ELED 330

After taking the exam, I feel that I have grown during this class. When the class first started, I felt as though the information was very abstract and difficult for me to understand. I did not think I would ever make sense of the way that Dr.Reins taught us. As the class progressed, I changed my state of mind and began thinking in a different way as the student. I also feel that through the LPU's I have learned a great amount on how to teach students in a way that is inquiry based and project based. This is definitely a class where I have learned from my peers. Before the test, I spent time with classmates going through the study guide and studying problems and concepts taught in the class. Although a lot of topics did not make sense to me at first during class, reviewing them with others and hearing my peers talk about these concepts really helps me to make connections I need to make. The exam we took last week was by far the hardest exam I have ever taken in the Ed School. I realized that by studying hard and conversing with peers about the content it was possible to succeed and grow. I cannot say that I have felt this way in any other class in the Ed School. Overall, I do not feel that I am super confident in my knowledge with how this class is taught, but i can say i have grown as a student through the challenges this class has to offer.

Summary and Synthesis

All I could say when I finished taking the test was "wow."  The test was very challenging and required a great amount of deep thinking and sense-making.  I felt like I was prepared to take the exam because I went over the study guide countless times and read the chapters/readings that were assigned to us.  But after taking the test I realized that the study guide wasn't going to help me on the test because it was all about the connections and sense-making.  This was very different from every other exam and I believe that was a reason why I thought it was more difficult.  This test, however, taught me so much from simply going over the exam in class.  When I saw my mistakes, I could go over the thought process I took to find the answer and compare it to the thought process I should have taken.  This helped me because I can use the information I gained to become a better test taker and teacher.  As a teacher, I must require my students to use deeper thinking to develop a deeper understanding of the material.  I must also be able to show my students the connections that need to be occur in order to develop the deeper understanding.

Eled 330 Test

I thought the test was very challenging.  I remembered learning and at least seeing all of the information that was on the test, but it definitely challenged me in my higher order thinking.  In class today (Nov. 8) you mentioned a comment that this is exactly how a 5th grader would feel during a standardized test on material that was challenging to them.  This really impacted me.  It made me think back to when I struggled with math and how I brought that same math anxiety into this class.  I hope that I continue to remember this feeling when I become a teacher so that I can prevent any student from feeling this way.