For this essay, I was chose the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak as a a piece of childrnen's literature that has also been turned into a blockbuster film. I analyzed each of the five characteristic elements of the book (characters, setting, plot, theme, style), and then observed the same characteristics in the film.
Additionally, I also reflected on a quote by George Bluestone, “A teacher is an independent artist, not a translator, for an established author, but a new author in their own right." This quote required me to think about how I could use the analysis of books and film in my classroom, how each teacher has personal preferences which impact their instruction and lesson plans, and how to best directly impact students learning using books and film.
For this assignment, my partner (Sarah Vorpagel) and I selected a disability and conducted background research on our area to become an “expert” on the topic. We selected the learning disability of dyslexia, with which we created a PowerPoint presentation and a fact sheet to distribute to the class . Articles covered in the fact sheet and PowerPoint include: characteristics of dyslexia, misconceptions about the learning disability, accomodations for individual students, resources for additional information, and curricular modifications that can be used on a daily basis in the classroom. Creating this presentation allowed me to familiarize myself with a literacy learning disability that is commonly found in classrooms. It allowed me the chance to learn techniques for accomodating these students early on in my teaching career.
This selected work focuses on the cultural appreciation and acceptance of children's books that have turned into film. In TE 838, we were able to explore examples of films that have become more popular than their original book (The Wizard of Oz, for instance). Yet, we were also able to see that the film directors do not have to be held accountable for making sure that the film accurately reflects the events in the book. Directors are producing films with the aim of generating profit, and are not concerned about whether they are accurately reflecting the paperback story on the big screen.
TE 836 focused on children's award winning literature and the different awards available for such literature. This assignment allowed me the chance to select five children's books that have recently won various awards. I selected the books that had recently won the Printz Award, Corretta Scott King Award, Orbis Pictus Award, and Schneider Family Award. After familiarizing ourselves with the books, we compiled a synapsis of the book, and reflected on our personal connections and feelings towards the stories. This occurance allowed me to experiment with books and awards that were previously unfamiliar to me, and allowed me the chance to explore a wide variety of children's literature.
Literacy Showcase
Technology Showcase
Lisa Hansen's Masters of Arts in Education Showcase
For our final project in my TE 831 class, I was asked to reflect on our learning via a voice thread recording. As a class, we were asked to create a five minute presentation that demonstrated our growth and learning throughout the course. In my reflection I highlight how I developed myTPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Theory) knowledge, what considerations teachers should give before integrating technology into their instruction, and what I discovered about the technologies used in the course. It provided me with the chance to properly reflect on my understanding of the use of technology in classrooms and how it can be used to aid student thinking.
My voice thread recording is the first one featured after the instructor, Jeff Bale.
The re-purpsed lesson plan required me to use a lesson plan that I was currently teaching in my classroom, and re-vamping the lesson to incorporate a piece of technology with which I had limited use and experience with in teaching. Resource links and NETS standards were also included to promote digital citizenship. Since we were currently learning about animals in our science unit, I chose to incorporate virtual field trips. This lesson plan explains how to incorporate virtual field trips to the Austrailia Zoo. The students were able to visually observe and "meet" animals that are not commonly found in our local zoo. This assignment allowed me to see that physical boundaries do not exist with the use of the internet, allowing students connect to without barriers.
CEP 818 presents students with the opportunity to design a website to host all of the online acitivies. I selected the content area of "the shapes of the alphabet letters" as the focus of each of our cognitive tool activities. Each cognitive tool that we learned about (perceiving, abstracting, embodied thinking, modeling, play, and synthesizing) was accompanied by an activity to further develop our understanding of the cognitive tool, and to interpret our understanding through creative means. We were also asked to interview someone who we found creative, select a location that promotes creativity and inspiration, and adapt the words to a well-known song to an article we read. CEP 818 challenged me as a learner to think in ways that are "outside the box." Each aspect of the alphabet was considered when designing our weekly tasks, and what was once a "familiar" nuance to me, suddenly became strikingly unfamiliar.
For my final project, I am creating an online capstone portfolio to highlight the work completed during my Master's of Arts in Education courses. The website will feature a current resume, an annotated transcript of the courses that I have taken for my degree, examples of my coursework, and essays that reflect my learning as a student, and also as an educator. Each week, different aspects of the website are created and posted to a student-driven forum for peer review. Reflecting on all of my past experiences and coursework aids in my reflection of my classroom instruction. I am able to witness how my experiences have not only deepened my content knowledge of educational instruction, but also my personal teaching style and the activities that take place daily in my classroom.
A digital story was created through the use of pictures, recorded voice narration, and animation for my vodcast project. iMovie was used to create a short film about the butterfly life cycle, while http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/ was used to gather the images. Since this production was also used to supplement our teaching in our classrooms, my students were able to use this video as a supplemental resource to further aid their understanding of life cycles. The video was also published on TeacherTube for use in other elementary classrooms as well.
After completing my teaching internship through Michigan State University in the Spring of 2011, I immediately knew that I wanted to continue on and pursue a Master's of Arts degree in Education. During my internship, I was presented with the chance to begin my Master's course load. These classes acted as a springboard for my degree and fueled an excitement for continuing on with my educational journey. Showcased below you will find examples of coursework that demonstrate my understanding of my concentrations of literacy and technology and the courses that have been completed to obtain my degree. While the examples below are just a sample of my work, each of the courses that I have completed have challenged my thinking as a learner and as an educator.