Course Contract Three~

For next semester I need to continue to focus on getting things done earlier. Only once did I finish a project early this semester, and it makes the projects much more stressful than they need to be.While I did learn about what I was hoping to from this class, my focus needs to be instead on not what I'm learning but how. I cannot expect my students to use metacognition techniques if I do not. I did feel like I improved in many areas because of my gained knowledge, but I know I could have improved more. Next semester I plan on writing in my planner earlier due dates than things are actually do so that I at least have a reminder to start my assignments earlier than the night before or a few days before. I really enjoyed much of what we learned and covered and I plan on keeping all the study guides as well as the book as a reference for later on.

Thank you for being a great professor who teaches how you teach us to  teach. It was enjoyable coming to your class, even when it was Monday morning and still dark outside!

Multiple Intelligence Lesson

My multiple intelligences are interpersonal and kinesthetic. I chose the topic of modern constructivism for my presentation. What I had the class do was come up with actions to remember different words on the study sheet. I come up with little actions either actually or in my mind in order to remember concepts so I asked the class to get in groups and do the same. It was fun teaching in our own intelligences and I felt like we were able to make many connections for the material, no matter how brief.

course contract review 2~

my goals were:
     Learn more about student learning types, meta cognition and how to teach accordingly
     Learn more about student motivation behind learning
     Improve my own skills as a learner and critical thinker

 I feel like I have learned much about differences of students, not only through reading, but through observation in real classrooms, and seeing the differences in our own classrooms as well. By creating lesson plans and assessments I have been able to differentiate in theory for students with differences and so I have learned how to play up different students' strengths.
I haven't focused as much on motivation of students as I thought I'd be able to be. Because we have been covering so much in class I don't feel like I have been able to learn as much about it as I would have liked. In order to learn more about student motivation I would need to take more time to study it and read papers and research about it.
I feel like I have been able to more accurately apply what I've been learning to the actual classes that I will be teaching since the beginning of the class. My critical thinking skills have improved and I feel like I have been able to choose correctly the best approaches in teaching different concepts to students. I still need to work to improve in all areas of my teaching and I know it will take experience, but I also need to continue to read and study about all different aspects of teaching in order to continue to improve. I need to focus on my personal learning type and play that up as I am in the classroom as well so that I can make more connections for myself to the material.
My motivation comes from my desire to be a good teacher that can relate to my students and teach them to appreciate literature the way I do and to accept the differences in others. I hope to be a memorable teacher and to continue to improve as the years go on. I think that where my motivation comes from is where it should, I don't expect to be a great teacher right away, or for every student, but I do hope to make a difference for some of them.

Goals Revisted~

My First Goal was to "Learn more about student learning types, meta cognition and how to teach accordingly." We have been learning about how learning occurs, and how we can appeal to different types of learners already this semester, and I feel like student learning types has been woven into those subjects as well. I have been learning a lot already I feel like and I haven't felt like any of it is inapplicable to my future classroom which has motivated me to really get into the subjects and ideas. I feel like I have done a good job of studying the book and truly learning what we are discussing and reading about.

Educational Neuroscience Blog~

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D. is an educational psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist who studies the brain's functions according to emotion, social interaction and culture and the impacts that the brains functions has on cognitive development and schools in general. She studies different curriculum and pedagogy that make learning for students effective and interesting. While studying the brain and it's functions she uses her findings and knowledge in order to apply it to different types of learners as well as different ages. She is trying to come up with the most effective teaching methods whether it be through environment of learning, content, the way the information is received or the way in which knowledge is assessed.
For myself as a future educator, research such as this is not only interesting but also helpful and applicable to my lesson planning and mindset as a teacher. By studying the most effective ways in order to teach students, I will be able to reach students I wouldn't normally be able to with by the book teaching. There are so many unique learners that enter the classroom every day, and the more we as educators learn about their differences and the ways we can reach them cognitively, the better are classrooms will become for each student to truly learn and grow. By implementing strategies Dr. Immordino-Yang ahas found, in addition to the other strategies we are constantly learning and reading about, the chances that students will be left out according to their cognitive needs goes down greatly. It is our responsibility to reach and teach every individual.
In my classroom, I would use methods that Dr. Immordino-Yang has discovered to appeal to the students' emotions in order to grab their attention about a subject I am attempting to teach something that I need them to be involved in deeply. I can see myself using the positive emotions of students more than the negative ones in order to teach. I feel that sometimes negative emotions about a subject in a High school classroom can turn into pity for themselves on anything related. Also, I will need to be more in tune with the students' developmental differences across the board emotionally in order to appeal to the students differently according to what they need. Also, it is important to recognize the differences with genders and their emotions, and I know that will come into play in my future classroom.

Motivation Blog

I am here in the teacher education program in order to learn more about the different types of students I will have in the classroom, how to reach them individually on an intellectual and emotional level, techniques I can use to teach more effectively, to gain experience, and to receive my license to teach in a public school setting. I am motivated by my own understanding of concepts and ideas. I am driven by mastery, and am not scared to fail. I love to challenge my own intellect, and I know that as a teacher of English in any high school, I will be challenged intellectually, as well as in many other ways. I enjoy learning and that is what motivates me in the classroom and outside, discovering new ideas and concepts. I succeed when I put forth the effort and skill to succeed, it is internal, not external circumstances that help me or hinder me. I have always been an independent person, and therefore I have taken credit where credit is due, and I take the blame when the circumstance calls for it as well. 
My goals that I have set for myself in this class reflect both mastery and performance goals. I want to gain greater understanding in areas, but I also want to improve personal skills of my own. I think this says about me that I not only want to understand the concepts, I want to be able to apply them in my own life and in the classrooms I teach. In order to be a great teacher, I need to increase my motivation for mastery of the things we are learning about. The characteristics we will learn about in this class will help me in any education setting and I will be able to apply the concepts learned to any individual and circumstance. Psychology in general is extremely interesting to me, and I hope one day I might be able to be a councilor in addition to my teaching ambitions, and I am excited to learn more about it.

Our First Assignment~

Goals for this course:
     Learn more about student learning types, meta cognition and how to teach accordingly
     Learn more about student motivation behind learning
     Improve my own skills as a learner and critical thinker


I implemented the idea of giving myself breaks throughout my reading for this course as well as my others and I felt like I was able to focus so much more during the 10-15 min increments of time that I put towards that and then was able to step back and think about what I read rather than just trying to get through the allotted amount of pages in the shortest amount of time. This method took me longer than just reading straight through would have but it already has been more rewarding for myself as a student and future teacher. Because I am working about 35 hours a week and taking a full load of classes, I must plan ahead in order to get everything done that I need to and want to. On a weekly basis (at least) I make detailed 'to do' lists in which I map out what needs to be done, by which day, and which days I will devote to completing the task. I will use this method that works in other areas of my life more to school this semester in order to stay more on top of everything I must keep straight for my different classes. Living a balanced life has always been very important to me, and I have always had a lot going on, which has forced me to stay on top of my time management and I have always got more accomplished than I thought I had time for.

I will prepare myself for this class weekly by stretching out the assigned reading throughout the week so that it is not left for the last night before class. This is something that I have always struggled with. I do procrastinate, so I have trained myself to not look at due dates, but to write down earlier due dates so that I am forced to begin things earlier and therefore I do a better job on them. For this class, I think it will be important to work on the projects, reading, and studying all week so that it is not all left for Sunday night before our weekly meetings.

If I have problems understanding a topic I will reread it, discuss it with others, look up definitions, and search for meaning in other places until I do. I also find it helpful to step back from an idea or topic and think about it and discuss it away from any source of knowledge other than my own. Reexplaining ideas and topics has always been something that has solidified ideas in my mind.


I will reach my goals in this course by working to understand the readings, taking my time with the material covered before and in class, and applying for desires to learn as a student and teacher.

~About Me~

I am from Los Gatos, California (about an hour South of San Francisco) and I just graduated from the University of Utah in May with my Bachelor's in English Teaching. I plan on teaching High School English and coaching volleyball as well. I played volleyball for the Utes, so moving to Provo (aka Cougar Central) has been a definite change for me! I am working as a waitress at Carrabba's so come on in and I'll serve you some delicious Italian food ;). I love working out and exercising, reading, cooking, baking, and being adventurous in the outdoors or anywhere else.
I started the Masters program this summer here at UVU and I really enjoyed learning and becoming more familiar with teaching, and UVU as a whole. I am excited to be working on both of these programs and I am even more excited to be able to get into the classroom and start working on myself as an educator. I am a very active person, very organized, and a hard worker. I know these programs will challenge me, and that is one reason why I am so excited to be a part of them!