A goal I had for this semester was to find more tools to use in my future
classroom that go beyond the normal textbook and resources that have been used for
years. Throughout my college experience I have felt that even the new resources I have
found have gotten repetitive. This class has opened by eyes and presented me with so
many new resources that I cannot wait to use. Not only did I find new resources, but I
have also learned ways to make these “old school” resources more engaging and fit into
the 2021 classroom setting. A perfect example of this is the digital learning experience.
The digital learning experience is an asynchronous lesson, where students view the
presentation we created, and interact with the material hyperlinked, and explained on
the slides. I have never created a lesson in this format, and I did not know how to create
a presentation like that before this class. I think this type of presentation is a great thing
to use in the classroom, and it is easy for students to navigate and it very engaging.
When writing my disciplinary literacy paper, I wrote about how students should read to
learn, rather than just learning to read. I believe the digital experience is a perfect
example of this. Students will engage with the material from one slide, and immediately
begin applying what they learned to an activity or discussion on the next slide. This
allows the student to reflect immediately on their reading, which promotes
comprehension and allows them to practice reading skills. Another goal I had in this
class was to connect with people from my discipline. Originally, I stated this goal
because I thought we would be able to share resources and tools to use in our
classrooms. I reached this goal and beyond. The professor in this class made the class
a very welcoming environment and encouraged so much discussion with our peers. By
also doing the group digital experience, I was able to further connect with some
classmates. This not only allowed for me to gain knowledge through a fellow classmate
about this course but allowed me to find someone to discuss all things happening in our
major. I typically do not connect with others in the classroom, but this class encouraged
me too and it has been very beneficial. This also encouraged me to connect with my
classmates in other classes. This is important for the future when I am working at a
school and need the skills and desire to connect with colleagues. Another goal I had
was finding new ways to track student’s progress. After this course I realize that first
things first, everything needs to be strategically planned out and explained before any
type of mastery is tested. In this class I learned the importance of a think aloud, and
how this is a great way to help students understand the content being taught. Rather
that explaining a simple how to is not enough. Sharing with students your whole thought
process and showing them exactly how to think through an assignment or a reading will
allow for them to completely understand the objective. The think aloud was great
practice for what I can do in my future classroom and has furthered my demonstration
skills. This course has provided me with so many new skills, resources, and people to
reach out to. I truly enjoyed this course and all of the content it had to offer that I found
very useful for my future career.
