Blog - Session I
1.) Outside school experiences have expanded
and deepened my content area, which is history and social studies. The reason for this is because of my
family. My brother and father are huge
history buffs and growing up I was always a part of their conversations. I would watch the history channel with
my brother and it was a very strong bonding experience. Aside from sports/athletics, my brother
and I connected when it came to sharing knowledge about history. I was always into battles, wars,
generals, leaders, politics and geography. These interests grew into a passion and a love as I grew
older. I am originally from the
east coast so as a child I was able to visit Gettysburg, Chancellorsville,
Vicksburg, Boston, The Old North Church, Washington DC, Independence Hall, The
Liberty Bell, Salem, etc. Being immersed
in so much history in the New England region, it was easy to deepen my
knowledge in my content area (social studies).
2.) My initial judgments and opinions to Ball
after our class discussion have not changed. I truly believe that if you a caring and trusting teacher
then you are capable of teaching your students anything. I also still agree that all great teachers
not only need to care about their students but they need to be learning alongside
with them. It is also impossible
to be an expert in just one subject, let alone five or six (multi-subject credentialed
teachers) but teachers must continue to learn every year they teach.
3.) I am extremely satisfied in developing
and pursuing all the information needed for my project. My question is, “How effective is the use of a variety of disciplines when it comes to
teaching social studies to 3rd/4th graders?” Specifically, I want to relate
this to a unit of study surrounding Alcatraz with either a 3rd or 4th
grade standard. I know there is a
lot of research out there on how students learn best and what disciplines/use
of multiple disciplines are best/most effective. For a learning experience I am going to go to Alcatraz
and Angel Island to gather information and possibly plan a trip.
Have responded to the following blogs:
1.) Kelly Giotta
2.) Lauren Lahey
3.) Sheridan Arredondo
Have responded to the following blogs:
1.) Kelly Giotta
2.) Lauren Lahey
3.) Sheridan Arredondo
Mr. Uconn!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that teachers need to learn WITH their students. We fail as teachers when we begin to believe that we have mastered content knowledge and the variety of ways to teach that knowledge. We need to always seek new information and styles as education is always changing. That complacency is what kills our profession and often times creates stagnent results.
I am curious to see what disciplines you choose to focus on for the 3rd and 4th graders. I am sure you will find a variety of teaching styles that you can use inside the classroom and experiential learning experiences outside of the classroom.