Blog- Strengths and weaknesses

Over the course of this semester, I have learned alot about what my strengths and weaknesses are. What has helped me gain a better understanding about myself is the small group discussions, the class lectures, reading the Santrock chapters and the Monday night classes. All of these things we have done in class have pushed me to think about my personality and what I believe about education and how this will translate into the classroom in the future. I think the fact that I have a lot of passion for my content area and the fact that I really want to work with adolescents and young adults will help me in my future. I think that by having a passion for working with kids and having a good background for my content area will really help me as a future teacher. Also, I think the fact that I am creative and love to read will help me set up a classroom where students are encouraged to think critically and be creative.

Some weaknesses I have in the content area of my teaching is the fact that I am still learning more about my major, so at this point it can be kind of challenging envisioning myself as an expert. I know that once I take my required classes and further learn I will know what I need to, but at this point I am still in the process of it all. Sometimes it can be daunting thinking about my future, like how I am supposed to get to point A to point B because right now I am just beginning my experience in the Education Department. Other than that, I think I just need to remember that everything takes time and I will eventually learn and know what I am supposed to!

Reflection on Chalk and Wire

After the presentation on Chalk and Wire and the Education Department, I think I have a better understanding of the Education Department at Luther. It was helpful for me to see everything mapped out and to have this introduction to the program. At first it seemed very stressful because there are alot of things to remember about applying to the department and all of the requirements that we are supposed to fufill. I think that Chalk and Wire is a great way to help us to organize our portfolio and it is a great tool to use in understanding certain areas that are geared towards preparing us for becoming teachers. Another aspect that I think is helpful on Chalk and Wire is the fact that we can see our progress throughout the years here at Luther and I think that this will be a great tool in compiling a portfolio that can help us when we have jobs as teachers.

I do have a couple of questions about the competencies on Chalk and Wire. I have started writing some for my classes but I think that it would be helpful for professors to have a more universal rubric for grading competencies. I know that some professors like shorter statments while some rationales in other classes are preferred to be longer. I know it is subjective and really depends on each class, however I think it would give us a better idea of what is expected when we are writing them. Other than that, I don't really have any other questions about Chalk and Wire at this point. I think the more I use this tool, the more familiar I will become with what strategies and ideas we should be learning from using Chalk and Wire.