Synthesis

Final Blog Subject (Synthesis of Course): In this final blog post, please reflect on how the concepts from this course relate to your work as a future teacher. Please answer at least four of the following questions:
∙ How will you integrate critical literacy instruction in your discipline?
∙ How will you incorporate comprehension instruction into your discipline?
∙ How will you choose and teach vocabulary words?
∙ How will you structure opportunities for students to use oral language?
∙ How will you support your students in writing texts and producing other representations in your discipline?
∙ How will you support academically, linguistically, and culturally diverse learners?
∙ How will you integrate digital technologies?
∙ What kinds of texts will you make available to your students?
∙ Any other concepts from this course that you can apply to your own instruction?
Note: You are NOT required to comment on somebody else's posting for this final blog.

How will you integrate critical literacy instruction in your discipline?
I want to help my students think deeply about the things I teach them from the textbook.  I want them to think about the why's and how's, not just the what's from the book.  One way that I can accomplish this as a teacher is to give them design process assignments.  I will start with a simple scenario where a solution is needed, then ask them to come up with a design to meet the need.  Then, they will use the design process from the curriculum to solve the problem.  Involving each student in the design process, will make it come to life for them and see how it works in the real world.

How will you incorporate comprehension instruction into your discipline?
To ensure that my students are comprehending the material, I would use a lot of formative assessments.  I would use probing questions, pretests, interest approaches to get their attention from the beginning, and continually ask them questions and encourage that they ask me questions. 

How will you support your students in writing texts and producing other representations in your discipline?
I will do an "extra" unit about technical writing, since it is crucial to know how to write technical instructions in the field of drafting.  One activity I have done is to have students write a paper about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with detailed instructions for someone who doesn't know how to do it.  It may seem silly at first, but I will make sure that they include every possible detail of the process so there will be no doubt about how to build the sandwich.  Then, I will explain that this is the type of writing they will do in the industry, only with much, much more complex fabrications.  Though this is not part of the core curriculum, I feel that it should be included in my classes.

How will you integrate digital technologies?

Teaching my students digital literacy will be one of my most important task.  I will encourage them to not only use the software we provide in class (AutoCAD, Chief Architect, Revit, Inventor, etc.), but I will also show them how to use applicable apps (Sketchup, Autodesk, etc.) on their tablets and smart phones.  Also, I will introduce 3D printing in my class to encourage a 3D mentality with their designs.  And finally, I will be sure to stay on top of all updates and try to keep my programs as relevant as possible.

Oral Language

(a) Please reflect back on your middle school, high school, and college-level experiences in your content area. Then, please choose one discussion in your content area that stood out to you because it was especially striking, compelling, interesting, thought-provoking, or enjoyable. Please describe that experience. What did the teacher do to facilitate the discussion? How did the teacher's facilitation of the discussion compare to the "five elements of effective discussions" recommended in the Van De Weghe article?

I loved my college drafting class instructed by Trevor Robinson.  It was different because most of the time in a self-paced class, there is very little discussion, especially as a whole class.  But he really tried to get us thinking about the industry and our place in the field.  He asked authentic questions, not just questions that he found at the back of the chapter, that he already knew the answers to.  He genuinely wanted to know our opinions.  Knowing that I was already very experienced in the drafting industry, he often encouraged me to share my point of view with the class.  This gave me an opportunity to feel valued and respected as a class member and also as a professional.  It gave students the chance to see a small snapshot of what I did on the job on a daily basis.  I also was able to learn from the other students in my class as they asked questions about drafting that I had never thought about.  Getting to experience their creativity and imagination in their designs, I became a better draftsman, and was better able to think outside the box at work.

I especially liked the discussion we had in that class about roof styles.  We were able to discuss the pros and cons of different roof styles, and which eras and styles they originated from.  He really could have just showed us a quick worksheet and called it good, but instead, he really encouraged us to think about the styles and discuss them and their unique characteristics.  That class period lasted for three hours, but it really flew by for me, because it was so engaging and enjoyable.

To facilitate the discussion, he had a slide show with lots of images that were interesting to look at.  He allowed us time to discuss each image, and never made us feel rushed, so we felt encouraged to ask all the questions that we had.  Some of the questions he asked us, were simple, but a lot of them were very open and authentic, meaning that he had a good reason to ask:  he did not know what we would come up with, and he was curious to find out what our ideas were and what we were thinking.  He also encouraged us to think at a higher level and asked many probing questions to get us thinking more deeply about the curriculum.