Reflection

My course experience has opened my eyes to a new way to approach lesson planning in my classroom. So often I felt locked into the curriculum that was provided me by the Project Lead the Way company. I felt I had to present the lessons in the way they were given to me in as straightforward a manner as possible. The learning objectives that they provided were clearly the most important, and what I should be focused on in any lesson.
However, in this course I was presented with a myriad of literacy skills that I realized my students were lacking. I was shown that my students needed more than just the technology objectives presented by my curriculum. I could do so much more in a lesson where students build a house than just simply have them build the house. I could teach my students how to research online. I could teach them how to choose good websites from bad. I could teach them how to synthesize data and present it in a clear and effective manner. All the while my students would be learning about construction technologies while also developing their literacy skills.
I have learned so much from this course. I have truly learned how to integrate literacy skills into my every day lessons. This will influence and change every facet of my instruction. My students will benefit and my lesson planning will benefit. Even the lessons that don’t go well will be more effective because they target multiple areas. In the future I want to fully integrate these skills into each and every project I have my students complete. I want them to have to opportunity not only to create in my class but also to develop. So often I get lost in the project when I need to be thinking about the process. These literacy skills will help me keep focus on what’s truly important in every lesson.