standards could be encorporated within a single project.  I would definitely try to include a project like this in my classroom because it encouraged critical thinking and really motivated the students to learn. Most importantly, the students are able to take what they learned in present it in a way that makes sense to them.