Embedded Files
Teaching and Learning Strand
Teaching and Learning Strand
Educational Autobiography
Educational Autobiography
Through this educational autobiography, I reflected back on my own experiences as a student.
I appreciate all the different approaches, from a bilingual pre-kindergarten where I learned English to a small Liberal Arts College where I majored in English and Film.
Though my knowledge invariably changed from both points, I still found myself drawn to the same aspects of education all throughout: accessibility and empathy.
Portrait of Learner
Portrait of Learner
In the portrait of a learner assignment, we chose one student to shadow in an effort to understand their experience in our respective school.
Not only did we talk about her as an academic, but we spoke at length about her positionality as a young woman of color in a predominantly white institution. She was right at the crux of understanding which of these themes were specific to the school and which ones would persist going into college. One of the most enjoyable moments in this assignment had to do with the student-teaching component. This reciprocal vulnerability -- her opening up to me and me struggling to learn something from her -- made the experience all the more noteworthy. It's this mutuality that I sought to replicate in my classroom environment.
Effective Learning Environments
Effective Learning Environments
Our Effective Learning Environment paper focused on the aspects of our classroom that are either controllable or influenceable.
Whether it is setting up norms or decorations, there are particular actions that implicitly speak to students while they are in the classroom. The goal is to have them feel comfortable enough as a community in order to engage in challenging discussions, but how?
“For students, opportunities to overcome uncertainty represent changes to construct more meaningful, memorable, and conceptually rich understandings of content, presumably through becoming more actively (as opposed to passively) engaged in the learning process” (L. Overoye & C. Storm, 2015, p 145).
Educational Philosophy
Educational Philosophy
In my educational philosophy, I focus on students' abilities to make meaning out of learning. Learning soaks into memory when a person has a way to contextualize and categorize said information. Therefore, the more meaningful a topic is for a student, the more likely they will be able to retain it in the long term. I also allude to Nakkula and Toshalis' con-constructivism theory that "positions teachers as co-constructors of knowledge, not just the transmitters of data" (Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice, 2012, p. 8). The way teachers create lesson plans and support student understanding influences the class's relationship with said subject. As a teacher, I want to help each student develop a genuine relationship to English, regardless of their educational proclivities. It is also an effective way of creating new entry points and activities in the classroom.
History and Social Context Strand
History and Social Context Strand
Adolescent Psychology
Adolescent Psychology
"In flow states, self-consciousness largely disappears as one gets lost in the challenge and meaning of the activity at hand” (Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006, 54).
Students engage with the activities that they lose themselves in. When the subject takes precedence over any self-doubt and creativity commences, there's no stopping learning.
Reflection Papers on Childhood, Anxiety, and Inequality
Reflection Papers on Childhood, Anxiety, and Inequality
“Identity formation, then, is the dynamic process of testing, selecting, and integrating self-images and personal ideologies into an integrated and consistent whole” (Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006, p. 20).
Reflection Paper on C,A,I: Part 1
Reflection Paper on C,A,I: Part 1
Reflection Paper on C,A,I: Part 2
Reflection Paper on C,A,I: Part 2
In some ways adolescence and anxiety go hand in hand. The discovery of an emerging self amidst other blossoming bodies could be overwhelming. Though hormones are ubiquitous, there are specific subjects of anxiety within independent private day schools.
This works as a continuation of Part 1 with a focus on class disparities in the private school classroom. These systemic discrepancies influence an adolescent's development whether they know it or not.
First Year Post-Summer Paper
First Year Post-Summer Paper
In this Post-summer reflection, I ruminate on the first week's takeaways while also revisiting my educational autobiography.
Analytic Paper: The Origins and Growth of Schooling in the US
Analytic Paper: The Origins and Growth of Schooling in the US
According to David F. Labaree, the original purpose of education boiled down to one of the three following things
Democratic - let's inform students what it means to be a citizen of this nation
Social Efficacy - let's prepare students for their future careers through specialization
Social Mobility - let's give students access to pull themselves up from the bootstraps
I attribute my foundational understanding of what American education was made for to this Labaree reading and the other sources in my analytic paper. Though most of today's education has favored one of these three approaches over the others, there is a semblance of each philosophy that withstands the test of time.
Analytic Paper: Religion in the Classroom
Analytic Paper: Religion in the Classroom
Both the analytic paper on religion and the reflection paper on teaching controversial issues address the complexities of discussing contentious issues in the classroom.
School is the best environment to tackle these subjects because we have a platform to engage in these conversations, but there is a thin line between influencing and indoctrination. As teachers we must be aware of our ideologies and create boundaries for how we talk about highly-debated subjects to inform students rather than to convince them of our own opinions.
Reflection Paper: Administrative Perspectives on School Leadership
Reflection Paper: Administrative Perspectives on School Leadership
We all know who the heads of our schools are, but do we know the intricacies of their job descriptions? In this essay, I begin to parse through both the social, administrative, and executive tasks that all school leaders must actualize with the help of trusted colleagues, or counselors.
Reflection Paper: Independent Schools and Public Purpose
Reflection Paper: Independent Schools and Public Purpose
All schools, public or private, play a role within the neighborhood that they reside in. These educational institutions, therefore, have a commitment to the well-being of its student and its at large community. It is up to the school to decide what, how, and whom it serves.
Analytic Paper: Independent Day Schools and Privilege
Analytic Paper: Independent Day Schools and Privilege
The mere existence of an admissions team implies a level of exclusivity within private schools. Even after an acceptance letter, the ability to attend a private school is a privilege in and of itself. But beyond admissions or declarations, what can a private school do to share these resources?
History and Social Context Term Paper
History and Social Context Term Paper
With this assignment, we took the time to look at our respective school's history in regards to diversity and inclusion within our respective schools. As a 311 year-old institution, Trinity has remained loyal to some of its initial findings, and also progressed from them in other ways. We looked back at some of Trinity's archives to track some of these changes. Many of these changes reflect the shift in American expectations regarding the purpose of education.
Subject-Specific
Subject-Specific
Story of My Wondering
Story of My Wondering
This is one of the first times I started to articulate some of my thoughts about how I would like to change up my freshman English classroom. From high school onward, I had mostly interdisciplinary classes that did not constrict themselves to an alignment of subject. In high school, Biology class somehow led to philosophy. History class somehow led to culinary conversations. Finally, English class welcomed Film into the classroom because teachers created this curriculum. Emulating my teachers and excited to replicate such a revelatory time for students, I decided to take on this task of incorporating Film into the English classroom. Teachers of mine have successfully done it, and though I am new to this profession, I am not new to this passion.
Subject Methods Final Paper
Subject Methods Final Paper
I like to think of my Subject Methods Final as an educational Christmas Carol. In it, I talk about my past teaching approaches, reflect on my present ones, and think about my intended progress as I continue to teach English.
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