Learning Letter

Dear Sean,
Throughout this quarter, we have accomplished a lot of work. From blog posts, to mini-lessons, to the unit plan, I feel pretty proud of myself for everything I have finished. I've learned a lot about myself and how I see my classroom this quarter, and I have already been incorporating many of the theories and ideas into my practicum classroom. I have also already starting to use some of the lessons in my unit plan to teach argumentative essays in my classroom, and my kids are thoroughly enjoying and learning.
I feel like out of everything I did, my mini-lesson was the most successful project I completed in this class. It was engaging, good for frontloading and pre-reading, and more importantly, easy. It did not take much time to plan, and although there are things I could improve on, it was extremely fun.
Of everything we read this quarter, I felt that the first reading on discussions and "The Pedagogy of the Oppressed" were the two most important things for me. I have been scared to attempt discussion in my current practicum setting, as many of my students are very far behind grade-level and often need more support. But I have been incorporating more and more discussion strategies, especially in gamified learning that I have been using in class. And in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", it reminded me that no matter how much knowledge I "pour" into my struggling kids, if I don't give them the chance to learn on their own, explore, and apply, it will mean nothing. When I am creating lessons for my kids, this is the biggest guide to make sure I am as successful as possible.
This class truly influenced how I think about my struggling kids, and helped me to remain positive about them, and work to their strengths to build their weaknesses.
Thank you,
Ashton

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