Well almost anyway! I've been on a bit of a hiatus from blog posts lately, sorry about that! This semester has flown buy, it's hard to think that it's been nearly 6 months since the MAC program started!
Some things I wanted to touch on, I've been really excited to plan my own unit plan for methods. (Sorry if you've already heard too much about this!) The unit I'm doing is on the Human Body so really cool interesting topic that I think has a lot of potential in it! Some cool things (well I think cool things) I'm doing for the project involves transparent life size drawings of the human systems as well as some fun comparisons to the Body Worlds Exhibit! I'm still trying to think of ways to use more technology in my unit so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! So far I have some cool video clips to show, but you know that's such a small part of what's available to us. Hopefully I'll get some good ideas from the web2.0 tool webinars that are going around this week :)
Also, I've been rather inspired by the claymation movies we did in 504. After doing the claymation stuff, I started thinking about all the wonderful projects my biology classes could do in showing how photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and other cycles (of which biology has many) using claymation. See a variation on claymation movies here: Protein Synthesis. Being the rather artsty person I am, this idea appeals a lot to me. I really like the idea of teaching through the creation of projects (my mentor student taught at Community) so I've gotten a good glimpse of how to incorporate that into a school that's so different from community.
Alright, well onto the many papers that are between me, winter break, and flordia! So, as the song says, Livin' on a prayer ! Good luck to everyone in the MAC program finishing up the semester! :)
11.15.2009
10.14.2009
Excitement and dissapointment from last week
So I mentioned in my last post that I had the opportunity to take over the classroom for 2 days because my mentor was gone for the week. The first day was a lot of fun and I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to have that experience. At first, I was a little scared that my mentor wouldn't be there to give me feedback on how I did my first day, but as the day wore on it was really great! The kids respected me, listened to me, felt comfortable asking me questions and I went home that night excited about the day.
The next day I was in the classroom, the students were taking a lot of exams/quizzes. I unfortunately had my first brush with cheating. I was really hoping that I would encounter this experience much later in my teaching career. I was disappointed because a) the cheating occurred in my honors class b) it happened right in front of me c) the students involved didn't seem too concerned about the matter d) I kind of didn't know how to react without my mentor there guiding me. While we had talked a lot about cheating in classes and how we might address it, I still felt unprepared to face the situation alone.
I feel like cheating as in many difficult to handle situations requires a lot of context, and quick thought. I've definitely talked about my decision with my mentor and field instructor afterwards, but in that moment, you know you have to do something. I'm not looking forward to the next time I have to confront a student about cheating, but at least I've had some experience in dealing with it and maybe I can adapt and improve what I've done this past week to any future encounters I've had.
The next day I was in the classroom, the students were taking a lot of exams/quizzes. I unfortunately had my first brush with cheating. I was really hoping that I would encounter this experience much later in my teaching career. I was disappointed because a) the cheating occurred in my honors class b) it happened right in front of me c) the students involved didn't seem too concerned about the matter d) I kind of didn't know how to react without my mentor there guiding me. While we had talked a lot about cheating in classes and how we might address it, I still felt unprepared to face the situation alone.
I feel like cheating as in many difficult to handle situations requires a lot of context, and quick thought. I've definitely talked about my decision with my mentor and field instructor afterwards, but in that moment, you know you have to do something. I'm not looking forward to the next time I have to confront a student about cheating, but at least I've had some experience in dealing with it and maybe I can adapt and improve what I've done this past week to any future encounters I've had.
10.02.2009
1 month in!
So it's been about a month since we've started observing in our placements. It's interesting to see how everyone's experiences in the cohort vary so drastically from each other. Just goes to show how different schools are and how important it is that we address the needs of each school, classroom, student individually.
In my own classroom, I've been doing mostly observations which I find really useful for gathering ideas of how I might want to teach. There are things that I love about how my mentor teaches and things that I am less crazy about. Things I love include how she makes the classroom so comfortable for all the students, and how she really asks them to push themselves. That the learning is for them and that they have to take initiative if they want to succeed.
One thing I don't like, but that my mentor doesn't use very much is the TV to project images from the computer (like powerpoint presentations). 1) It's difficult to see the screen from the back of the room, and subsequently students have to move around significantly to see the screen better. 2) The students prefer that the lights are off when the TV is on so that they can see the screen better, but this allows for a classroom where the teacher can't see everything that's going on. 3) The TV is in the upper right hand corner of the room and you can point to key structures that the figures are trying to show because it's too high up (I suppose you could use a pointer of some sort, but it seems like it would be rather ineffective).
I've had the chance to do a bit of grading, and make my own quiz. I get to take over the classroom next Tuesday and Thursday (all day!) because my mentor will be out for the week, so I'm nervous, excited, curious as to what will happen! Wish me luck! :)
In my own classroom, I've been doing mostly observations which I find really useful for gathering ideas of how I might want to teach. There are things that I love about how my mentor teaches and things that I am less crazy about. Things I love include how she makes the classroom so comfortable for all the students, and how she really asks them to push themselves. That the learning is for them and that they have to take initiative if they want to succeed.
One thing I don't like, but that my mentor doesn't use very much is the TV to project images from the computer (like powerpoint presentations). 1) It's difficult to see the screen from the back of the room, and subsequently students have to move around significantly to see the screen better. 2) The students prefer that the lights are off when the TV is on so that they can see the screen better, but this allows for a classroom where the teacher can't see everything that's going on. 3) The TV is in the upper right hand corner of the room and you can point to key structures that the figures are trying to show because it's too high up (I suppose you could use a pointer of some sort, but it seems like it would be rather ineffective).
I've had the chance to do a bit of grading, and make my own quiz. I get to take over the classroom next Tuesday and Thursday (all day!) because my mentor will be out for the week, so I'm nervous, excited, curious as to what will happen! Wish me luck! :)
9.11.2009
The Beginning!
Sorry about the long hiatus from my blog... this summer has been restful, and the beginning of this semester quite the opposite! I had the opportunity to travel with my family to Britain/Scotland this summer. Travelling is something I really enjoy, it's always exciting to visit a new country and experience their food, culture, etc.
My experiences in the classroom the first 2 days have been interesting. My mentor teacher has 1 regular, 2 honors, and 2 AP Biology classes. She's been great! I was lucky to have my first day in the placement coincide with the first day of the school year. I really didn't know what to expect that first day though. It went relatively well - we went over the syllabus, I introduced myself (albeit a bit awkwardly), we played an icebreaker in which I was included, and then repeated the process 5 times. The second day (yesterday) went better than I had expected. The regular/honors classes are working on latin roots : prefixes and suffixes in order to gain a better understanding of science vocabulary. The regular class was instantly comfortable asking me for help on the worksheet that they were working on, and one student even told me he had missed me on Wednesday! :) The honors students were much more independent, and required little of my help so I mostly observed the class during that time. And the AP class, is being quizzed pretty much the whole week on material they were assigned over the summer.
I think that the AP class will be the most challenging for me to become involved with. 90% of the students in AP have had my mentor before and she is already very comfortable and familiar with working with them, what their styles and needs are. In addition to stepping into a classroom where the routine is already very much set, the AP students are so independent. I'll have to see how the class progresses as quizzes evolve more into lecture in the coming week.
Something I decided on yesterday night after our field instructors talked with us, is that I'm going to ask my mentor to push me out of my comfort zone. Because my natural inclination is to be a little shy, I think that a little nudge would really help me a long way. I don't necessarily want to be pushed into teaching a full class, but taking over part of a class (soon) I think would be great for me to establish my presence in the classroom, get over some of my nerves, and get a feel for teaching these students. Well, here's to a great school year!
My experiences in the classroom the first 2 days have been interesting. My mentor teacher has 1 regular, 2 honors, and 2 AP Biology classes. She's been great! I was lucky to have my first day in the placement coincide with the first day of the school year. I really didn't know what to expect that first day though. It went relatively well - we went over the syllabus, I introduced myself (albeit a bit awkwardly), we played an icebreaker in which I was included, and then repeated the process 5 times. The second day (yesterday) went better than I had expected. The regular/honors classes are working on latin roots : prefixes and suffixes in order to gain a better understanding of science vocabulary. The regular class was instantly comfortable asking me for help on the worksheet that they were working on, and one student even told me he had missed me on Wednesday! :) The honors students were much more independent, and required little of my help so I mostly observed the class during that time. And the AP class, is being quizzed pretty much the whole week on material they were assigned over the summer.
I think that the AP class will be the most challenging for me to become involved with. 90% of the students in AP have had my mentor before and she is already very comfortable and familiar with working with them, what their styles and needs are. In addition to stepping into a classroom where the routine is already very much set, the AP students are so independent. I'll have to see how the class progresses as quizzes evolve more into lecture in the coming week.
Something I decided on yesterday night after our field instructors talked with us, is that I'm going to ask my mentor to push me out of my comfort zone. Because my natural inclination is to be a little shy, I think that a little nudge would really help me a long way. I don't necessarily want to be pushed into teaching a full class, but taking over part of a class (soon) I think would be great for me to establish my presence in the classroom, get over some of my nerves, and get a feel for teaching these students. Well, here's to a great school year!
7.23.2009
Harry Potter and the Socratic Seminar
The idea of using pop culture as a successful teaching tool is one that I am all for. As a biology teacher, I find it more difficult to relate some of our discussion during the Socratic seminar to my specific content area, but I still see the value of discussing it as a means for teaching and gaining literacy. At the end of our discussion about the Socratic seminar yesterday in our Content Literacy class, we briefly talked about Harry Potter (and even more briefly Twilight). Having just seen the 6th Harry Potter movie last weekend, I thought it was intriguing that we would bring it up in Literacy.
What I'm thinking is that although Harry Potter is not by any means an "academic literary work" it's existence in the literary world is extremely valuable. Now, I may be a little biased because I grew up with Harry Potter - quite literally. When Harry Potter was first introduced and gaining popularity, I was about the same age (+/- a year) as Harry Potter was in that first book. And while I've always loved reading, the series brought on a whirlwind of reading activity amongst my peers. Not only was it entertaining, but many of the magical creatures had a mythological basis and the characters were interesting and easy to relate to. For all these reasons and more, I think Harry Potter was able to draw young children into reading. It's ability to interest young readers is what I think makes it such a valuable resource to the literary world.
Making references to the book, characters, movies, are just one way in which we can engage our students. A thought that just now popped into my head was to try relating Botany to Professor Sprout's Herbology class - what interesting plants can we talk about and why are they important? Plants are so useful in creating a number of medical concotions and even industrial products...The sap of a tree whose name eludes me is referred to the indigenous amazonian people of Ecuador as "dragon's blood" when applied is white and creamy, dissappears after a few seconds of rubbing and can stop a mosquito bite from itching faster than any steroid cream a doctor has ever given me. And like so many researchers like to say, the cure for cancer is probably out there in one of those plants that need to be studied in the rainforest.
What I'm thinking is that although Harry Potter is not by any means an "academic literary work" it's existence in the literary world is extremely valuable. Now, I may be a little biased because I grew up with Harry Potter - quite literally. When Harry Potter was first introduced and gaining popularity, I was about the same age (+/- a year) as Harry Potter was in that first book. And while I've always loved reading, the series brought on a whirlwind of reading activity amongst my peers. Not only was it entertaining, but many of the magical creatures had a mythological basis and the characters were interesting and easy to relate to. For all these reasons and more, I think Harry Potter was able to draw young children into reading. It's ability to interest young readers is what I think makes it such a valuable resource to the literary world.
Making references to the book, characters, movies, are just one way in which we can engage our students. A thought that just now popped into my head was to try relating Botany to Professor Sprout's Herbology class - what interesting plants can we talk about and why are they important? Plants are so useful in creating a number of medical concotions and even industrial products...The sap of a tree whose name eludes me is referred to the indigenous amazonian people of Ecuador as "dragon's blood" when applied is white and creamy, dissappears after a few seconds of rubbing and can stop a mosquito bite from itching faster than any steroid cream a doctor has ever given me. And like so many researchers like to say, the cure for cancer is probably out there in one of those plants that need to be studied in the rainforest.
7.15.2009
On Diversity, Oppression, and Slam Poets
I've spent quite a bit of time trying to arrange my thoughts regarding our discussion in 409-Diversity today. Being slightly shy, I with-held from making my thoughts known during class. What also made it difficult to share what I was thinking was that I didn't feel that it was coherent enough to present to the class without being confusing for all those involved. Now that I've had a bit of time to gather my thoughts, they are still a little confused, but, I think I'll share some of them here...
The videos that Shari showed us in class today were provocative. There is no doubt of that. What some people commented on during class that was especially interesting to me was the anger-hatred side of the slam poets that were featured. While it is "slam" they questioned the value of expressing that anger and whether it was helpful or hurtful for the artist's cause. I tend to agree that the anger is unnecessary because I question whether it's the stereotypes that they take issue with or because they experienced all of this themselves. I surely haven't experienced all that, but maybe they have.
Being of Chinese descent, but having been born in the US, I've grown up with some of those stereotypes that were expressed in the video - all Asians look alike, we're smart - good at math and science, hard working, work at the cleaners or own family restaurants, that we have squinty/slanty eyes with no double fold (although this is not actually true of me I have really big eyes for an Asian AND a double fold ;)...) that the men appear more feminine, that we have difficulty expressing an strong opinion, etc. But it was never to the same extreme. I understand the perspectives that some of these artists have but find it difficult to relate to them even though we are of the same racial/ethnic background. Strange isn't it?
I've known for a very long time that I am very much American and am extremely comfortable around "white people" because that is what I'm familiar with. The community I grew up in was 95% white ...and I'm actually a little uncomfortable in large groups of Asians. It's not that I'm not proud of my heritage - on the contrary, I love that my parents chose to send me to Chinese school to learn the language (even though I hated it at the time), that I eat Chinese food, that I celebrate the lunar new year, and that my eating utensil of choice is chopsticks. Despite all this though, when I visited China, they immediately labeled me as American. Where do I fit in then?
So do I feel the oppression of white (male) American society? No, not really. Maybe it's that I've been oppressed to the point that I'm blind to the oppression. But I don't really believe that that's the case. I've had the fortune of growing up in a good family that was financially secure, with more positive stereotypes than negative ones surrounding my race/ethnicity. But even the pressure placed on me as exemplified by those positive stereotypes were placed on me more by my parents than by society. It seems to me, that being of Asian descent, oppression is kind of a more invisible force than it would be for another minority group. But then again, maybe I've just been living in a bubble and it's time to open my eyes to all the "bad" out there in the real world. I'd like to think that the world is good even if I know it not to be true. It's hard for me to separate out oppression/stereotypes/racism when they are not apparent to me as it is to some of the Slam poets in the video. I guess I'm still trying to sort all of this out, and seeing how I view myself and others in this situation.
This is by no means entirely comprehensive of my views on the topic, but just what has been on my mind since this morning. Feel free to comment or ask questions! I know I don't speak a lot in class, so if you're interested, just let me know :)
p.s. If you read all of that, I'm impressed!
The videos that Shari showed us in class today were provocative. There is no doubt of that. What some people commented on during class that was especially interesting to me was the anger-hatred side of the slam poets that were featured. While it is "slam" they questioned the value of expressing that anger and whether it was helpful or hurtful for the artist's cause. I tend to agree that the anger is unnecessary because I question whether it's the stereotypes that they take issue with or because they experienced all of this themselves. I surely haven't experienced all that, but maybe they have.
Being of Chinese descent, but having been born in the US, I've grown up with some of those stereotypes that were expressed in the video - all Asians look alike, we're smart - good at math and science, hard working, work at the cleaners or own family restaurants, that we have squinty/slanty eyes with no double fold (although this is not actually true of me I have really big eyes for an Asian AND a double fold ;)...) that the men appear more feminine, that we have difficulty expressing an strong opinion, etc. But it was never to the same extreme. I understand the perspectives that some of these artists have but find it difficult to relate to them even though we are of the same racial/ethnic background. Strange isn't it?
I've known for a very long time that I am very much American and am extremely comfortable around "white people" because that is what I'm familiar with. The community I grew up in was 95% white ...and I'm actually a little uncomfortable in large groups of Asians. It's not that I'm not proud of my heritage - on the contrary, I love that my parents chose to send me to Chinese school to learn the language (even though I hated it at the time), that I eat Chinese food, that I celebrate the lunar new year, and that my eating utensil of choice is chopsticks. Despite all this though, when I visited China, they immediately labeled me as American. Where do I fit in then?
So do I feel the oppression of white (male) American society? No, not really. Maybe it's that I've been oppressed to the point that I'm blind to the oppression. But I don't really believe that that's the case. I've had the fortune of growing up in a good family that was financially secure, with more positive stereotypes than negative ones surrounding my race/ethnicity. But even the pressure placed on me as exemplified by those positive stereotypes were placed on me more by my parents than by society. It seems to me, that being of Asian descent, oppression is kind of a more invisible force than it would be for another minority group. But then again, maybe I've just been living in a bubble and it's time to open my eyes to all the "bad" out there in the real world. I'd like to think that the world is good even if I know it not to be true. It's hard for me to separate out oppression/stereotypes/racism when they are not apparent to me as it is to some of the Slam poets in the video. I guess I'm still trying to sort all of this out, and seeing how I view myself and others in this situation.
This is by no means entirely comprehensive of my views on the topic, but just what has been on my mind since this morning. Feel free to comment or ask questions! I know I don't speak a lot in class, so if you're interested, just let me know :)
p.s. If you read all of that, I'm impressed!
6.27.2009
First week in MAC
I can't believe that the first week of the MAC program is already over. This year will fly by before I even know it. It's weird being the student that's from out of state this time. Moving to Ann Arbor from Chicago is probably a good experience for me, but it's still challenging to live somewhere new when you don't really know anyone. Everyone in the program have been so nice and helpful though so I'm not too worried :)
There have been a lot of interesting discussion about a variety of educational topics...my favorite discussion thus far has been the reading by Lampert. I had not previously thought about all the subconscious thoughts that an experienced teacher has while teaching - moving through all the standards and benchmarks, keeping in mind gender, racial differences, as well as how to educate students to be effective problem solvers. It was wonderful, yet scary to read that experience.
There have been a lot of interesting discussion about a variety of educational topics...my favorite discussion thus far has been the reading by Lampert. I had not previously thought about all the subconscious thoughts that an experienced teacher has while teaching - moving through all the standards and benchmarks, keeping in mind gender, racial differences, as well as how to educate students to be effective problem solvers. It was wonderful, yet scary to read that experience.
6.26.2009
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