SyllabusCritics101Fall2010

toc

Advice
At the end of the semester, Practicum Block students were asked, "What advice would you give to someone who's going to take this class?"


 * Think outside the box. Try to do something that has never been done before. --Mike
 * Break out of your comfort zone! --Unknown
 * Never judge your classmates by their covers. --Caleb
 * You need to know how to dance and be able to work well with others. --Anonymous
 * Start collecting artifacts at the beginning of the class. It will be your notebook and final. If you get it done before finals week, you have a lot less to do. --Elizabeth
 * At this point in education, you pass from "getting" the grade to what is essentially job training. Be aware of this, and take it to heart. --Unknown
 * Don't Do not use contractions in your writings and get all your homework done on time. --Leanne
 * Do your blogs on time. -- Jake
 * Don't put off doing your EDU notebook. --Jake
 * Get to know your peers. --Jake
 * Pay attention in class. Most of your questions can be answered if you just listen. --Anonymous
 * EDU notebooks can be fun if you give yourself the right amount of time. -- Johnny
 * Read the chapters in the Joy of Teaching. They are rich is with information. --Johnny
 * Watch your grammar! --Johnny
 * Start your EDU notebooks as soon as you start doing homework or blogs. Collecting your artifacts ahead of time and justifying them will not only help you actually reflect upon each piece but it will help you to not be super stressed at the end! --Alyssa
 * Do all of the reading, it will help you. --Alyssa
 * If you are skeptical of whether or not teaching is for you, DO NOT feel like you are wasting your time! This is an ideal opportunity and environment to decide. Stick with it! --Frank
 * Do your homework and don't fall behind! --Frank
 * The information from the text may seem like common sense, but don't disregard it. The homework does require that you look at it and reflect on the reading. --Melanie
 * Start projects and notebooks early! They aren't overwhelming unless you put them off! --Melanie
 * Be prepared to dance! --Melanie
 * Keep an open mind. --Kelsea
 * Relax and have fun. Be open-minded. --Richie
 * Use the great opportunities provided to become comfortable presenting in front of others. --Richie
 * Come to class every day. You have fun every day and learn all kinds of exciting activities that can help your future classroom be fun! --Amy
 * Have fun with it! The assigned projects let you be creative, so roll with it. --Unknown
 * Check the EDU wikispace often to see what assignments need to be completed before class. --Unknown
 * While it is possible to do the notebook in 24 hours, it is inadvisable to do so. Also, blogs sneak up on you if you don't pay attention. --Andrew
 * Eat. Live. Be merry. --Caleb
 * Be creative and have fun with the projects. You learn more when you're having fun. --Unknown

Surprises
At the end of the semester, Practicum Block students were asked, "What surprised you most about this class?"


 * Most understanding Dr. in the world. --Anonymous
 * Technology can be your friend...be conscientious of the EDIT button's power. --Johnny
 * Laughter/humor is a powerful teaching tool! --Johnny
 * Bring some cowboy boots. ;-) --Johnny
 * How fast it was to make friends because of the projects we did in class. --Leanne
 * How fun the class was. --Jake
 * How much homework we actually had. --Jake
 * How much fun this was. --Anonymous
 * How well you got to know your classmates vs. any other class. --Anonymous
 * It is probably twice as fun as you would expect, it really makes you excited to teach! --Anonymous
 * I was surprised by what each person brought to the class and how each person's strengths were used to help others' areas of weakness. --Anonymous
 * The amount of group work; almost everything we did involved group work. --Alyssa
 * How much we use technology in this class! --Spencer
 * I was unsure of my future, and wanted to try teaching. By the middle I wanted to transfer out and possibly even transfers schools to pursue music. By the end, I decided teaching was for me. --Frank
 * I changed my concentration from English to Mathematics by the end of the course. --Frank
 * Grammar is important! --Melanie
 * You will learn all about the Texas traditions, for sure! --Unknown
 * The whole blogging aspect was a surprise because I didn't think we would be using blogs. --Ally
 * The amount of work needed to actually become a teacher. Don't get me wrong, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. The workload is ridiculous, but well worth the effort. --Daniel
 * I was surprised how interactive everything was. --Kelsey
 * A woman from Texas didn't annoy me as a teacher! I am bothered by southern accents, heard Dr. Overall was from Texas, and expected the worst but it was just the opposite! --Unknown
 * You can push the limits in this class! Just don't cross that line. Be appropriate but have fun. --Amber
 * How creative we all got with all of our presentations and how much fun it all was. --Amber
 * How much I didn't know about technology surprised me. The use of technology in EDU is great! --Unknown
 * I learned so much about teaching and how I want my classroom to be. --Unknown
 * I was surprised by how simple it was to blog things. I had never done it before. --Victoria
 * I was surprised by how much I ended up thinking about the topics covered in class outside of class. They really applied to my life. --Simone
 * The fact that Professor Overall rearranged the curriculum to fit my interests and goals. --Angelisa
 * I was surprised how fun blogs were as compared to usual writings. --Anonymous
 * I was surprised to realize that teaching is in the very near future. I think that this course actually provoked me to start thinking like a teacher, although I sill think that I think more like a student. --Frank
 * I was surprised about how it changed my thoughts about becoming a teacher. --Emily
 * How much I learned about my own philosophy of teaching. --Sam
 * I was surprised that the class was a group oriented class and that the other students in this class were great. --Michael
 * What surprised me about this class was all the projects. I thought this class was going to be some boring class, but it was quite fun. --Unknown
 * How many presentations we did standing in front of the class helped me become more comfortable speaking in front of people. --Mike