Hello and Welcome to our Course.
The official start to the term is Jan. 7th. We will be updating the
blog with this term's Posts on this date. You are free to work ahead on
the assignments and save them on your computer.
One of the benefits of the blog format for online courses is the
discourse between students. We post only one or two assignments at a
time in order to foster communication between the course participants.
If you do work ahead you will need to post your reflection on the blog when the corresponding assignment is posted.
If you have a question please email us and put "Question" or "REPLY
NEEDED" in the subject line so we can get back to you in a timely
fashion. We frequently scan our inbox for questions but wait to reply
to assignments for when we have a good chunk of time. If there is no
notation in the subject line of the email, we assume it is just an
assignment.
You can expect us to reply to your reflection in about a week from when you submit it-- though at times it may be longer. Again, if you have any concerns or questions email us and note in the subject line that a reply is needed or that you need "Help."
A couple of notes:
We suggest you save your work in a word processing document before
posting to the blog. There have been times where something happens and a
post may disappear. (Having this saved, makes it easier to repost.)
Some students have experienced problems posting using Firefox. There
are work-arounds, but the easiest is just to use a different browser.
Winter term starts 1/7
All work due 3/17
Grades available online 3/27
We look forward to learning and working with you this term. :D
Mary and Jackie :)
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Greetings fellow educators…from Penni Kravitz. I am currently a Pre K teacher (and Artist in Residence), with a class size of 16, at a private school in Bend, Oregon. My elementary teaching experience has encompassed Kindergarten, second and fourth grade levels. I hold a Bachelor of Arts on Art and a Masters of Arts in Teaching. I have been teaching for 12 years. In my current position, I do not have any instructional support and the literacy program is based on The Daily Five by Moser and Boushey. My knowledge and training in writing was provided by a public school district, several years ago, primarily using the work of Lucy Calkins - Units of Study for Primary Writing and The Daily Five. The district trainings in the past were often half day sessions of lectures and breakaway group sessions, nothing that would be considered profoundly deep. In regards to performing well on state writing assessments, I personally found that it depended on the grade level you were currently teaching. For example, in the district where I taught fourth grade, the intensity and stress of performance fell squarely on you, the fourth grade teacher, when in reality it should have been a cumulative look over the preceding grades…not the one “snapshot” of the fourth grade testing.
ReplyDeleteTeaching is an art that I am continually developing. I truly enjoy teaching, because every day is a new day! I hope to be rehired in a tradition elementary position in the future, but layoffs and an extremely slow economy is still the reality here in rural Central Oregon…it is the price one pays to live in this stunningly beautiful part of our country. I teach where I can right now and continue to enjoy all that this area has to offer…fly-fishing, hiking, snowshoeing and I manage to continue to work on my art and actually get paid for painting; both watercolors and acrylics.
Finally, my hope is that this course will give me yet more tools in my educator tool box to inspire young writers. Interestingly, in my current position with a Pre K class, where I have been for 2 years, I have found a lack of resources and structure for the 4-6 year old writer despite the fact that they are quite capable of being amazing writers! I have become somewhat obsessed with finding that just right approach to reach the very young writer and fostering a foundation for them in writing.