As a student enrolled in Child Development you will be responsible for keeping a personal blog of your experiences working with students in lab.  From your blog entries I will find out what you are learning from your experiences with and observations of the children with whom you work.  Your blog is like a diary that you will share with me.

1. I will take you through the steps required to create a personal blog in class during week one of this course.  This will be a private blog that only the creator and I can view.
2. You will then be responsible for adding one entry per week to your blog (due every Thursday).  You may wish to jot down notes throughout the week prior to writing your blog entry to ensure that the observations and experiences you write about are accurate and meaningful.
3. There is no maximum to how much you write but I expect a minimum of 500 words.  I recommend having a singular focus for each entry.
4. The following will be considered in my grading of weekly posts: length, organization of content (the title should match the content), entry is reflective and meaningful in nature (solidly addresses one content area below), you are growing as a learner in this course.
5. I will comment and respond to your weekly blog post and post the grade in that response.

Content: Sometimes I will have a specific focus for the week’s blog post that I will share with you in class.  Usually, however, I will give you the freedom to “free write”.  Here are some ideas to get your thoughts focused and organized for these types of posts.  Do not simply describe what activities take place.  I am interested in reading about what you are learning through your interactions with the students in a reflective and meaningful way.

1. Your first blog post should be an honest and solidly thought out piece of writing that answers the questions: Why have you enrolled in the CD course?  What expectations do have of the course?  What expectations or goals do you have for yourself?
2. Briefly describe and then respond to/interpret the behaviors, reactions and interactions of the children with each other, with you, with the teacher and with any other individuals in the classroom.
3. Highlight interesting things you are realizing about your (or other big buddies’) lab child in relation to the four areas of development.
4. As you write, include your thoughts, questions, concerns and conclusions concerning the children’s behavior and the effectiveness of the day’s activities.
5. Discuss possible causes of and factors contributing to the children’s behavior as they occur to you.
6. What are you finding out about yourself as a result of working with children?
7. What connection(s) can you make between class material and lab experiences?