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As the instructor and students of E341, we recognize several norms that will help our class time be more productive and meaningful in our quests to become superior educators. We assume equal and appropriate responsibility for our engagement and success in our class. We will enter into our class space prepared to engage with one another, having thoughtfully reflected upon classrooms readings, personal experiences and belief structures. Class time will be purposeful and flexible to the needs of the class as a whole. Communication is integral to our success as a collective; we will be honest about our misunderstandings and celebrate our successes. We will engage in constructive criticism, helping one another gain new insights and understandings. We will be conscious of our conditions as humans, aware of the feelings and emotions of those with whom we engage as we attempt to construct our identities as educators. As a class, we will care for each other’s development as we care for our own and be aware of our use of materials and space. We are all responsible for the success of this class and will hold each other accountable throughout the course of our time together.
14 comments:
When I read this, I can't help but think about our classroom norms in relation to the possible classroom norms at the elementary level. I think it is important for us, and for elementary students, to be aware of the fact that every single person in the class contributes to the classroom dynamic. So, I like the fact that saying we, along with our instructor, should come to class fully prepared (in terms of reading, understanding of reading and topics, assignments, alertness, etc). The part about class time being purposeful and flexible maybe could be touched on more. I think what we were getting at was that a lot of us feel we get A LOT of busy work and/or work that will not be very relevant to us when we are teaching. Like today in class, we had a wonderful discussion about our fears and discomforts in teaching reading/writing. Those are things we want to learn about because we know they will be relevant to us when we are teaching. You (Nicholas) said that you needed to move things around in our syllabus to reflect what we were talking about... and I think that's a good example of having a flexible classroom. Someday when we are teaching, we will need to also figure out what our kids know and do not know. Whatever plan we as teachers may have come up with most likely will need to change accordingly.
The one idea that stands out to me on the web is the idea that we need to learn from each other. It was evident today that everyone in this class has different knowledge on numerous subjects. Some are strong with reading workshop and others are strong with writers workshop. It is clear that we can all learn alot from each other. We are our best resources and I hope that everyone shares and contributes to class discussions. I agree with pauline's comment on being flexible. It is imperative in not only our current classroom but also when we teach. We as teachers need to be aware of how are classroom is doing and refine the curriculum from there.
I, personally, thought our discussions last week (September 2, 4) and today (September 9) were very beneficial in order to further our knowledge in this part of the cluster. Our discussions allowed us to come up with aspects that we understand and do not understand about teaching literacy in the elementary classroom. I feel that it will be important for us as pre-service teachers to take these aspects seriously as we approach our student teaching. I know that I will be able to learn effectively with the help of you(Nicholas) and my peers. I want to be able to know how to handle many different situations in my classroom, I want to know how to teach to all levels of learners, I want to know what is considered "right to teach, etc. I know that working together and classroom experience will be able to answer most of these questions.
I really liked taking the time to make a list of what our class norms would be. It has been a couple of months since we have been back in school, and it is good to re-visit what we want our class to be like in order to be the most productive we can be. I liked how you pushed us to define words that could have been thought to be ambiguous. That's something that I never think about, and it is very important. When you're making a list of rules for something, everyone needs to be clear on what the meaning of the language that you are using is. My favorite thing that we wrote down is to not only hold the teacher accountable, but to be responsible and prepared as students. As teachers, it is important for us to understand that a classroom does not just depend only on a teacher's responsibility, so that our classrooms can be successful.
I loved coming up with a list of norms in class. You also put it into a paragraph really well. I thought a lot of the norms were used while we were in class the other day. You were very respectful of the fact that, as a class, we are somewhat behind on what we should be doing. A lot of us do not understand some of the basic concepts we need to understand to be successful teachers. We talked about it together and respected everyone's level of understanding. You, as an instructor, did exactly what an instructor should do...you were open for help and willing to alter your plan to help us benefit in the best way possible. If this continues to happen throughout the semester and if the norms can be followed, I think we will have a great semester and we will leave with great resources and ideas to become successful teachers!
I really enjoyed the class list of norms that we were able to generate. One of the great things about this list is that it was the first day of class, and we were able to do this togther. I feel that this is a sign of good things to come for the semester. This class seems to work well together and out list of norms look like it will only help us to build a stronger work relationship with one another and promote a community like environment. A type of environment where we will be free to share our opinions and ideas, as well as recieve other point of views. This is a wonderful start for this semesters E-341 class.
I really agree with the statements you made about being upfront and honest about our misunderstandings. I really liked class last tuesday when we talked about what we understood and didn't understand. Its vital for you to know and teach us how to understand it and you would be unable to do that without us telling you HONESTLY what we get and don't get. Sometimes its hard to admit when you don't understand something, when you think you should understand it or when people around you get it. But we are at the point as aspiring educators where we need understand everything that is important or vital to becoming a good teacher. I think honesty inside our classroom and learning to understand all the things vital to teaching literature should be the main focus in our classroom this semester and I feel as if we are on the right track after our discussion on tuesday!
I really liked how we as a class decided upon what were the most important things for us to focus on. I greatly appreciate the time that was taken to put these ideas in paragraph form, so that we as a class can be aware throughout the semester of exactly what is expected of us. I definitely will be taking this idea into my own classroom. As far as our classroom norms go, I really like the first statement about assuming responsibility for our engagement and success in class. I definitely believe that we as students are just as responsible for coming prepared to class as our teacher is. I also wanted to emphasize on the statement about class time being "purposeful." As soon to be teachers, we need knowledge and information on things we can actually be doing in our classrooms. Some classes we have taken give us readings or assignments, but then we are not shown how to apply these things to our classrooms.
I LOVED the way that you verbalized our big mess of a web on the board from the other class. I think you did a great job at emphasizing the fact that we all seemed to agree that the two most important norms to all of us were responsibility and respect. I truly believe, along with the rest of the class, I’m assuming, that these two concepts can be used and reiterated in every single lesson, method, conflict and discussion in not only our college classroom but as well in our future elementary classrooms. The web activity alongside with the discussion that accorded with it really got my mind going on how I want to set up my classroom “rules” in the future and how I will handle classroom management hopefully surrounded by those two ideals, respect and responsibility. If my students can leave my class grasping the true definition of those two words I feel like I will have affected their lives in and outside of the classroom in a very positive way.
I agree with everything wrote in the paragraph about our classroom norms. I believe that if we stick to these beliefs through the semester everyone will learn a lot. It will allow us to have insightful conversations that will open our eyes to knew strategies and perspectives. Also, I very much agree with Megan and love that our class will be founded on respect and responsibilty. I believe a class depends on both to be successful. However, I am not sure what is meant by being conscious of our conditions as humans.
What I find most important in our class norms is the idea that we all support one another throughout this learning experience. Personally, speaking in front of a class and voicing my own opinions tends to be hard for me. I like that we have come together to decide that we will create a positive classroom environment where people will not feel judged for their personal opinions. This kind of classroom environment is important for us as college students and will also be important in our elementary classrooms in the future. We all want our classrooms to promote learning in a positive and accepting environment and I think that our E341 classroom is a wonderful example of this.
Reading through our classroom norms makes me feel at ease about class this semester. Some classes can be intimidating depending on the teacher or classmates, but knowing that we have these norms in mind makes me feel comfortable and know I will be successful after this class. It is helpful when we set these norms as a class because then we all know what is expected of us as students. We will realize what is acceptable during class time and behavior that will not be tolerated. I thought it was great that we took the time to do this in class together so there are no questions on what our classroom will look like. It is so important to know what is expected of us as students and future teachers. This is something I will use in my classroom so my students know what role they will play and how I will facilitate the class. Thank you, Nicholas, for writing this out in a neat format so we can reflect on it and discuss it further. So far, I have seen these norms work out and help our class in a positive way. I am glad that we have these norms because I will learn more knowing all of our outlooks on a positive learning environment. I am looking forward to a successful semester!
I really enjoyed coming up with class norms as a class. I feel by doing that and having everyone agree on how our classroom should be will make this semester better. I think that this is also a great idea that we can incorporate into our own classroom by having the students come up with ideas and their expectations for the year. I also think that we could re-visit our norms later in the semester to make sure we are accomplishing what we said in our discussion.
I feel that these classroom norms will help all the students to learn as much as possible this semester. I also believe they are very fitting with our education major. It is important to develop classroom norms and all agree upon them as both a student and a teacher. I know that when I have my own classroom in the future I will want to create classroom norms with my students to ensure that it is the most positive learning environment. I feel that these norms that we have developed will create this positive learning environment.
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