Synthesis of Course

I have found that this course has helped me to prepare for my future classroom in many different ways. For starters, it really helped me to start thinking critically about my content area and how literacy is involved in that. I now know that literacy plays a role in just about everything that we do.

Just as important as it is to be able to read is really being able to understand and remember what you learn. I really want to incorporate this into my classroom on a daily basis. I plan on doing this by having different forms of presenting the material. Especially if I know that there are students in my classroom that are struggling with English or even just comprehending what we are learning, I am going to make sure that I have examples, that I am using demonstration, that I give them an opportunity to learn from each other, and also that I use hand gestures to really show what I mean and am trying to explain. While I was trying to learn Spanish, the teacher would only speak Spanish but would use a lot of gestures, pictures, and hand signs. This helped so much and I know how important it can be for the students.

I think that for the most part, I will be sure to incorporate whole-class and small group discussions. From this class I learned that there is a great deal of learning from the student-student interaction. Facilitating and allowing this to take place can give my students the atmosphere that they need to feel comfortable and willing to learn.

I am also going to make sure that I have a classroom library with texts that are high-interest to my students but really help them gain a superior understanding of the content and how it applies in their lives outside of school. I will introduce at least one text per day and give them the option of checking them out and rating them for their peers.

Coming out of this class, I feel that I have a better understanding of how to enhance learning in my classroom and facilitate a safe environment to keep that learning growing.