EDU101Notebook

=EDU 101 Notebook=

A well done 101 notebook will serve as a great foundation for your working portfolio that you will start in EDU 221 which is a starting point for your final portfolio required for graduation as a part of your student teaching. The purpose of the EDU 101 notebook is to demonstrate your learnings this quarter in relation to the Essential Questions for the course.

Get a 3-ring binder, at least 1" to 1.5" thick*. You will also need to get at least four section dividers. Someone looking at your notebook (binder filled with your notes/ artifacts/ statements/ etc.) should be able to use the dividers to successfully and easily find the four sections of the notebook. They should be labeled to represent the 4 Essential Questions of this course:
 * Becoming a Teacher
 * Knowledge of the Learner
 * Diversity in the Classroom
 * History & Theories

The outside of the notebook should be decorated to reflect why you want to become a teacher and what kind of teacher you would like to be. It could be a collage, a drawing, a painting or even a word wall; but it should be creative and do a good job reflecting those key concepts. It should look professional.

Throughout the course, as you learn things in class, reflect on things in your blog, create things individually or as a team, you should create some kind of hard copy reflecting that learning and put it in your notebook. These artifacts could include a printout of one of your blog entries, a handwritten reflection on a class activity, a printout of a team creation.

At the end of the course, you should include artifacts in your notebook that reflect your learning in answer to each of the essential questions. For each artifact, include a 2-5 sentence statement telling why you placed it in the section that you did, i.e., tell what you learned and justify how that artifact represents your learning in that particular area. Your justification statements can be made directly on the artifact, on a separate page in the notebook, as part of a table of contents, as a listing of justifications for each artifact in the section and attached to the divider, etc. Again, be creative and do a good job reflecting who you are and your organizational style.

Think of this notebook as a final exam with four essay questions:
 * How do I become a teacher?
 * How can knowledge of the student assist with customized learning?
 * How can diversity in the classroom help me be a better teacher?
 * Which theories and historical influences should most impact the schools we'd like to have?

Your job is to prove through your choice of artifacts and your justification statements that you have learned some answers to these questions. It is possible that an artifact from outside this class could be included since learning occurs in many places besides the classroom (though the majority of the artifacts should be related to this class). It is also possible that one artifact could be used in two different sections. It is up to you to justify what learning these artifacts represent and how they answer the essential question.

ALTERNATIVE APPROACH: UMF student teachers have started taking their Standards Portfolios digital. If you would like to take your EDU 101 notebook digital, please see the instructor to brainstorm possibilities. Cody, Spring 2012, was the first to ever attempt it. Check out his well-done work.

The required components of the final project are outlined in the rubric:

Check out these examples of justification statements and how they would rate on the rubric.

//If you would like to turn your EDU 101 notebook in early, please bring it to Dr. Theresa's office during office hours and plan to stay a while. She will grade it with you while you watch and you can discuss it with her. You will then be able to take the completed and graded notebook with you that day.//

NOTE: There's a major focus throughout the course on sharing and working together, and you are encouraged to use any artifacts created by yourself, you and your teammates, or even other individuals or teams. What will make it your own is how you justify including it in your own notebook and how you rationalize that it's an indicator of your own learning. Please know that this notebook is YOUR creation and Dr. Theresa will be the only one to see it.


 * Resources that can help you with your notebook:
 * The notebook does not have to be new, though it does have to be clean and professional-looking. Check the "Everyone's Resource Depot" on the lower level of the Education Center. They encourage recycling and creative re-use of donated clean, safe materials. They often have 3-ring binders at a greatly reduced price. They are open Monday-Friday 3-5pm, Saturday 10am-noon, and Tuesday and Thursdays when UMF is in session from 10am-noon (in addition to the afternoon times).
 * Dr. Theresa has a collection of used dividers donated by students from prior semesters. Come to her office during office hours and you can have a set--first-come, first-served on the dividers.
 * In the Department Office (Ed. Center 219--Kristin Hickey's office), there is a 3-hole punch and a paper cutter if you need either of these tools to help make your notebook look professional. It does not reflect well on you if there are torn holes in your pages or papers are ripped (unless it's a very obvious artistic choice).