Communication: I feel communication is key in any aspect of life. It is important for me to be able to communicate
with my teacher and peers. However, I think that a person has to also feel comfortable enough in an environment to be
able to communicate freely. I feel like the communication in the class has been fairly decent. There have been
times where I was unclear of an assignment, but by communicating with my peers and teacher I was able to resolve my misunderstanding.
I definitely felt there was much needed communication in our Barnga game. That was a whole different kind of communication
that was demonstrated. My goal as a teacher is to have open communication not only with my students, but with the parents
as well.
Research: When I think of research the first thing that comes to my mind is searching through several books and
online for any information on a specific topic for a research paper. While we don't have a research paper due in this
class I do find our text to be a good resource. It has opened my eyes to things I never would have thought about.
I look at culture and diversity with new found respect.
Technology: Well I have certainly had my fair share of technology this semester. I love it! While my
webpage is still a work in progress I look forward to personalizing it in the future. Right now I am just trying
to get used to it all. My biggest challenge with the technology is #1 finding the time to finish it, and #2 trying
not to be afraid of manipulating my webpages. I'm afraid I will push the wrong button and make everything
disappear. So my goal is to gain confidence in my technology skills so that I can teach with technology.
Collaboration: In our first class meeting we did a class collaboration activity. We each asked a question on
our own paper and then passed it on to our neighbor so that they too could give their opinion of the question or topic.
I liked this activity because you could give your opinion in confidence. Another example of class collaboration
is when we broke into groups for a book talk. Although it didn't go as planned because not everyone had their books.
That was a good lesson to learn because as teachers not all lessons are going to run the way we plan. We have to
be flexible.
Five Dimensions of Learning
Confidence and independence: This is something I continue to work on as I go though the UNM program. It just
seems like there is so much to learn in such a little amount of time. I want to be the best I can be and some days I
seem so far away for that goal. There is still so much I want to learn in this class. I want to be confident about
culture and diversity.
Knowledge content: Again this is a work in progress. I feel like we haven't really been able to get to the
meat of this subject. We have been working with Vickie Bruno which has been great. However, we haven't really
gone into depth of dealing with culturally diverse children and situations.
Skills and strategies: Well to be quite honest I would like to work on my skills and strategies with this subject.
I plan on taking the TESOL test in November. I took the test in June and to my disappointment did not pass. After
reading some of the chapters I realized why I did not pass. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world.
Use of prior and emerging experience: I thought I had prior knowledge when it came to diverse students. Now
I know that I have not even skimmed the top of the subject. Working with culturally diverse children is a lot different
that just having children of a different ethnicity.
Reflectiveness (critical awareness): At midterm I don't feel as confident as I would like when it comes to dealing
with cultally diverse situations. I hope to learn more throughout the rest of the semester.
Midterm Evaluation
If I had to give myself a grade at this point in the semester it would probably be a B. I still have to work on
my webpage.
As far as further suggestion go, I feel like we are just getting started and the best is yet to come.
