Field Journals
Learning Philosophies
PBL and EL principles that we base our understanding from.
Classroom Observations
Reflection on our observation, participation, and Think Aloud visits.
Learning Philosophies
Practicing Standards of Learning
For our class this week, we had the opportunity to visit the local county elementary and high school. While I was able to visit both a fifth and tenth grade English class, I chose to focus this post on my observations of the tenth grade class. In preparation for the...
Strengths and Weakness of the VDOE: Is Rockbridge Meeting the Standards?
The skills expected in the tenth-grade classroom I am working with are the ability to think critically, creatively, communicate, collaborate, and citizenship. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) calls these skills, or competencies, the "Five C's." The skills...
The Argument for Tough Love- Keenan Orr
The involvement of children in their own education is vital in the learning process. The Freedom of Self Inquiry represents the application of the varied abilities residing within a classroom. These varied abilities are indicative of varied socio-economic factors as...
The Jersey Shore Kevin Ryan
When exploring how we learn in American schools, it is important to recognize the foundation of our education system. It starts with elementary school, where students go to socialize more rather than study for long nights. Fast forward to middle school and high...
Learning Through Engagement
EL's principles one and two, 'The Primacy of Self Discovery' and 'The Having of Wonderful Ideas' respectively, are two ideas that were central to a specific class in my high school career. 'The Primacy of Self Discover' is the idea that 'learning happens best with...
Freedom of Self: We Love to Read
The moment I learned to read happened on a bus-- asking innocently what a girl was reading on her phone will do that to you. Then comes the hours and hours of discovering reading is not what I had previously hated...it was more reading dull topics in school that...
Learning and Changing
A moment that changed me as a learner was a time when I was playing tennis with some friends. They were beating me again and again and it taught me that I would have to work harder in order to beat them. I began working towards practicing a certain technique that...
How Do I Relate?
A passage from Boss's "Build the Culture" that I think will raise challenges is creating shared norms. Boss writes, " The goal of creating shared norms is to promote a classroom culture that values what each person brings while establishing common expectations for the...
Walking Into the Classroom
On page 13 of "Project Based Teaching" (Boss), the culture of an educational environment is discussed. Boss stated that "Culture is shaped by everything that students see, hear, feel. and interact with at school" (13). It then goes on to say that the culture can be...
Self-Inquiry and Study Abroad
This past summer, I traveled to Oxford University to study abroad for six weeks. The first day we had a tour of the Bodlein and the different Oxford colleges. We learned about the many different scholars and writers like CS Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, and Lewis Carrol who...
Classroom Observations
What to Expect
"Teachers shape culture in both obvious and less noticeable ways." (Boss 15). This sentence right here highlights what I believe to be an essential and extremely important aspect of the classroom. Establishing and maintaining a strong, conducive to learning, healthy...
Classroom Visit: Little Kids Big Voices
Classroom Visit to Elementary School During the classroom visit, the halls around the school were very small and easily made me feel like a giant compared to them. The posters on the wall stating Trustworthy, Courageous, and Smile made me feel like the main character...
From the Other Side of the Desk
Over the course of this semester thus far, we have analyzed the effectiveness of managing group work activities in order to cultivate a student lead learning environment. While this is an effective means of encouraging topic discussion and teaching independent...
School Visit: Expectation vs. Reality
During our first school visit at the local high school, I had the opportunity to observe a 10th grade classroom. The teacher was a VMI Alumni, so I had the opportunity to engage and bond with him before class began. We discussed our different experiences at VMI, along...
Practicing Standards of Learning
For our class this week, we had the opportunity to visit the local county elementary and high school. While I was able to visit both a fifth and tenth grade English class, I chose to focus this post on my observations of the tenth grade class. In preparation for the...
Strengths and Weakness of the VDOE: Is Rockbridge Meeting the Standards?
The skills expected in the tenth-grade classroom I am working with are the ability to think critically, creatively, communicate, collaborate, and citizenship. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) calls these skills, or competencies, the "Five C's." The skills...