Wk 3, Finding a book

Hi everyone and thanks for reading my blog,

    This week’s assignment has been probably the most difficult one yet, at least for me.  After following the directions and looking for books through the Leatherby Library I came up empty handed multiple times.  I eventually circled back to the book and looked over chapter two in which Badke asks us to really think about what question it is we want to answer with our paper and research.  And so with that in mind I decided that what I really want to research and learn is the various methods used to keep students engaged and participating in the classroom.  I want to learn what part psychology, sociology and even technology play in the classroom and how they are helping teachers and students succeed together in the classroom.

     I started by researching education in California, psychology of education, and lastly classroom engagement.  I looked through books and then decided that my best option would be to use E-books as I would have the option of accessing them immediately. This search finally led me to the e-book “Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student and Active Learner” by Pérsida Himmele and William Himmele. I think that this book will be a great start to my research as it will help me learn about total participation techniques and classroom engagement.  What I am hoping to eventually find with my research are proven techniques that have helped teachers keep their students engaged and that will ultimately lead students to gain a greater understanding and commitment to their education.

Week 2 Assignment 2: Blog Post

Hi everyone, 

As I conducted my research during the last couple of days I found that by reading about education, psychology, and the social aspects that surround it, it helped me find a title or narrow my research.  My title will be The Psychology of Teaching, I think that my research will focus on the various aspects of teaching and how they impact children’s ability to learn.  The research is helping me narrow my interest, my initial subject was very broad as it encompassed everything that I think teachers should consider when teaching children.  I also learned that the amount of things that may impact a child’s ability to learn is infinite, and that every day will be different especially if they have some kind of social or psychological disorder.

I chose to do two different searches, one using google and the other using the Leatherby Library system as we were instructed.  In doing this research I found that google will have an exhausting amount of websites and sources many of which for me personally seem too broad and their reliability might be sketchy.  I found the Leatherby Library systems to give me conscious of mind when it came to its sources which was very important to me.  Although initially the Library website seemed a bit overwhelming after moving a bit through it I was able to learn how to better search for information.  It allowed me to look at various subjects and a breakdown of them within each area in the Gale Virtual Reference Library which was incredibly helpful, unlike google which just gave me a list of articles and websites.  In short I think I need to narrow my topic more.  

   Thanks for reading Norma

   Hi every one, again.  I chose to not include the rest of the information our Professor Wolley required in my first post because I really liked how it sounds, as a simple intro, and instead chose to do two separate entries.  As I mentioned before I am pursuing a career within the field of education and because of this think that it is incredibly important for me to research child and juvenile psychology, culture, social structures, identity and mindsets.  I think these are all very important areas every teacher needs to research in order to become a better educator and be able to understand and connect with their students.  With that said, in this age of informational technology it has become essential to learn how to use the various media sources for teachers as well as learn how to incorporate them into the classes, for teachers it is essential to possess the ability to present students with the proper formats and steer them in the right direction when it comes to research technology.

     Thanks for reading my blog, hope everyone is having a great weekend. 

Welcome to My Blog

Hi everyone, my name is Norma, this is my second term at Brandman University.  I have chosen to pursue a B.A. in Liberal Studies.  Upon completing the B.A. in Liberal Studies I plan to obtain my teaching credential in mathematics and follow with a graduate degree within the field of education and bilingualism.  I hope to be able to teach mathematics within the Jurupa Valley Unified School District and eventually settle working as a district administrator.

    I am a stay at home mom, with two wonderful, beautiful daughters.  I have chosen to stay at home with them in order give them the attention and care that my mother gave my siblings and I.  Returning to school has been the most difficult thing I have done during the last decade, and that includes going through labor.  But I have chosen to do so in order to become a better role model for my children.  Although teaching and education was not my first choice when it came to a career, I now that it will bring me great satisfaction and joy, as I will be helping mold young people’s identities and hopefully instill within them the importance of an education.

   Truth be told, this is the first blog or post of any sort I have ever written, as a personal rule I rather not have any type of personal information on line.  With that said, doing this blog has been challenging for me as I don’t want to become engulfed by media.  I also don’t have anything other than a couple of email account, no Facebook, no twitter.  I have chosen to do this in order to teach my children the value of books and learning from something other than the internet, which then makes me a bit of a hypocrite as I am taking online classes. 

Well that was a little about me, thanks for reading my blog and I hope we all have fun in class.  If any of you having any tips or pointers, bring them on, please.