PDS Definition

A PDS is a professional environment that requires collaboration between both school and university faculty. It works to build community among students and teachers. A PDS's main goal is to improve education for students, teachers, and student teachers.

Tutor Reflections

When first starting my blog, I was excited at the possibilities of sharing my ideas online with others to see. With the busy schedules we have as tutors it can be difficult to sit down and talk with another person about the experiences we've had. With a blog, however, we can post any time in the comforts of our home and people have the chance to respond to our stories. Blogs also give us a chance to reflect on our experiences. Sometimes we can forget to do this and a blog can help us to organize our thoughts and ideas. Many of the blog prompts had me thinking about situations that I might have normally overlooked.
Not only is it nice to post your own thoughts, it's also great to read the ideas of others. Reading over my partner's posts allowed me to see a different perspective of things, and knowing that someone is experiencing the same things you are gives you a feeling that you aren't alone out there. I really value the comments made by Brittany, and it's nice to know that someone out there is listening to what you have to say.
Brittany, how would you rate your overall experience at your PDS these past two semesters? How do you think the time spent there as a tutor will help you as a future teacher?

Learning Goals

One of my learning goals was to try and build better relationships with the students in my classroom. Since I only spend 2 hours a week in my PDS, it's hard to really get to know these students. I want to become a role model for these students, not just some guy who shows up every Tuesday. So far, I like to think I've made a little progress in this area. 

Another aspect of the classroom that I really wanted to get a better grasp of was lesson planning. Thanks to EDUC 400, I've gained a much better understanding of what exactly goes into this. Although I still have a ways to go with both of these learning goals, I do feel like I've made some good progress.

As far as my practicum plan goes, I haven't really made any changes to it. I've been putting some of the activities off, but I am making some progress. I've already completed a few tutor activities, and I'm planning my small group lesson for next week. I'll also be taking a few pictures in preparation for my digital story. Overall, I've gained some valuable knowledge so far this semester, and I look forward to completing my other activities.

Digital Storytelling

Some of the ideas I'd like to incorporate into my digital storytelling include some of the more meaningful experiences from my first semester tutoring. For example, I'd like to talk about my tutor activity forms and how I became increasingly comfortable teaching in front of the classroom with each consecutive one. Also, including some details about my technology activity would be nice. Overall though, I'd like to talk about how this was my first real experience teaching in a classroom. Although I didn't really do much in the way of taking charge of the classroom, as I was just a tutor, the chance to be a part of the teaching process was a great way to see what I may be doing in the future. I could describe my thoughts and feelings both before and after my first semester tutor experience. I'd really like to see some other students do this as well. I feel like many of us may have felt lost or confused when first starting out, and seeing that we weren't the only ones feeling that way could help to increase our confidence in future assignments.

I've never really played with technology in storytelling, but I can only imagine that it would enhance the experience. Watching a video, looking at pictures, listening to audio clips can all serve to immerse the listeners into the storytelling experience. By incorporating technology, the teller can keep the attention of the audience, as opposed to just lecturing in front of an audience.