Getting Ready for Classes

I spent the day organizing and recreating the courses I will teach this semester. I have a curriculum course for my Business Education majors and minors and a Skills and Strategies course (two sections) for all of the second year Secondary Program students.

There never seems to be enough time in the courses to do all of the things I plan. There are so many things to learn , to think about and to do as these students move towards becoming teachers. And as I have pointed out in previous entries to this blog the program is more effective when the students' experiences are integrated across courses.

I am fortunate in that I will teach this curriculum course to the Business Ed students which will be followed by instruction and evaluation courses in the Winter. I actually try to plan a two semester, three course experience. And each year I try something different.

Last year we spent a bit of time at the Food Bank's education centre during the winter. My students saw that the traditional k-12 school isn't the only location suitable for learning.

This year my 'experiment' is to have a few guest speakers talk to my class over the internet. I have invited colleagues from distant places to appear in my class via web camera. I've yet to see how this will work out but I'm hoping that it will go well. I have asked leaders in the field to bring their expertise to the class.

I'm also considering the use of blogs for my students' written materials. I haven't exactly thought it through yet. I often ask students to react to readings, videos and other classroom experiences. Perhaps this semester I will have them do those reactions on their own blog. Privacy issues concern me but I've yet to make the final decision on this matter.

The nights here are cooling down big time and I am anxiously awaiting my first northern lights sighting. I love this time of year. It is fresh, cool and beautiful