INTASC Standards
Standard #9 Evidence
As part of the Schooling in American Society class students were required to create reflective journals that not only discussed the assigned readings, but offered questions for further inquiry. These journals were excellent means of not only reviewing what I had read and understood, but also to allow opportunity to dialogue with Dr. Garrison and my fellow students. Lastly, I enjoy reviewing the individual reflections as a single document, to review not only what I learned, but also my thought patterns as I learned. In the end I was amazed at how far I had come in such a short period of time.
I believe that reflections are only truly useful if they are used for something, be it a dialogue as it was in this case or building toward a larger project. What is not beneficial is the journal that is based on count instead of content. I use Dr. Garrison's journal model in my classes (adapted for SSR)
This final course reflection is for my Adolescent Literature class and again represents the value of reflection. Not only does this type of reflection allow the student to gauge what he/she has learned in a course, but it also allows the Instructor to assess the progress the students made and adjust future courses as needed.
The most valuable tool I was able to take from this class was a true arsenal of adolescent novels. I either read, or was exposed to, almost 100 adolescent novels that I had previously had little to no knowledge of. It was a great resource to start a teaching career with.
I debated whether to include another course reflection in this section or not, but I just couldn't bring myself to exclude it. This reflection is from my Teaching Composition class and represents my first failures and consequential successes as a writing teacher. I often go back to this reflection to remind myself that I need not be a perfect teacher to be effective, and that the best lesson plans are often born out of the previous day's failure, not previous year's successes. This class and the experiences it offered continue to shape my teaching on a daily basis.
What I find most important about all of the reflective journals I have included and experienced is the power of the modeling they offer. To have experienced similar assignments in different classes, in different Universities, speaks to the true value as an instructional tool.
In a continuing effort to improve my teaching and learning skills I subscribe to and review a number of teaching journals. This article appeared in the Phi Delta Kappan in February of 1993, and while I was not a subscriber at that time, I have used its archives for research of my own and came across an article that may be even more necessary today than when it was originally written.
Our students are inundated with information from all directions at seemingly all times. We live in a veritable smorgasbord of information, but rather than allow our students to sit and enjoy one meal at a time we try to cram as much information down their gullet as possible. To continue the food analogy: students are able to eat a lot at this table, while tasting very little. While I do not want to limit what my students have an opportunity to experience, I would like them to be able to fully experience one topic before moving on to the next. I would rather fully enjoy one bottle of wine, than sample one-hundred bottles.
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