Reflection

Reflecting upon this course has opened my eyes to the many different learning theories that were dwelled upon. I believe that a well-rounded teacher is able to look at him/herself and see a little bit of each theorist within the classroom. When I first started taking this course, I recognized that I used the multiple intelligences, behaviorist and constructivist theories of learning. I will continue to keep these theories in practice with in my own teaching, but I want to incorporate the study of how information is perceived by the senses and stored as in the cognitive perspective (Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Studying and reflecting upon the cognitive learning theory can enhance my teaching techniques. By doing this I can incorporate more instructional strategies within my classroom to make it an enriching experience for all students.

 

            Some immediate adjustments that I will make in my classroom are to add technology to my lessons. One technology tool that I will use is more word processing applications, particularly with studying letter sounds and words that start with that letter. This technology tool will help benefit my students in showing a nonlinguistic representation followed by the word. Students will begin to make that association of picture to the word. In Kindergarten I do whole group lessons using technology and students are introduced to technology in a non-threatening environment. Another technology tool that I can use is virtual field trips. There are many interactive themes that we spend time on in Kindergarten. By visiting places without leaving the classroom it helps for the students to see why we are learning some of the things that we are and allows them to virtually go somewhere. I want for my students to embrace technology and to feel that technology is where ever they go.

 

            I want to be able to open the lines of communication with parents and include them in my instructional tools. By posting word processing applications onto a wiki and having parents give their feedback onto the board would be very helpful. When parents see what we are learning they are more likely to reinforce that at home.  This is one long-term goal that I have. By setting up a wiki in which parents are informed about I can begin to inform parents about what it is that we are learning. I can update posts everyday or twice a week. Another long-term goal is to use more spreadsheet software in collecting data in order to make instructional decisions. My instruction is based on my data. Looking through some of the resources for class I came across rubrics, graphs, and spreadsheets that I can use to collect the data. There are plenty of resources on the Internet to gain rubrics. I need to decide what it is that I will be measuring and what the long-term goal is. By using Microsoft Excel I can make a spreadsheet using student test scores or letter recognition. This data can be translated into a graph. This way I can choose adaptations towards my instruction and use the data in conferences.

 

            Overall, I feel that I have benefited from this course by reinforcing the learning theories that make up a classroom. Deciding which ones I use and what I want to use is a reflection upon myself and what I find to be most important. Also taking the instructional strategies that I have learned will help benefit each learner in my classroom.

 

 

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.