Week 3 Blog

Hello, friends!

This week we visited the school of Washington Elementary. We met with some of the teachers that we will be working with, toured the school, and learned about how the school operates. The food was catered from Mi Pueblito and it was very delicious. This opportunity to go in to this school, work with students, teachers, and other staff is unlike any other that I could experience. Washington Elementary is a great place with a diverse population of students.

In class this week, we have covered the way to choose SMART goals in our Professional Development Plans. The SMART acronym stands for Specific and Strategic, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This activity gives me a glimpse into my future as an educator as I will have to complete a PDP every year. I think that it is important to have short term and long term goals to better myself not only as an educator but as a person, too.

In Standard 5, teachers are expected to link their professional growth to their professional goals. These PDPs provide the perfect outline to do this. In the PDP, the teacher must include their goal, how they plan to accomplish that goal, and how long they think it will take.

So along this journey of SSED307, I must confess that I did not really understand the point of blogging or tweeting. I have found, however, that there are so many great resources out there for teacher and that tons of teachers are out there willing to share their knowledge with you! While it will take me some time to get used to blogging/tweeting, it has made me very thankful for the community of educators that could be anywhere in the world that are willing to lend a helping hand. In fact, I found a blog of an administrator that shared a great post that overwhelmed me with wonderful ideas and tips for my future classroom. The article that I am choosing to share is, "10 Defining Characteristics of a #LeadUpTeach Teacher." At first, I was confused about what this meant, but the more I read, the better I understood exactly what a #LeadUpTEach teacher was supposed to be.

Looking over this list, I could not help but to consider what I could be improving within myself to become a better educator. I hope you all find it as helpful as I did.

I encourage you all to read the article!
https://jhveal.com/2016/08/14/10characteristicsofaleadupteacher/ 

Have a wonderful week guys,

Mallory

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2

Week 2 Blog

Hey, everybody!

As I am getting into the second week of classes, I cannot help but feel encouraged. I know that week one is behind me! :)

This week in ssed307 we have been discussing concepts. Before I took this class, I thought I knew exactly what a concept was. I was dead wrong. I knew what a topic was. We learned that concepts are timeless, abstract, universal, and transferable. This checklist really helped me to understand that the concepts are the main idea. In class, we talked about the shift from fact based learning to concept based learning. Dr. Parker mentioned that the conceptual learning module allows students to make overarching connections and remember it for the test, not only the latter.

In my research, I found a great pdf from Davidson County Schools! It breaks down exactly what a concept is and examples of how to use the structure of knowledge in a classroom. It also has great scaffolding verbs and ideas. It is quite lengthy, but a great reference point.

http://www.davidson.k12.nc.us/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=406718

This connects to Standard 3 of the NCTCS quite well. In that standard, it says that teachers are responsible for recognizing the interconnectedness of the content areas. It also says that teachers should make learning relevant to students. Using concept based learning, multiple subjects can be integrated throughout the day. This makes student learning more purposeful. They can learn to learn by making the deep connections. When teachers also use concept based learning, they can make anything relevant to current events or something that is important to the students. The concepts make this easier because facts are just facts, and they do not connect to students very well sometimes. 

In my future classroom, I intend to use this way of thinking to teach not only my social studies lessons, but also my other lessons as well. I am so thankful that I have been able to see the value that this holds in my instructional vault of educational tools. Now that I have learned about this, I could not think of going back to the fact-based learning system. 

Stay encouraged, friends! 

Mallory 

Hello,

Welcome to the blog of a teacher-in-training. This is the first blog post, and I am excited to enjoy this journey with all of you sweet readers. :)

There are several things that we are learning right now in our course as we dive into social studies methods. We are diving into KUD (Know, Understand, Do), unpacking standards, and what it means to be purposeful in our classrooms. This course is going to be so much more than social studies content, and I am very thankful to be learning new ways to become a better instructor.

https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200509/MindesBTJ905.pdf

The article above gives a background on social studies, why it is important to students, and how it came about. It speaks highly on integration as well as making the learning important to students.

"Using the underlying concepts from social science, teachers can draw content broadly from the 10 themes and use inquiry-based processes to foster curiosity, problem-solving skills, and appreciation of investigation. Social studies curricula can support children as they solve classroom and school issues as well as investigate neighborhood and community problems with the goal of enhancing understanding and civic awareness and pride. Thus, broadly defined, the social studies include the following disparate but intertwined content (Mindes)."

In the NCPTS, under standard three, the teacher is responsible for making learning relevant to students. This includes incorporating essential skills such as a personal responsibility to the community, leadership within the community, and adaptability to name a few. While learning about and from history is essential, it is more beneficial to students when they understand why the history they are learning can be applied to their culture and lives in this day in age.

I can use this information to better my future classroom by understanding the shift in social studies that has been made recently. By understanding that social studies is no longer just about memorizing facts, I can help my students become more productive, knowledgeable, and helpful citizens of their society. The learning that the students do in my classroom will, hopefully, have an overflow effect into their community.