Final Reflection Spring 2008

Five Dimensions of Learning

1. Confidence and independence
2. Knowledge and Understanding
3. Skills and strategies
4. Use of prior and emerging experience
5. Reflection

LLSS 443 Final Reflection

Summary

I think our practicum time at Tibbetts conducting literature circles in Penny Smith's classroom and poetry and persuasive writing in Beth McDaniel's classroom provided rich learning environments for us this semester. I gave each group the freedom and hopefully the support to develop their own lessons. Including time during each session for debriefing and planning for the next session was a way to hear what was happening, encourage your ideas, offer suggestions, and try not to get in your way. I hope you played with different strategies in your work with students and at the same time gaining more confidence in the process. I hope you also drew from your own experiences and expertise during time with the students.

To me learning is playful and I hope that above all, your playful spirit was nurtured during our time together. There were so many things we did not get to, Hero's journey, illustrations, censorship, character improvisations, Chautauqua & author videos. We never seemed to have time for our genre presentations, book talks, literary elements! This is not imply that our time was not well spent. On the contrary. The opportunity to be in a 6th grade classroom and hang out with sixlets was invaluable.

I hope that you have learned much from your experience conducting literature circles or teaching poetry in your respective settings. The opportunity for you to converse with students and build a connection with them over time is a sneak preview of the powerful connection we as educators have with children.

Stories are another powerful way to connect with children. This semester you have had the invitation to read like you've never read before. I hope this experience has expanded you beyond what is familiar and comfortable to you. Good teahers know stories and children's literature. This survey of children's literature is only a beginning. I hope in the future you are open to taking other children's literature courses such as Young Adult or Native American Children's Literature, among others.

I wanted us to expore places outside of our UNM classroom that promoted literature. It is not surprising that we found ourselves at the Farmington Public Library (FPL) and Andrea Kristina's much of the time. Above all, I hope the tenor of our class was relaxing yet stimulating. I hope that you are armed and equipped with a treasure trove of stories to turn children on to stories. Remember when you read a picture book to children, they connect with the pictures. When you read a chapter book or tell a story, they connect with you.

Remember the FPL hosts the Four Corners Storytelling Festival in October and it is an event you will not want to miss and one that will become an annual event for your students as well as family alike!

Evaluation

I could have done a better job of keeping up with your web pages and talking to you or emailing you more frequently. Although each section was described, I would like to include a rubric to follow for next time.

Ownership of your own work is important. Independence of learning and intrinsic motivation were also priorities as adult learners in a professional teacher education program. If you are not curious and motivated to learn, how will you motivate others to want to learn?

I could have sought out more informal feedback from you about what was working and how to adjust things during our session. I tried to be sensitive and take my leads from you but directly asking for your input and suggestions on a more frequent basis would have beenbeneficial for us all.

I hope you continue to maintain your webpages. You can add your webpage to your resume. Remember your URL, tripod ID & Password. You will be happy to know that UNM Teacher Education Department will be requiring webpages to house your course reflections and sample assignments for your digital portfolio. Semester workshops will be given inhow to set it up. Since you already have a tripod.com account, consider yourself and accelreated learner!

Rember to add your reflections about this course and any other courses you have takenthis semester. You may want to include a representative assignmet or project from each course that reflects your learning achievement for your digital portfolio.

Next semester some you you will be student teaching and others will be taking more courses. Whatever you do, please remember to use stories to your advantage, whether it is telling factual stories, fabrications, elaborations, exaggerations. A New Yorker comic once illustrated: "Exaggerate, it makes life more interesting!"

An intersting life to allof you & thank you for the gift of your stories this semester..........................Frances