To be perfectly honest, I didn't have very high expectations going into this class. I chose Writing Across the Curriculum from a list of possible electives for the Winter semester because nothing else on the list was the least bit intriguing. My background is in English and I love to write, but initially I didn't exactly take this course thinking I was going to be helped in any significant way. However, after spending the last few months in this course, working with my colleagues and spending time with Corey (and Alan) at Hawthorne, I am walking away from Writing Across the Curriculum feeling as though I am taking quite a bit away from the course.
At first, it seemed a little obvious to me that writing could be incorporated into any class subject. However, this course opened my eyes to the fact that writing can be used to extend learning in any subject in a meaningful way rather than simply be used in a cheap way, like asking students to write a reflection on what they learned that day. Specifically, I really liked the idea of using conventional writing forms typically restricted to the English classroom, like poetry, to allow students to demonstrate their understanding of a different subject, like math. I think that using written forms students may be more familiar with is a great way to have them work through understanding concepts that may be more foreign to them. Personally, I was never strong in subjects like math or science. Had I had opportunities to explore concepts from those classes in writing, either by creating my own pieces or reading stories or poems about given subjects, for example, I think I could have been more successful in those areas.
Writing Across the Curriculum was most fulfilling to me, however, in my work in mentoring a student writer at Hawthorne. First and foremost, I very much appreciated the fact that this mentorship assignment allowed me to put what I was learning into practicing immediately. In every other class this year, we were always being asked to create lesson or unit plans for specific subjects. However, there was never a reason to do so other than the fact that we had to know how to create these things; there was no student to teach or classroom to implement these plans in. This, to me, made the process of creating these plans extremely redundant because I couldn't justify how I was learning anything from using the same templates over and over again while simply plugging in different information from curriculum documents and various resources. Our mentorship assignment, however, enabled me to fulfill similar responsibilities of gathering information and determining an effective way of presenting that information while also putting all those plans into action by working with a student. I found this process challenging at times, because Corey, my student, gave me very vague answers at times with regards to what areas of writing he needs help with or how he would like the process to unfold. However, the challenge is what made the process so fun, too. I was forced to think of different ways to get information across to Corey (or Alan in week 2) on the spot when the strategy I had planned wasn't working and was able to see my work, as well as his own, pay off through the progress and growth he'd made as a writer by our final session together. Working with Corey on a weekly basis was an incredibly worthwhile process because it gave me the opportunity to do the things I had been learning in all my classes in a hands-on way that was not done in any other class this year.
The mentorship process proved to also be a great resource because of the fact that my classmates were also involved in the same process. As such, I was able to track their progress and see what techniques or resources they were using by checking their writing blogs or speaking to them outside of the classroom. Teachers don't all go about reaching the same goal through the same process; in witnessing the work my fellow student teachers were doing, I was able to truly understand that there is not right way of doing things, but rather that there is a right way of doing things for the student. Everyone catered their teaching style to the student they were paired with, which ultimately meant that our blogs were filled with unique resources to cater to each student's learning style and mode of writing. I hope that this will prove to be a tremendous resource for me down the road when I come across students who have a variety of learning styles.
From thinking that I wouldn't take away much from this course at the beginning of the semester, I think I've actually done the complete opposite. I've learned a lot from working with different writing forms, mentoring a student writer and observing my colleagues do the same, not to mention the incredible resource our course textbook has proven and will continue to prove to be (it's seriously the only course textbook I've found helpful when it comes to real teaching practice so far).
Now that the on-campus portion of the BEd program has come to an end and I look forward to my second practicum with excitement and anticipation, I have found myself reflecting on my time in this program as a whole and what I have taken away from it that will directly inform my teaching practice. Although each class has fulfilled that in a variety of ways and to varying degrees, I can't help but think that the work I've done this semester in Writing Across the Curriculum will actively inform my practice in terms of what goes on in my future classroom and how my students will go about learning.
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