Content Knowledge
Artifact: EPE Professional Paper (To be submitted in person)
Description:
During my first semester of education I took the course EPE 100, in this course we took ‘professional notes’. This consisted of looking at your notes right after class and just jotting down some thoughts or questions and the coming back to those notes in a few weeks time and seeing if your views changed or questions were answered. It was a very good reflective process and it forced me to really think about all of the content in the course. At the end of the semester we were to gather all of our notes and then write a paper on our development and learning through the semester.
Impact:
Having taken this class during my first semester in the faculty of education I had not previously thought much about the power of reflection. This was a great assignment for allowing students to see how important reflection is. It made me realize that often times I may have a great idea, thought, resource but if I never look back on the things that I learn, hear or see than I am missing so much. Reflecting allows us to rethink some of our previous thoughts and ingrain that knowledge, experience or solution in our minds. It can allow for much improved learning.
Intention/Challenges:
What reflective practices can I use as a pre-service teacher to ensure that I learn from my experiences? How can I encourage my students future to reflect?
Recommendations:
I believe that I should use this blog as a means of reflecting on my experiences and tracking my thoughts. If I can blog every once in a while on the new things that I have learned or experienced than in the future I can come back and reflect. I must also take personal notes and the different conferences, clinics and workshops that I attend so that I can really take something from them. As for encouraging my students, in the right setting it may be beneficial to have my students create blogs or microblogs and share their thoughts on different issues throught the class.
