Session One Blog

       Outside-school experiences have helped to deepen my subject area content knowledge by helping me understand more about a particular subject area and/or look at it in an entirely new light. This in turn provides me with a deeper level of understanding that can be relayed in my own teachings to my students, in a given subject. Additionally, I encourage my students to ask critical thinking questions in order to dig deeper to foster a love and interest for a given subject. Growing up on the East Coast has given me many historical educational opportunities, though I did not realize this when I was young, which I am so thankful to have had. As a kid, my mother loved to explore the outdoors of New England. Rather than go on vacation to Disney World or a local amusement park, my mother thought it would be more beneficial to “get back to nature” so-to-speak leading us on many adventures, from state parks to old family homes in upstate Maine. These places were all oozing with history and stories; it was so exciting to me as a young learner! I was always one to ask a lot of questions because I had a thirst for knowing EVERYTHING. Yet because questioning was not encouraged in school, I did not question what my teachers told me in class. Conversely, after moving to California my theory on questioning changed. I noticed that I did not just thirst for more knowledge anymore, I also questioned if information was reliable. In my own teaching, I am not at all like my teachers when teaching content to my students. I, unlike most of my teachers, encourage my students to ask questions, ESPECIALLY when something is “squishy” (my term for hard/difficult to understand). I believe questioning and analyzing are important parts to a deeper understanding of all subject matter. With that said, I hope to continue my journey in mastery of content knowledge, all the while growing and learning from those around me.

            In response to the class discussion of Ball’s “The Subject Matter Preparation of Teachers”, my initial judgments have changed in the sense that I feel more enlightened on the specifics of “subject area content knowledge”. As I reflect, during the discussion I was more focused on pedagogical content knowledge and those factors that have influenced mine. Now that I focus more on subject area content knowledge, I realize that I was most influenced through my college education than my K-12. I believe this is consistent with the fact that most of my teachers enforced the “teacher authority” model. This, not being conducive to my learning, is something I do not want to repeat, as I believe it is a disservice to students in many respects. I appreciated hearing and sharing thoughts with my classmates, as it provides me with an entirely new way in which to view the topic at hand.

            I have developed a line of inquiry that I have retrieved some readings on, but feel as though my topic may be too broad. My initial question is as follows, what is the history of English Orthography? I am satisfied with my question, as I am extremely intrigued by this topic. After looking for further information, I realize this topic is extremely broad and is typically linked with other aspects of literacy. With that said, I need to be sure I locate articles with more than one paragraph about English Orthography, which is part of the challenge I have run into. One of my ideas for an experiential learning source is taking another class at St. Mary’s. I have questions on which classes qualify but have not chosen a specific one yet. Additionally, I plan on interviewing a member of the Board of Education at my school (she is a former Kindergarten teacher and Principal), attend a conference, and hopefully, connect with a local author. The last two years I have gone to the CKA’s Kindergarten Conference in which I met Bob Barner, who is a local author/illustrator of children’s books. Bob Barner also holds workshops and I am hoping to connect with him about his work.

            One specific thing I would like to share about reading in my Kindergarten class is the following story. Throughout my first two years of teaching I have always expressed my love for reading and taking adventures through the use of books (non-fiction AND fiction). A little background information about me, I use to HATE reading. My 1^st grade teacher (Mrs. Berry) was the ONLY teacher who shared her love of reading with us and I equally loved reading that school year. After her, reading felt like a chore and I swore I would not let my students feel that way when I taught. So, I did just what I wanted to, I created a place that would foster eager readers. Both of the years I implemented this plan it started out just the same, which was feeling as though the students would not truly enjoy reading. In my mind, if my students did not love to read then I had failed them as their teacher. In both scenarios by year’s end, my students were reading to each other on the rug. Throughout the school year, when reading aloud I allow them to ask a friend for help if they get stuck on any “squishy” words, etc. They look like little mini-Ms. (Mr.) O’Connell’s! It left me feeling that if they learned just one thing from me, it was a passion for reading and books. The best part of all of this is when I begin a read aloud and Theo asks me, “Ms. O’Connell, if you have trouble with any of the words, can I help you?” and I always reply with an eager, “of course you can!”