Week 7 The Final Countdown

Blog Conclusion

 

                It was a pleasure sharing my thoughts and reading my classmates comments on my blog throughout the past seven weeks. I also enjoyed reading through my classmates posts, many times they offered me many alternate perspectives and allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of course content and how we can apply it to our individual teaching situations.

                In my eyes, theorist John Dewey has been the most influential to the institution of education in society. Before Dewey, most education was teacher based and students were expected to memorize information presented to them. Dewey was a major player in making education about the student and having their educational needs meet their interests. By applying real life situations, Dewey was able to create inspired learners. Dewey also introduced the concept of integrated education, known today as cross curricular education. Dewey made education about the student rather than the teacher, and is one of the most influential theorists I have come to learn about.

                In addition to Dewey, my beliefs on education most closely relate to Maria Montessori. I love the hands on approach she implemented in schools. I also enjoy the portfolio and grading systems she created for her schools. It is my personal belief that we place too large an emphasis on numbers in education. I am a big believer in student based education and in Montessori’s schools the teachers act more as observers and guide their students to lead the students to a self-directed style of learning. This style most closely relates to my ideal education which would be students based and students would be given more electives and opportunities to work in fields of interest in middle and high school levels. I feel that the student based education that theorists such as Dewey and Montessori believe in are essential concepts that all schools will eventually adapt to.

                I cannot decide which stage of life interests me the most. After the information I gathered from the course I am much more intrigued by education of a child in the developmental stages. People are learning something new every day from birth until their last days on earth, so choosing a stage of life that interests me the most is a tough question to answer.

                My favorite assignments in EDU 502 are the assignments that forced me out of my comfort zone and made me experiment with technology that I am not familiar with. After this course I experimented with Prezi, iMovie, and even gave ‘go animate’ a shot. This experience inspired me to create more dynamic lessons for my students. I enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on weekly content and really enjoyed how everyone shared personal information as to what motivates them. After this course I felt a connection with my cohort that I did not feel in my previous course. While the assignments may have been difficult (in terms of technology) I feel I am a better educator because of it—now here’s hoping my iMovie will upload to blackboard :/. Thank you all for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.