Semester Reflection

Throughout this semester I have been blogging about my experiences in my social studies methods class. In the beginning of the semester I was finding it difficult to remember to blog.  When I did blog it did not feel natural for me.  I felt awkward writing out how I felt about activities and classes.  However, as I started doing it more often, it became more natural for me.  I got in the habit of blogging out class, fieldwork, assignments, and even adding pictures and quotes that I came across.  I found myself actually liking blogging.  I can definitely see myself blogging more as I gain new experiences and learn more about teaching.  The class itself was a learning experience for me as well.  I started this semester not confident of my technology skills at all.  Therefore I was intimidated hearing that the whole class was online.  However, somehow it seems that I am not intimidated by new technology anymore.  I was able to figure out or find help for every technological problem I ran into this semester.  As for fieldwork in my social studies methods class I had never done group teaching before.  The planning process was very different than what I was used to.  It was difficult at times to agree on parts of the lessons and find time to meet up.  In the end however it was a learning experience and it helped me build a skill that as a teacher I am going to need.  Teachers collaborate with other teachers and educators on a daily basis.  Which means that working with peers is a necessary skill to be an effective teacher.  overall I found this semester to be very beneficial when it comes to expanding my personal knowledge of teaching and my overall knowledge of social studies.  I am now more aware of all the different elements of social studies and how to gear my lessons toward each one.  I am glad that I took this course and am going to use what I learned in the future as a teacher.