MAT 402 Reflection Blog # 1

1.)    As a social science teacher, outside-school experiences have played an influential role in deepening my subject area content knowledge.  From a very young age, I was fortunate enough to go on a variety of family vacations where I often frequented museums, national parks, historical monuments and sites.  Not only did these trips teach me valuable information and factual anecdotes that I am now able to share with my students, they also deepened my love for history.  Because I was exposed to all of these historical sites and I had amazing history teachers throughout my formative years, I chose to make a career out of the subject that I still love to learn more about.  One specific experience that deepened and expanded my subject area content knowledge came when I studied abroad for a year in Rome.  Although I was a U.S. History major in college, while in Rome I took classes on Ancient Roman History, Renaissance Art in Rome, and the History of Travel in Europe.  These classes provided me with a very unique opportunity to learn about specific places, monuments, or works of art, and then go visit these sites in person.  This was an invaluable experience because not only did it give me a unique perspective on history, it gave me an amazing opportunity to acquire visual aids, and tangible objects that I can now share with my students.

2.)    When I initially read Ball’s article, I was very put off by her assumption that all teachers need to be a “master” of their subject area content in addition to having content knowledge from all other subject areas order to be an effective teacher within the classroom.  Not only did I see this as arrogant, but I also saw it as very presumptions that teachers would have the time within their first year of teaching to “master” all of these different subjects.  However, after our classroom seminar discussion, I find myself taking a less critical view of Ball and her article.  I do agree with Ball, that a deep understanding of a subject matter will make you a more effective teacher in the classroom.  Based on the discussion from class, I now think that Ball is asserting that this “mastery” of content should happen throughout a teacher’s entire career rather that in the first few years like I previously thought.  I do agree with Ball that teachers should be actively seeking out ways to deepen their own understanding of their content knowledge throughout their careers.  By doing this it will keep the teachers “fresh” and up to date, and it will subsequently make their students more interested in the material they are presenting. 

3.)    Although I don’t have the wording of my inquiry question 100% pegged down, for my capstone project, I am planning on looking out the effect alternative resources will have on student engagement in a US history class.  I think that my question is very interesting and it is my hope that there are a variety of research articles out there on the subject, however I feel that my question is a little too broad.  In order to better “focus” my project, I think that I am going to have to focus on a specific era or time period in history. Currently I think that I want to focus on either WWII or McCarthy Era Cold War, but I am not completely sold on either one.  In regard to possible experiential learning resources I am very fortunate that my capstone project has to do with alternative resources.  In the bay area there are TONS, of museums, historical sites (Kaiser Ship Yards, Lawrence Livermore Lab, Port Chicago High Way etc), that lend themselves quite well to my project.  I’m sure there are more, that I am unaware of, and I am excited to have the opportunity to explore them.

People Who I Commented On:
Troy Bristol- fatheadtroysmc.blogspot.com
Yadira Zapata- unahistoriadeunamaestra.blogspot.com
Alana Scott- mademoisellescott.blogspot.com

Warm Up Reflection:


As a first year social science teacher at a low income school, I spent a lot of this year trying to "master" both my classroom management and teaching style.  Admittedly, some days/ units were better than others, but overall I think that I was very successfully in my first year.  I felt that my students were always respectful, and I was able to build a good report that lasted till the end of the year.  One of my greatest success thus far cam when I was teaching my unit on Ancient Rome. I had been out of the classroom on medical leave for a month previous to this unit, and I came back a little weary about what I would find in my classroom (both behavior wise and knowledge base wise).  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that must students were VERY well behaved, and they were very engaged with the unit on Rome.  I think the reason the students enjoyed this civilization so much is because it is my FAVORITE unit to teach.  Having spent a year abroad in Rome, I have a multitude of outside resources, pictures, trinkets, knowledge, and stories about the worlds greatest civilization.  It is my belief that because I was so knowledgeable/ excited about the unit, my kids followed my lead and enjoyed the unit as well.

As far as my goals for this masters program, I am looking forward to becoming an "expert" on a topic, subject, or project that I am extremely passionate about.  Sometimes as a teacher I feel like I know a little about a lot of things, and I am excited to have the opportunity to look at a particular "subject" more closely.  By the end of this program, I want to be able to share my knowledge or findings with other teachers/ professionals who may not have the time to research the "topic" on their own, but are still interested about learning about it.

5 Guiding Questions

5 Guiding Questions:

1.) How does student engagement effect student learning?
2.) Do alternative resources have an effect on student engagement and consequentially student learning?
3.) How has the idea of a democratic republic changed since the times of Ancient Rome?
4.) What alternative resources are available for a 6th grade Ancient History Class in a low-income district?
5.)  How does studying ancient Greece and Rome help students understand modern American society and government?