Amelia,
I also had a calculator which had the formulas written on the back. Pretty much everyone in the class had one. But I chickened out at the last second and took out my formula sheet. I got caught whenever I did something wrong, so I tried to avoid that.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A Different Approach to Teaching Grammar
Grammar. It is a word that can strike fear into English students everywhere. From first grade all the way until we graduate we are learning, memorizing, reciting, deciphering, forgetting, guessing about the rules of grammar. Our teachers teach it until about high school. After that I guess students are supposed to be experts on split infinitives and absolute phrases (which still plague me). When high school students write papers, struggling to make sure the content is just right, it can be disconcerting to receive your paper back, full of angry red marks because your grammar wasn't perfect. I would like to take a different approach.
This is not to say I condone abandoning the teaching of grammar. That is certainly not the case. We need a universal way to communicate clearly with each other. But the fact is, people speak differently. Different races, ethnicities, regionalities, genders, age groups, etc. have different ways of communicating. As long as they are able to get their ideas through in a way that can be understood, they are communicating effectively. If we all stuck to the same arbitrary set of rules language would be quite boring.
I would like to try to impress upon my students that it is OK to speak differently, and to write differently as well. I think the key is audience awareness. I want to teach my students to write to their audience. You are going to construct a paper much more differently if you are writing a brief for your boss as opposed to writing a letter to a friend. You just have to learn to recognize the difference.
In the classroom, I would like to try to have students engage in different types of writing to different groups of people. How would you write an e-mail to your best friend? How would you write a letter to your mom? How would you write down a recipe? How would you write a technical report? Understanding your audience is paramount to effective communication, which leads to good writing.
As we think about some of the most popular works in history, many come to mind that intentionally don't follow the standard rules of grammar. These works drew attention because of the syntax and the author very deliberately used a certain style. This can be an effective writing technique and you don't want to take that away from students. I know when I was in school our teacher constantly warned us against fragments. You would think her job hinged on us not using a fragment in her classroom and if one of us were to utter one, she would immediately be escorted off the premises of the school, unemployed and a failure. It took a REALLY long time, but shockingly no therapy, or me to realize fragments can be effective if used correctly. Though my hand still shakes a little every time I write one (thanks Mrs. Green), I find they can be very good for making a point in a creative way.
As my students and I tackle the mysterious art that is grammar, I hope I can make it a little less daunting for them. I don't want them to change the way they speak and write, I want them to learn to speak and write in a way that is most appropriate for a certain situation. Students should not not be afraid of writing because of grammar and I will do my best to be sure that doesn't happen. End of story! (A fragment by the way)
This is not to say I condone abandoning the teaching of grammar. That is certainly not the case. We need a universal way to communicate clearly with each other. But the fact is, people speak differently. Different races, ethnicities, regionalities, genders, age groups, etc. have different ways of communicating. As long as they are able to get their ideas through in a way that can be understood, they are communicating effectively. If we all stuck to the same arbitrary set of rules language would be quite boring.
I would like to try to impress upon my students that it is OK to speak differently, and to write differently as well. I think the key is audience awareness. I want to teach my students to write to their audience. You are going to construct a paper much more differently if you are writing a brief for your boss as opposed to writing a letter to a friend. You just have to learn to recognize the difference.
In the classroom, I would like to try to have students engage in different types of writing to different groups of people. How would you write an e-mail to your best friend? How would you write a letter to your mom? How would you write down a recipe? How would you write a technical report? Understanding your audience is paramount to effective communication, which leads to good writing.
As we think about some of the most popular works in history, many come to mind that intentionally don't follow the standard rules of grammar. These works drew attention because of the syntax and the author very deliberately used a certain style. This can be an effective writing technique and you don't want to take that away from students. I know when I was in school our teacher constantly warned us against fragments. You would think her job hinged on us not using a fragment in her classroom and if one of us were to utter one, she would immediately be escorted off the premises of the school, unemployed and a failure. It took a REALLY long time, but shockingly no therapy, or me to realize fragments can be effective if used correctly. Though my hand still shakes a little every time I write one (thanks Mrs. Green), I find they can be very good for making a point in a creative way.
As my students and I tackle the mysterious art that is grammar, I hope I can make it a little less daunting for them. I don't want them to change the way they speak and write, I want them to learn to speak and write in a way that is most appropriate for a certain situation. Students should not not be afraid of writing because of grammar and I will do my best to be sure that doesn't happen. End of story! (A fragment by the way)
Instilling a Love (Or Appreciation) of Literature in the Classroom
One of my ultimate goals for teaching is instilling a love of literature to my students. It doesn't have to be the same type of literature I enjoy, or even literature at all, in fact. I just want my students to learn to love to read. I think everyone can find something they enjoy rather it be fiction, non-fiction, historical works, or even comics (which I absolutely love). I want to give my students the opportunity to read things they enjoy rather than just running the gamete of books I am required to have them read. If they are reading anything (within reason, of course) for pleasure I see that as a success.
I will have to accept that some students will probably never develop a love to read and will never do it extensively outside of the classroom. For these students my goal would be to at least help them learn to appreciate it. I am someone who has never really gotten into art. I can find pieces I like but I don't think I will ever understand it the way someone who really loves it does. But I do have an appreciation for the work that goes into it and the end result. I would like my students to develop the same thing with books. Even if you don't always like an entire work, I think there are things you can appreciate from almost anything you read. If this accomplished, then I don't consider reading something a waste of time.
I will have to accept that some students will probably never develop a love to read and will never do it extensively outside of the classroom. For these students my goal would be to at least help them learn to appreciate it. I am someone who has never really gotten into art. I can find pieces I like but I don't think I will ever understand it the way someone who really loves it does. But I do have an appreciation for the work that goes into it and the end result. I would like my students to develop the same thing with books. Even if you don't always like an entire work, I think there are things you can appreciate from almost anything you read. If this accomplished, then I don't consider reading something a waste of time.
Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Teaching
When I was in school, teachers didn't generally cross over their line into another teacher's subject matter. No one wanted to step on anyone else's toes. It is nice of them to be so polite to one another but what about the detriment to the students. Learning is not meant to be a one subject at a time process, so why do some teachers treat it as such?
In the classroom, I think taking a cross-disciplinary approach to learning can be such an asset and can make learning more interesting for the student as well. If you are teaching a work of literature and you have a student who hates to read, you will have difficulty engaging that student in a meaningful way. However, if you integrate history, sociology, psychology, etc. you have a much better chance of hitting upon something a student is really interested in.
English is the perfect subject to use a cross-disciplinary approach with. Though most teacher do lightly hit upon the historical time a work was written in, this could be the topic of major discussion in the classroom. Students should learn about the author's life and how it might have influenced his or her writing, they should learn about the time period it was written in, the time period the story was set in, what was going on in the world, and so much more. First of all, it can really reveal why a work was written a certain way or why the author chose a particular subject. Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" with no real knowledge of the time period is much different than reading it after learning extensively about the conditions of the South in the 1930s. You can get so much more out of a work if you can put it in context.
A subject I have always been interested in but didn't see outside of the particular classroom is psychology. I took psychology in high school and it consisted of memorizing terms and spitting them back out onto a test. Why weren't we applying some of what we were learning in English class. I think you can tell a lot about an author's personality and thoughts when you read about them. Not only that but you can also apply it to the characters in the book. This is something I have had numerous college professors do but I wish my high school teachers would have given me an earlier start.
Learning is certainly not a one-track art. If we have a problem, we typically don't just look at it from one aspects; we examine all perspectives of it. It is important to to teach students to look at something using all their knowledge, not just a specific part. Though it is called "English" class, it can be a class that transcends all subject matter and merely translates to "learning" class. We shouldn't expect out students to learn subjects individually, room by room. That is not the way they will be presented with problems and come up with solutions in life.
In the classroom, I think taking a cross-disciplinary approach to learning can be such an asset and can make learning more interesting for the student as well. If you are teaching a work of literature and you have a student who hates to read, you will have difficulty engaging that student in a meaningful way. However, if you integrate history, sociology, psychology, etc. you have a much better chance of hitting upon something a student is really interested in.
English is the perfect subject to use a cross-disciplinary approach with. Though most teacher do lightly hit upon the historical time a work was written in, this could be the topic of major discussion in the classroom. Students should learn about the author's life and how it might have influenced his or her writing, they should learn about the time period it was written in, the time period the story was set in, what was going on in the world, and so much more. First of all, it can really reveal why a work was written a certain way or why the author chose a particular subject. Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" with no real knowledge of the time period is much different than reading it after learning extensively about the conditions of the South in the 1930s. You can get so much more out of a work if you can put it in context.
A subject I have always been interested in but didn't see outside of the particular classroom is psychology. I took psychology in high school and it consisted of memorizing terms and spitting them back out onto a test. Why weren't we applying some of what we were learning in English class. I think you can tell a lot about an author's personality and thoughts when you read about them. Not only that but you can also apply it to the characters in the book. This is something I have had numerous college professors do but I wish my high school teachers would have given me an earlier start.
Learning is certainly not a one-track art. If we have a problem, we typically don't just look at it from one aspects; we examine all perspectives of it. It is important to to teach students to look at something using all their knowledge, not just a specific part. Though it is called "English" class, it can be a class that transcends all subject matter and merely translates to "learning" class. We shouldn't expect out students to learn subjects individually, room by room. That is not the way they will be presented with problems and come up with solutions in life.
Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom
The world is constantly changing and technology is becoming more and more a vital part of our daily lives. Nearly every profession uses technology in some way and it is only going to become more prevalent as time goes on. Why shouldn't education take every opportunity to use technology in its teaching practices?
We already know some of the ways technology has been an asset to students in the past 10 years or so. Papers are much more easily typed, research is as easy as searching an Internet database, presentations are as easy to put together as opening up PowerPoint or Google Docs. These are great but the next generation of students have so much more to look forward to.
Blogging has gone from an unfamiliar term to an everyday form of communication. In the classroom, more and more teachers are using blogs to have contact with students outside of the class. This is not only beneficial for those who might have missed a class but just as an extra resource for students to know what they are supposed to be doing. It is a way to give constant updates about what is coming up and a way for parents to know what is going on in their child's school lives. Students can also communicate with each other through blogs. We know that sometimes students can gain more understanding through their peers than through the actual instructor. Blogs allow students to discuss assignments and disseminate their own ideas and opinions.
Podcasts and videocasts offer teachers a completely different resource from old textbooks. Students have access to a wealth of current information they might not have had previously. It even presents a new way for students to present their own information. If you have access to the equipment, the class can make their own podcasts and publish them. The more you can make learning interactive and interesting, the better results you are going to get. This allows students to actually do something rather than just sitting in desks listening to lectures.
We already know some of the ways technology has been an asset to students in the past 10 years or so. Papers are much more easily typed, research is as easy as searching an Internet database, presentations are as easy to put together as opening up PowerPoint or Google Docs. These are great but the next generation of students have so much more to look forward to.
Blogging has gone from an unfamiliar term to an everyday form of communication. In the classroom, more and more teachers are using blogs to have contact with students outside of the class. This is not only beneficial for those who might have missed a class but just as an extra resource for students to know what they are supposed to be doing. It is a way to give constant updates about what is coming up and a way for parents to know what is going on in their child's school lives. Students can also communicate with each other through blogs. We know that sometimes students can gain more understanding through their peers than through the actual instructor. Blogs allow students to discuss assignments and disseminate their own ideas and opinions.
Podcasts and videocasts offer teachers a completely different resource from old textbooks. Students have access to a wealth of current information they might not have had previously. It even presents a new way for students to present their own information. If you have access to the equipment, the class can make their own podcasts and publish them. The more you can make learning interactive and interesting, the better results you are going to get. This allows students to actually do something rather than just sitting in desks listening to lectures.
My Teaching Philosophy
I would have to say my teaching philosophy is not very novel. It is really quite simple: try to engage the students and make learning interesting. That concept sounds simple to me now but I know if will be much more difficult to put into practice once I get into the classroom. How do you make it interesting for everyone when everyone is so different? I think this is a question I will be more prepared to answer once I actually have some classroom experience. However, I can make some guesses as to how I can attempt to accomplish this task.
The main thing I would like to focus on is giving the students as many choices as possible. In today's classroom teachers are crunched for time and trying to accommodate everyone is nearly impossible. Yet, I think there are certain ways we can let our students make some decisions about what they want to learn. I would like to let them have a hand in choosing some of the works we read each year. While we can't read just anything in the class, I think value can be found in many more works of writing than what we typically have students read. There are certain works that we are required to have students trudge through but that doesn't mean we can't include the works they might be interested in as well.
Another way to give students choice is through writing. Writing is considered by many students a chore because of the restrictions. You are given a topic, you are given guidelines and if you want the A, you must follow them. Writing to me is a form of expression and you miss a lot of student's actual point of view as you put more and more restrictions of them.
Probably my biggest philosophy is teaching is to teach to think critically rather than memorizing. To me, English is subject that is so open to interpretation that students should be allowed to analyze and draw their own conclusions. I don't want students to read a work, have me tell them the way they should interpret it, and then have them regurgitate that information back to me in test format. I want to have more of an open discussion atmosphere. We all have different backgrounds and previous experiences so it is ridiculous to think we will all read something the exact same way.
The main thing I would like to focus on is giving the students as many choices as possible. In today's classroom teachers are crunched for time and trying to accommodate everyone is nearly impossible. Yet, I think there are certain ways we can let our students make some decisions about what they want to learn. I would like to let them have a hand in choosing some of the works we read each year. While we can't read just anything in the class, I think value can be found in many more works of writing than what we typically have students read. There are certain works that we are required to have students trudge through but that doesn't mean we can't include the works they might be interested in as well.
Another way to give students choice is through writing. Writing is considered by many students a chore because of the restrictions. You are given a topic, you are given guidelines and if you want the A, you must follow them. Writing to me is a form of expression and you miss a lot of student's actual point of view as you put more and more restrictions of them.
Probably my biggest philosophy is teaching is to teach to think critically rather than memorizing. To me, English is subject that is so open to interpretation that students should be allowed to analyze and draw their own conclusions. I don't want students to read a work, have me tell them the way they should interpret it, and then have them regurgitate that information back to me in test format. I want to have more of an open discussion atmosphere. We all have different backgrounds and previous experiences so it is ridiculous to think we will all read something the exact same way.
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