Because my paper will mostly focus on tying in my teaching beliefs and practices into constructivist theory, I found myself looking forward to this past class session, eager to glean relevant information. While a large part of me is strongly constructivist, I could see how certain aspects appeared very broad. I believe that learners construct their own meanings throughout their lives, but I feel like this approach needs more structure. I know we talked about how children, despite their naive theories, may need more guidance towards the right direction.
Personally, I believe in teaching the structure/rule well before students start to interpret their own meanings towards a task. I know this does not quite align with constructivist views, but I am just saying that I am beginning to see how my "favorite" theory may have its own flaws. For instance, I struggled with writing my intervention strategies for my case study o the CSEL paper. At first, when I read the situation my first response was to implement lots of reinforcement. Classic behaviorist views, very much different from constructivism. I can still see the merit in how a constructivist would approach my situation, through guiding the learner and helping them find and understand their place in the world. I love this belief. I think there is a lot of autonomy in it, but like I said before I feel like I would need something more concrete than just predominantly relying on, what I find to be, a bit more of an abstract theory. In contrast, I enjoy creating an environment of learning and intellectual curiosity. I find it intriguing to watch students construct their own knowledge on a task or skill. I guess I still maintain characteristics of a more hands-off approach. Building upon the belief that learners construct their own meaning of the world around them, I also agree with curbing, or channeling students' thought processes into the proper direction. That is one of my goals as a teacher.
As we go deeper into our material, I am seeing how, although all four theories exhibit great characteristics and strong practices, by themselves they cannot stand alone. I am starting to see how theory works best when all four work together to create a more holistic framework of the student. I think that once this course ends, that will be my biggest take away.
I enjoyed the teaching presentations last night. I felt that we went through them in rapid succession, but sometimes that is what you must deal with during summer term. Even though the first and last teaching projects were expository in style, it did not feel that way. Yes, they included powerpoint presentations and presented a lot of information, but it felt much more interactive, hands-on. I really enjoyed that aspect of last night's class. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the group differences discussion. I have enjoyed all three discussions presented thus far. As far as Fred's discussion went, I too feel that issues of rural education are often overlooked.
Like I mentioned in class, I attended a school that most would consider rural, but had been becoming more suburban each year. There were times when I felt that some people around me acted "country," but I think that was more of a background clash. Before high school, I had not really encountered that type of environment. In terms of academics, I had a lot of good teachers, just as good as any teacher in the urban parts of Knoxville. I also had bad teachers, but I think they exist anywhere you go. In my opinion, I believe that a big part of good teacher attrition is choosing people who want to be there and then providing support for them. The teachers that I had in high school loved their work environment; they wanted to be there, and they were also supportive of each other. I found it sad to hear Jared talk about young, bright teachers who do not stay in rural schools because they feel isolated. I think that the government needs to place more priority in bringing different teachers to the rural areas and help them sustain a desire to work there.
Personally, I believe in teaching the structure/rule well before students start to interpret their own meanings towards a task. I know this does not quite align with constructivist views, but I am just saying that I am beginning to see how my "favorite" theory may have its own flaws. For instance, I struggled with writing my intervention strategies for my case study o the CSEL paper. At first, when I read the situation my first response was to implement lots of reinforcement. Classic behaviorist views, very much different from constructivism. I can still see the merit in how a constructivist would approach my situation, through guiding the learner and helping them find and understand their place in the world. I love this belief. I think there is a lot of autonomy in it, but like I said before I feel like I would need something more concrete than just predominantly relying on, what I find to be, a bit more of an abstract theory. In contrast, I enjoy creating an environment of learning and intellectual curiosity. I find it intriguing to watch students construct their own knowledge on a task or skill. I guess I still maintain characteristics of a more hands-off approach. Building upon the belief that learners construct their own meaning of the world around them, I also agree with curbing, or channeling students' thought processes into the proper direction. That is one of my goals as a teacher.
As we go deeper into our material, I am seeing how, although all four theories exhibit great characteristics and strong practices, by themselves they cannot stand alone. I am starting to see how theory works best when all four work together to create a more holistic framework of the student. I think that once this course ends, that will be my biggest take away.
I enjoyed the teaching presentations last night. I felt that we went through them in rapid succession, but sometimes that is what you must deal with during summer term. Even though the first and last teaching projects were expository in style, it did not feel that way. Yes, they included powerpoint presentations and presented a lot of information, but it felt much more interactive, hands-on. I really enjoyed that aspect of last night's class. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the group differences discussion. I have enjoyed all three discussions presented thus far. As far as Fred's discussion went, I too feel that issues of rural education are often overlooked.
Like I mentioned in class, I attended a school that most would consider rural, but had been becoming more suburban each year. There were times when I felt that some people around me acted "country," but I think that was more of a background clash. Before high school, I had not really encountered that type of environment. In terms of academics, I had a lot of good teachers, just as good as any teacher in the urban parts of Knoxville. I also had bad teachers, but I think they exist anywhere you go. In my opinion, I believe that a big part of good teacher attrition is choosing people who want to be there and then providing support for them. The teachers that I had in high school loved their work environment; they wanted to be there, and they were also supportive of each other. I found it sad to hear Jared talk about young, bright teachers who do not stay in rural schools because they feel isolated. I think that the government needs to place more priority in bringing different teachers to the rural areas and help them sustain a desire to work there.
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