EDU 6526: Instructional Strategies- Journal 4

This week we talked about constructivism and how it is used as a teaching strategy.  Dr. Scheuerman defined constructivism in his power point as “a theory of learning asserting that knowledge is not passively received, but actively received; and cognition functions to organize the experiential world”.  I believe this theory does promote academic excellence because the teacher realizes that to actively teach their students, they must be engaged with their students.  To do this, the teacher must get to know the class on a personal level which is not easy.  This personal connection brings out the best in students because it makes them want to be the best.  I know this because I have experienced it.  The teachers that became personally involved with me and my classmates and made learning a more engaging process are the ones I tried to do well for.  I believe that if I can make personal connections with my students and can make learning engaging and active,  I will be able to bring out the best of my class. 

To read more on constructivism, go to this page:
Constructivist Learning Theory

EDU 6526: Instructional Strategies- Journal 3

This week we talked about how we would respond if we were a student.  I found the topic of the order of ranks very interesting.  Back when Columbus was the big topic of discussion, there was a much different hierarchal order.  We, in the United States, are not necessarily used to this ranking.  I know there is a President and Vicde President and various positions under them, but even those begin to become less obvious.  So I was interested in what the order of ranks was like back when the “new world” was being discovered.  This is what I discovered:

Emporer/Empress
“An emperor is a male monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, “empress” may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right. Emperors and empresses are generally recognized to be above kings and queens in honour and rank.”

King/Queen
“A king is a head of state, who may or may not, depending on the style of government of a nation, exercise monarchal powers over a nation, usually called a kingdom or a realm. A king is the second highest sovereign title, only looking up to an emperor. The female equivalent of king is queen; although the term “queen” may refer to one ruling as a monarch in her own right, a queen regnant, or to the wife of a king, a queen consort. A queen who becomes the reigning monarch because the king has died, has become debilitated, or is a minor, is known as a queen regent.”

Archduke/Archduchess
“The title of Archduke (feminine: Archduchess) denotes a rank above Grand Duke and under King. It was rare and has uses too diverse to be given a fixed relative position within the former Holy Roman Empire to which it was restricted.”

Grand Duke/Grand Duchess
“The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not differentiate between princes who are children of a monarch and ruling princes.”

Duke/Duchess, Prince/Princess, Infante/Infanta
“A duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy. The title comes from the Latin Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of “military commander” and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Roman authors covering them to refer to their war leaders.”
“Prince, from French “Prince” (itself from the Latin root princeps), is a general term for a monarch, for a member of a monarchs’ or former monarch’s family, and is a hereditary title in some members of Europe’s highest nobility. The feminine equivalent is a princess.”
“Infante (masculine) or infanta (feminine), also anglicised as infant, was the title and rank given in the European kingdoms of Spain and Portugal to a son or daughter of the king, or to a grandson or granddaughter in the male line of a reigning monarch (and also to a princess’s children if she was the heir apparent to the throne). Female consorts of princes of the blood when married automatically gained the title Infanta, while male consorts did not have an inherent right to the title, style and rank of Infante upon marriage to a princess of the blood.”

Marquess/Marchioness,\Margrave/Margrivane
“A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European monarchies and some of their colonies. The term is also used to render equivalent oriental styles as in imperial China and Japan. In the British peerage it ranks below a duke and above an earl. In Europe it is usually equivalent where a cognate title exists. A woman with the rank of marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is a marchioness, or a marquise.”
“A Margrave was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active military forces than other lords. The margrave may also have had larger territorial area under his control as a result of expansions of territory at the border. In medieval times the margraves usually had more autonomy from the king compared to other types of hereditary lords, but by late medieval and early modern times, as borders grew less unsettled, the distinction between margraves and other hereditary lords gradually disappeared.”

Count/Countess, Earl/Countess
“A count is a nobleman in European countries; his wife is a countess. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning “companion”, and later “companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor”. The British equivalent is an earl (whose wife is also a “countess”, for lack of an Anglo-Saxon term).”

Viscount/Viscountess
“A viscount is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl (in Britain) or a count (the earl’s continental equivalent).”

Baron/Baroness
“Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin (liber) baro meaning “(free) man, (free) warrior”; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning “nobleman”.”

Baronet/Baronetess
“A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess, is the holder of a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown known as a baronetcy. The current practice of awarding baronetcies was originally introduced in England and Ireland by James I of England in 1611 in order to raise funds.”

Knight/Dame
“Dame is the female equivalent of address to Sir for a British knighthood. In the UK honours system, this can be the title of a woman who has been made a Dame Commander or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Royal Victorian Order, or Order of the British Empire. Women who are appointed to the Order of the Garter or Order of the Thistle are not given the tile of “Dame” but “Lady”.
Because there is no female equivalent of a Knight Bachelor, women deserving an honour of this rank are appointed Dames of an Order of chivalry instead.
Formerly, the wife of a knight was given the title of Dame before her name, but this usage was replaced by “Lady” during the 17th century.”

This table helped he understand how different ranks and nobility played a role in formal society back when Columbus was exploring the New World.  It seems like everyone knew the ranks and respected them.  I think I would have a hard time doing so…there are so many to keep track of!

I found all my information from: Wikipedia: Ranks of Nobility

EDU 6526: Instructional Strategies- Journal 2

Over this course, we have learned about many teaching strategies. The latest one I found most interesting was the “link-word method”.  Bruce Joyce, Marsha Weil and Emily Calhoun state in their text Models of Teaching that the link-word method ” provides the students with familiar material to link with unfamiliar items and provides an association to establish the meaning of the new material” (pg 196).  For example, one teacher used a story of her morning routine to help her students memorize the countries in the middle east by using words that would remind them of the name.  For instance, “I ran downstairs” (Iran), “I took the dishes from the rack” (Iraq), “I fixed the children bowls of Syrios” (Syria) etc. (pg. 197-198).  I think this way of learning would be extremely helpful in the classroom, especially with younger age groups.  I think it is a great idea to link material that children already know and understand to help them gain new knowledge.  I would like to carry out this in my classroom in the future and see how well it really works. 

Here is another example of the link-word and story methods:
mindtools.com

EDU 6526: Instructional Strategies- Journal 1

What is “noble”? This was the question I left with after Dr. Scheuerman’s class on January 13th. We had discussed Christopher Columbus and how one can use his voyages to the “New World” as a year-long theme and teaching strategy. The section we discussed really struck a chord with me. Columbus spent years trying to find just one person who believed enough in his idea of exploration to get it funded and get ships out to sea. He literally went door to door, county to country. And then he found the Duke of Medinaceli is Spain. He was that one person that gave Columbus hope. He supported Columbus with enough money for three ships and a years supply of food–off Columbus went.

But as noble as Columbus was and as good as his intentions were, my classmate Ben brought up a very good point: how can we only teach our students about the “good” Columbus did–what about his negative impact on the Native peoples? His comment hit me. How can someone we regard so highly be “noble”? I believe that everyone makes mistakes, but what about morals and ethics? Do some people just naturally have a “bad” character? I believe that it is my job as a future teacher to be the Duke of Medinaceli and give hope to my students and to also show them how to have a “good” character. I realize that this falls under the category of the non-academic subjects we are responsible for teaching our students and I am confident I will be ready for this.

visit this site to learn more about Christopher Columbus:
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/nativeiq/columbus.htm

EDU 6133: Diversity in America- Final Paper

Approval Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

Approval Standard L3: Family/Neighborhood Centered

SPU Residency Certification Competency I: Positive student-focused learning environment

I believe this work attests to my proficiency of being informed by collaborations with families and neighborhoods because I understand that where students grow up impacts how they learn.  I show how I will take this into consideration when teaching and that I will give each student a fair chance to express their culture and background.

Final Paper

EDU 6120: Foundations of Education- Final Paper

Approval Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

Approval Standard L4: Contextual Community Centered

SPU Residency Certification Competency I: Positive student-focused learning environment

This work attests to my proficiency in understanding the needs of students in a community centered identity where they are encouraged to become responsible citizens of a diverse society.  The following work shows my understanding of what will make a positive impact on student learning because I show that I understand that to be successful, the student must be part of a positive student-focused environment.  I also prove that I know various tactics to use in my teaching and how I will implement them to give my students the best possible education.

Final Paper Part 1

Final Paper Part 2

Final Paper Bibliography

EDU 6133: Diversity in America- Response to Arthur Schlesinger

A Response to Arthur Schlesinger’s The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society

A Response to Arthur Schlesinger Paper

EDU 6120: Foundations of Education- Journal 9

Journal 9: “Authentic Applications”
Session 9: Nov. 23, 2009

I think the concepts presented in “Authentic Applications” are crucial to student learning. Like the reading states, “when ideas are not applied, they seem to start nowhere and go nowhere” (TLAT, 134). If the knowledge learned is not reinforced outside of the classroom, it will become unimportant and soon forgotten.
I relate this to Scott Gray’s presentation about mind maps. Students have to work together to form a cohesive drawing of their collective ideas. They must work as a team to deem what they consider important and pertinent. Then the maps are presented to the class and can even be posted somewhere public where others can view them. This will force the students to keep their posters concise and to the point so that others can understand what they are trying to get across without having any background information. The students should then be able to look at other groups work and then have a reflection period to see how their poster looked in comparison to the others.
We started to do this in class when we made our own mind maps and I would have liked the chance to finish discussing what we came up with. It is always interesting to see what direction a group decides to take a project. It is this individuality, creativity and open direction that can spawn great amounts of learning and growth. I will use this practice in my own classroom to make sure my students feel that what they are learning is important and relevant to their lives.

EDU 6120: Foundations of Education- Journal 8

Journal 8: “I Can Teach”
Session 8: Nov. 16, 2009

I agree with the concept that having learners become teachers is an effective way to ensure that the subject or lesson being taught is thoroughly understood. Like Aristotle said, “a sure way to learn something is to be given the opportunity to teach it” (TLAT, 118). I have experienced this concept first hand: once in my own elementary school experience and also as a student here at SPU.
I remember an assignment that we were given in 2nd grade: teach the class something useful. That was all the direction we had. I remember thinking about what I considered useful, and decided I wanted the class to know how to make chocolate chip cookies. I memorized the recipe my mom used and brought in supplies to show how to mix the ingredients. It was a great way to get in touch with my memorization skills, because one of the requirements was that you were only allowed one index card worth of notes—everything else had to be memorized. This made me really have to understand the process of baking cookies and know it well enough to have it make sense to my classmates.
I have also become the teacher of my learnings since I have started here at SPU. My family is very interested in what I am learning in my classes so I have many opportunities to recite the information we have discussed in class and what I have learned from my readings.
I am a full supporter of the “I Can Teach” philosophy. It truly does take learning to the next level. It reinforces what you know and can have a huge effect on how a student is able to learn. I will definitely use this strategy in my own classroom.

EDU 6120: Foundations of Education- Presentation

This is the handout from the presentation I did on November 9, 2009.  I reflected on Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence.  I summarized his “five categories of requisite skills needed to work effectively with other in group settings” and applied it to “The Marshmellow Test” (video provided below).

presentation handout

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