Final Reflection

The first major strand of work that needs to be discussed is communication. This whole semester we have been participating in some form of communication. Whether it is in class discussion about the many subjects that we have went over including genres and literary elements and censorship or at Tibbetts discussing literature circles (which was also discussed in the classroom). Plus, we have worked on communicating our ideas as another character which helps us to loosen up in the classroom and relate to the students.

Next, the major strand of work, research, has been used this semester. We have had to do research on our genres and literary elements, our book sells and our author and illustrator focuses. Those three assignments encompass a great deal of research practice which is always helpful.

Technology is the third major strand of work and like the previous two hasn't been left out. The websites have been a work in progress all semester and a test of our computer skills which help us to continue to improve our skills with technology (especially the computer).

Finally, collaboration has also been a large part of the class especially when dealing with the literature circles. We as teachers in training, had to collaborate in our groups in order to make sure that we were using our best techniques in order to make the literature circles the best learning experiences that they could be. Furthermore, there is always collaboration in the classroom between fellow classmates and the teacher during discussions (or at least there should be and there was in this class).

Now, the five dimensions of learning need to be addressed. First of all, confidence and independence were discussed and apparent in this class this semester. Independence is apparent because we as students are individuals and are responsible for particpating in class and turning in our own work to show that we are learning. Furthermore, independence in the schools was discussed when we talked about censorship. Students should be allowed to read books of their choice with just a few exceptions (books discussing illegal activity in depth or books with extreme obscene material for example). Confidence should be something that every student has and every teacher attempts to instill into the students. Confidence in the sense that every students believes that with hard work they will be able to do their best and ulitmately succeed to the best of their ability and no less. Not over confidence also known as cockiness.

Knowledge content pertaining to this class was addressed during the semester. For instance, we went over the genres and literary elements that were presented a number of times this semester and we will ultimately review everything discussed at the end in a jeopardy format.

Skills and strategies were developed during the in class training time. We worked on teaching strategies and skills in class when we particpated in the literature circles this semester at Tibbetts. Many adjustments were made and it was definitely a learning experience that has shaped our teaching abilities and made us better teachers with better skills and strategies.

Prior and emerging experience was put to use during the in class time as well. As teachers in training we had to make adjustments on the "fly" from week to week as we discussed in our groups what was working, what wasn't working and why. We had to pull from prior experience and the experiences that we had from the week before to be able to make an effective change that would be best for the students and their learning.

Finally, reflectiveness is a critcal part of every class and was used in this class effectively. As students learning to be teachers (and when we become teachers) reflection is the tool that enables use to improve our practice and become better teachers so that our students are learning at the highest level and retaining the most possible knowledge so that they will be successfull. In this class, reflection was once again used in the classroom at Tibbetts. The classroom work was incredibly important because it is first hand experience and work at the tasks that we will be engaged in in the classroom. Reflection was done after every literature circle experience so that we could come back the next week and continue the strategies that were working and "touch up" the strategies that weren't as successful so that the students continued to make progress and learn.

This semester a great deal of learning has taken place for me. First, I came into this semester with almost no knowledge of the different genres and literary elements and how to distinguish between them. I will leave with knowledge of many different genres and literary elements including the always tricky Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Folktale and some of the related literary element terms (I believe the personification and alliteration terms were the two discussed in depth towards the end of the semester although I may be wrong). Next, I now know all about how the literature circle works and can be used in the classroom including each of the six roles and what aspects they consist of. Finally, I am fully aware of censorship and a number of the issues that surround the debate over censorship when dealing with books. Much more learning has taken place but so much has happened in so little time that some of the things that happened early on have been stored in memory and are hard to retrieve.

I have only a few suggestions for future classes. First, I would suggest that more communcation take place over what was happening each week and where exactly class would be taking place. An e-mail the morning of or the night before would be beneficial especially if it was consisten over every week so that the students would never be in doubt of what was going on and where. A simple routine would help for some of us students who have a harder time with change and the e-mail would be visual reminder for those students (like myself) who are almost 100% visual learners. Even when I am concentrating and I think I was listening well, I usually seem to have missed something or misunderstood something important. Other than that, the class was excellent and I learned a lot. Finally, I believe that my grade should be an A because of the amount of time and effort that I put into the class and the steady progess that I made throughout the duration of class.