It Works For Me

Using microthemes this past academic year was a plus for me and my students. Microtheme writings ranged from practice topics relevant to the GACE Content Test (teacher certification test) to responses to textbook & professional readings.



Initially (Fall Semester, 2010) the microtheme assignments were cumbersome for students, and I felt as if I was teaching 7th grade English rather than a reading methods course. As I got to know my students and fully understand their writing needs, I knew something about the microtheme topics were ineffective. Since I would have most of the students next semester (Spring 2011), I finished the Fall semester with more emphasis on peer reviews of impromptu writings.



This semester, microtheme writings are based solely on the discussions and readings of a professional book that all students are assigned. All writings are done in class and students receive up to 20 points for each writing ( 5 writings presented with no make-up writing if absent). Self-selected groups are assigned specific chapters of the professional book, and each group must facilitate discussions, design & administer an assessment of their chapter to their peers, grade assessment, and forward grades to me Furthermore students conduct peer-reviews, and I comment only if asked.



I will most likely use microthemes again, but the specifics will depend on the writing needs of the next group of teacher candidates. I think having a significant number of the same students for an academic year really helped.

Teaching Critical Thinking

I am browsing the web to find ideas for my learning community----our focus is critical thinking and professional ethics for educators. I recently read an article by Dr. Laurie Fathe on Teaching for Critical Reading. Dr. Fathe provides an resourceful outline for planning instruction. Her suggestions for modeling critical thinking and barriers to critical thinking gives me much to consider. She also suggests evidence of critical thinking that will help me assess how well I implement critical thinking techniques.

Siemens' Connectivism

I immediately thought about learning theories when I heard the article's title. However, this 'connectivism' is more closely related to the relationship between 'knowledge' amidst technology and its impact on learning.

Knowledge is reviewed in the article with regards to objectivism, pragmatism, and interpretative. According to the article, objective knowledge is gained through experience; pragmatic knowledge is motivated by experience and thinking; and interpretive knowledge is constructed. I especially liked how these terms were defined and explained. I will use the explanation in my classes.

QEP First Class

I am excited about the possibilities with the QEP class. I will use techniques and suggestions

from my QEP class with my 2010-2011 learning community as well as my ECEC 3355, Developmental Reading course for Fall Semester, 2010.