Final Blog Reflection

Bon Voyage 

Well, social studies methods is coming to a close and I can honestly say that I have produced the most work for this class than any other methods course. The heavy work load was both a positive and a negative. At times I grew exhausted, stressed, and anxious about all the work that had to be done in the course. Yet as I looked over my edTPA portfolio and was able to see all of my work from the course put together I knew that this course made me very prepared to be a future teacher of social studies. 

I walked out of this class a different person than when I started the course. In the beginning of the course I had the mindset of a student, but after the course was over I developed the mindset of a teacher. I adapted new skills and knowledge that I would not have gained if it weren't for this course. Learning about the different forms of assessment as well as practicing delivering direct, inquiry, and cooperative lesson plans have all contributed to what I am able to take away from this course.  I was unaware of the three different types of lessons before taking this course, and as it went on I was still a little confused. However, after delivering each lesson and reflecting on them, I could say that I grew confident in my knowledge and ability to teach these lessons. 

Collaboration was also a big part of this course. As teachers, we encouraged the students to collaborate with each other and work cooperatively in groups. As students, we ourselves had to also work cooperatively in groups in order to complete projects and deliver lessons. This course taught me so much about working with others as it called for the most group projects I have had to complete in any college course thus far. However, in the professional world I will be collaborating with my peers throughout my career and therefore it was important to learn this skill. I also learned how to collaborate when it came to relying on my peers for support. If one of us had a question on an assignment, chances were that others were confused too. This allowed for us to bounce ideas off each other and overall help each other with this process. 

Ultimately, I am grateful for what this class has taught me and all that I am able to take away from it. Though it was a bit of an uphill battle, I know that I will be constantly referring to the course material when I am one day teaching in my own classroom. 

Mock Job Interview

Role Play: Job Interview

I found this mock job interview very helpful in practicing for a real job interview after I leave college. The four administrators (Jen, Matt, Taylor, and Nicole) came prepared with very thought-provoking questions. One of my favorite questions was Nicole's which was "If you could go back and witness any event in history which would you go to see and why." I thought this was a very intriguing question which I was able to answer with "the Boston Tea Party."

I thought that the administrators and my peers took this mock job interview very seriously which helped prepare us for the real world as it even made me nervous at times. I thought the administrators were dressed very professionally and asked important questions for prospective employees. 

When the roles were reversed and we were to ask the administrators questions as if they were the interviewee, I was pleased with the responses. When Matt was asked why he chose to become a teacher I was impressed with his response that teachers are the most influential when it comes to shaping society. 

In the end the administrators picked a student from each group to "hire." Being hired for group three was a good validation that I was perhaps not as nervous as I thought I was. 

Current Events

Current Events Presentation 

My partner Jennifer and I were the second group to present the current events project and I believe we did it successfully. We chose the NewsELA article "Saving pieces of history, one bullet or belt buckle at a time”  which was about a man finding artifacts on an old Civil War battleground. My partner and I found this article to be very interesting and decided to accompany it with a "5 W's" chart. As a form of diagnostic assessment before the article was discussed, we reviewed the 5 W's with the class. The majority of the class knew what all 5 W's were. Then, as part of the lesson, each fieldwork group was to read the article individually and then come up with one Who What Where When Why. They were to then fill this information out on a chart on the PowerPoint. I believe this step was a good way to make the presentation interactive. Overall I think this project was an interesting activity in order to study what is going on in the world today. This activity can be used in a variety of grade levels as currents events are a topic that should always be implemented.