Learning Letter

Dear Dr. Agriss,


In this course, we have discussed different theories on pedagogy, we have engaged in an array of classroom discussions, and we have also been able to get practice with pedagogy through the mini-lesson and the creation of the unit plan. I feel more confident in teaching literature to adolescents through completing this course.

Reading a variety of texts in the beginning of this course gave me a perspective on issues that I will deal with in the classroom. Being able to reflect on this through my blog postings allowed me to express my ideas and opinions on each one of these texts. As a future teacher, it is important that I have my own ideas and perspectives on each one of the issues we discussed: differentiated instruction, social justice, bringing popular culture in the classroom, etc. Being able to discuss these practices in small groups and then engage in whole-class discussion helped to gather ideas from my peers on how to address these ideas in the classroom. I appreciate that I got to read so many pedagogy theory texts and also gain ideas from my classmates.

The book talk on the young adult text introduced me to a lot of texts that I was not familiar with before. There were many texts that I had either not heard of, or I had heard of but had not read. Many of the students' books that were shared gave me ideas of new books to read and also, how to use them in the classroom. This assignment allowed me to evaluate the text I used and how I would use it in the classroom. I appreciated receiving feedback from each one of my peers on my book talk selection and how I may get past some of the difficulties with incorporating it into the classroom.

Doing a mini-lesson on one of the young adult texts we read was a great experience. It was a little challenging planning for a shorter lesson but it also helped for me to make sure that everything I did made a difference. Getting up in front of my peers and teaching a lesson helped to prepare me for teaching an actual lesson in a secondary classroom. All of the feedback I got will help me to improve the next time I have to teach a lesson. Being a student and watching everyone else in the class present also helped. The experience helped me to see, from a student's perspective, what worked in the lesson and what did not. Building up to that comfortable learning environment where we were all able to evaluate each other's lessons and give each other feedback helped tremendously. We were all comfortable with one another in receiving critiques and giving critiques.

The unit plan helped me to get an idea of how to plan out curriculum. This was a very enriching assignment. I feel more prepared having completed the unit plan assignment in going forward with my career. It gave me idea not just on how to plan out an entire unit, but also the start of how to plan out an entire course. Having completed this assignment, I am now aware of what to expect and plan for when I create a unit for my own classroom.

I am grateful for being able to be a part of this class. I feel more confident in my teaching abilities and I have been able to pick up a lot of helpful pedagogy techniques and ideas. Thank you Dr. Agriss for making this class a comfortable and fun learning environment. I feel like I got a lot of helpful information from taking this course.

Sincerely,



Josh Gallegos