Most of this week's reading focused on the actual application of theories and methods, i.e. the teaching. The apple book talked about lesson planning, designing curriculum, and choosing textbooks.
I am not very diligent in writing lesson plans, although I know how to do it and have done it quite a lot. Most of the time, I just have a list of things I want to do in my head, and then I try to follow it as much as time/situation/students would allow.
Choosing textbooks is a painful subject for me at the moment. Last year we were given the textbooks, but we also had several shelves full of class copies, so following a specific textbook was not really obligatory. This semester we were given a textbook, too. It is my first time teaching composition, so I first decided to go with the book we had and follow it as closely as I can. I held through the entire first assignment. Now I use some of the readings, but do everything else on my own. The big problem on my mind now is choosing the textbook/handbook/reader for the next semester. There are so many options!!!
2 comments:
The method you've developed to use some readings and create your own assignments is what I did in my classroom for 10 years. I found that I enjoyed the readings in the literature books, but the assignments were not very thought provoking. I would create writing assignments, graphic organizers, activities etc. I was stuck with the books the school had, but I could mix and match what worked.
In terms of selecting the right textbook asking your colleagues and following some forums could be useful.
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