Reflection

During the time I was in this course, many of my previous thoughts on learning were solidified and a few were modified. I have always felt that group work was my best chance of getting a student to be engaged. This was how I enjoyed school the most and it seemed to be the way my students enjoyed it as well. This class also gave me a better sense of myself and also gave me a deeper understanding of why I chose the assignments that I did. With evidences shown in many of the readings and their writers, such as Orey, I was able to conceptualize the impact of my choices of instruction. I also was able to define the differences between true instruction and learning. I never thought of it in this way, but when I began to my lesson planning process was much easier. It helped me to focus the goals of my learning outcomes.

I did make some small modifications on how I implemented some of my assignments throughout the course. This was mainly due to ideas and encouraging comments from my classmates. One in particular is the presentation of a mind map or concept map. I never had a presentation process, mainly because I could not find one that I liked. One student mentioned a process including an interactive white board. I plan on implementing this next year when I gain access to an interactive white board.

In the long run I am going to focus on two main things. First is to convert all of my concept mapping activities into a virtual format. I like the flow of the lesson much more and the students are able to give me more in depth and higher Bloom's responses. Secondly is to add the presentation component to the concept maps using the interactive white board. My goal in this sense is to go completely interactive with the students. I want to shy away from as much pencil and paper projects as possible. I want to make them all virtual.