Content Literacy Journal Entry No. 3

The strategies that were introduced this week all centered on vocabulary. Vocabulary is a very important part of our world and day to day lives. My parents were always adamant about my bother and I reading to broaden our minds. In reading, we constantly came across words that were unfamiliar to us. We learned very quickly to keep a dictionary close by, so that we could look up these words. I suppose this is why I found these strategies so fascinating. I just really enjoyed learning about the different formats that vocabulary can be introduced: before, during, and after a lesson.

Content Literacy Journal Entry No. 2

I found this week’s topic on student comprehension to be quite interesting. I keep noticing that the recurring theme of all these strategies is the importance of increasing student anticipation and engagement in lessons. As an art educator I found the pattern guide strategy to be the most appealing. I think that it is a great way to enlist the students’ critical thinking skills. The students must call upon these skills in order to place the events or facts in the correct chronological order. While doing this the students are also recalling the lesson, so it also provides a format for review.

My teaching Philosophy...so far

I feel that the education of tomorrow's society is an important and crucial task. I feel that we, as learners, learn best through our own personal experiences...both successful and not. I think we as teachers should remember this and address the education of today's youth in a similar manner. In my opinion, teaching should imitate a partnership; a partnership between educator and student. Both parties must be present and engaged in the task at hand, in order for the learning process to occur. As a teacher, is it my responsibility to present the resources and information in the best format possible to my students in order to engage them in their learning. Through guided practice the students will learn important concepts critical to their further developement as well educated citizens of our society.

Journal Entry No. 1 for Content Area Strategies

The most significant point that kept circulating through my mind as I went through this week's readings and videos, was that the start of every good lesson should begin with grabbing the student's attention. The various strategies that I read about addressed various content areas, but they all were set up to do the same thing, ignite the student's curiosity. In doing this the instructor has successfully created a classroom of students eager to learn. As an art teacher I found the questionnaire/interest-survey strategy to be quite useful. I think administering a questionnaire at the beginning of the term, would be an extremely useful guide in educating the instructor on what level of art the incoming students are at.