That Moment When You Actually Understand What's Going On.

I was actually kind of disappointed that we didn't have class today- this class has officially become my favorite class out of all that I'm taking this semester. I'm starting to appreciate and adapt to how untraditional of a class this is. I've realized that the problem behind teaching how we've been taught is fear and lack of exposure. Everything so far that we've been learning about this class scares me, because I've never been introduced or even exposed to these methods and I constantly fear that I'm going to mess something up. So instead of embracing it, I choose (or I'd like to choose, that's not really an option here) to revert back to what I know, or what I've been taught. However, like I said before, I'm starting to appreciate this class because it not only exposes me to new methodologies, but it forces me to experiment with them, which lessens my fear.  I'm actually starting to like some of the methods and I'm trying to think how I could incorporate them into my future classroom.

I still don't understand unpacking standards too much, but I have a better understanding than when I first read about it. Last week, I asked a question in another education class about what KUD stood for. The professor told me to look it up and have an answer for her during the next class meeting. Shout out to Dr. Clark for getting me that definition because I totally forgot to do it! In my head, I was trying to think of all of these fancy words that could make up that acronym, who would've thought that they were three simple words. Those three simple words sure did help me when we did the practice unpacking activity in class. They made me stop overthinking, which I have a HUGE problem with!

While completing the Backward Design module, I realized that the reason that I struggle with writing Essential Questions and coming up with Big Ideas is because I've never had a teacher who correctly used these concepts. During high school, my EQ's were always factual questions or way too broad for me to even try to understand. I like how the speakers used the analogy of the standards being the answer to a question that has yet to be asked. That honestly did way more for me in being able to grasp what was being said than anything I read!

Goals, and Standards, and Flips, Oh My!

From the modules we've completed this week, I've learned a lot about goals, unwrapping standards, and flipping the classroom. I'm still uncomfortable with unwrapping the standards and flipping the classroom but I'm pretty sure it's because they are new concepts for me. With practice, I plan on becoming better at flipping the classroom because after completing the tutorial, I'd have to say that I really enjoyed it and I would like to use it in my classroom. Using the backward design for planning is definitely helpful as it does force me to organize my "lecture" so that I cover only the important points rather than ramble on. My discomfort comes with videos and screencasts, but a goal of this class is to try new things so I'm not going to give up on it!

Unwrapping the standards, however, is another story. I get the finding concepts and skills concept but my struggle comes with the graphic organizer. I also don't feel confident in finding the big idea or creating the essential questions-I'm guessing it will come with becoming more familiar with the standards. After completing the module, I was kind of frustrated because I didn't really understand and I feel like that's an important skill to possess as a teacher. I'm anxious to discuss this topic in class to see what others are feeling and getting out of this topic. 

As for the goals module, I'd have to say that I am definitely a learning-oriented goal setter. I never really looked at it in a "goal setting" mentality; I just knew that if I didn't understand something, I had to figure it out eventually or I'd probably lose it! I'm always looking to learn. The sad thing is, I know a lot of people and classrooms that are performance-oriented. It's sad because students are so focused on passing that they aren't learning to their full capacity. My goal is to have a learning-oriented classroom for my students so that they'll understand the importance of  intaking knowledge rather than regurgitating facts. I'm sure this won't be a problem for me because I literally cannot stand to leave a student or even a friend confused when I'm asked for help. I have to make sure that the person I'm helping gets the answers they need and understands how to do it for themselves before I'm satisfied. My only concern would be getting students who are performance-oriented to become learning-oriented and as long as I can meet the 'facilitate learning teaching standard', I should be able to do that. 

EDUC 316 Blog #1

Today was my first time in this class and I have to admit that I was muy nerviosa leading up to it. It didn't help that I didn't realize we had videos to watch before class and was, therefore, unprepared. I'm really big about being organized and staying on top of things so I HATE being unprepared- it's just not my thing. Besides the video scare, I quickly became excited about this class. I love the conversational setting and I'm ready to see what the rest of the semester has in store for us.

I'm glad we're talking more in depth and dealing heavily with the NCTCS as I'm not familiar with those whatsoever. It's probably my first time dealing with them honestly. Upon first glance, they scare me, but I'm sure that's because of reasons aforementioned. 

I absolutely love the Candidate Learning Communities! Even though I've had two years of education classes, I still feel like I don't know anything. Also, with not many people in my specific field, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage. I say all of this to say that I rely heavily on the word of my cooperating teachers that I've observed from previous clinicals, and more times than not, I've been told that ESL teachers have the hardest time getting content teachers to collaborate with them about anything; It's almost as if ESL teachers are in their own little world with students and they do shut their door and just teach what they want. These communities allow hope to surface for ESL teachers. If content teachers hold these meetings then ESL teachers can sit in as well so that they will know what exactly students are struggling with and can offer extra help during their time. By participating in these communities, teachers are recognizing the importance of collaborating according to NCTCS 1b1 and are improving the students' learning in not one, but two mandatory classes, and that deserves all the effort.