Final Thoughts and Reflections

I am so happy to have had another class with Dr. Nita. It is relaxing to knwo your professor, and expect the same outcomes. I can honestly say this is a stress-free environment when you are in the company of a professor who values your time and commitments and allows you to create products that are useful and meaningful. Instead of creating something that has no use or value to myself, I have created things that I would use in my classroom or library, and for that I am thankful!

St. Edmunds

I had high hopes for our literature circles with the St. Edmunds group, but was disappointed we couldn't do more with them. It was a great idea and I really liked the cultural interaction with a group of young, Australian males. Not only would we discuss with an age-appropriate audience, it was a class of all boys (!?) on another continent. I wish we could have done more with them or at least another class. Perhaps next year a different method of communicating would work? I couldn't imagine having the entire class post under just my log in. Would Skype be an alternative next year? Since our classes met at about the same time, it would be an awesome opportunity to have a "face-to-face" literature circle like you would in the classroom.

To Be a Princess

I orignially read this book before Christmas when I was leading my students in a description writing lesson about Queens. I checked the book out for background information and ended up reading the entire book cover to cover forgeting what I was supposed to be looking for. The stories were not only historically accurate and well-documented, they flowed like a well-written fiction story. After each bio, follows a time-line of each princess/queen's life absorbed in the world events of the time. I loved this book and couldn't wait to read it to my class. The young women were relatable to my students and even to me as an adult. It would be a wonderful asset to any library for almost any age because of it's likeablility and meticulous bibilography.

Alligators and Crocodiles

This book was one of the best written nonfiction books I've read. I loved the pictures and the no-nonsense writing style. Seymour Simon'd book is easy to read and follow. Anyone can learn anything when reading this book. Considering the fact that I have taught reptiles in the past three years, I thought I knew quite a bit about the crocodilian family, but I learned quite a bit in the first three pages. I would definitly buy this book for myself or my library because it is a wonderful asset for any school.

My Educational Philosophy

I think when it comes to finding my educational philosophy, it is difficult to pinpoint one particular theory that I subscribe to. Instead I use all three theories in my classroom, in different ways:

Constructivist: About half of my teaching is based on collaborative learning and allowing the students to guide their own learning experience. I use this especially in science and social studies topics, but have used it in all subjects.

Cognitivism: When it comes to reviewing information and making sure students have obtained the proper knowledge, I use the cognitive approach to assess learning.

Behaviorist: I use this method to instill procedures and processes in the classroom. When students are prompted by a sound, word or motion, they immediatly react with a physical response.