Knipper and Duggan Article

Knipper and Duggan wrote an exceptional article, Writing to Learn Across the Curriculum: Tools for Comprehension Content Area Classes. The main focus was on incorporating writing into the classroom. I truly believe that wonderfully insightful ideas arise through writing, which can take many various forms, informal, formal, creative, reflective,etc. There is so much freedom in writing, which can be extremely beneficial for students.

As mentioned in the article it is very important to give checklists and rubrics for students to follow when writing. This gives them guidelines to follow, but also the freedom to be creative when reaching the goal. Unless the assignment is one that is complete free-writing then a student needs to have structure when given a writing assignment.  This helps to guide the student's writing, which is one of that the purposes for these grading systems.

Reflection on lessons and one's self can be best done through writing. This is where the "listen & write" strategy is extremely beneficial.  I would use this with my students throughout a lesson to open the floor for discussion.  I believe it is through discussion that students really learn material and learn.  They are able to hear other's views, which in turn opens their minds to other possibilities and thoughts on a subject.  Exploring ideas beyond the text and the lecture is where students become truly knowledgeable, and I will work to promote this style of learning in my classroom.  Ending lessons using this technique is a great method to use with the "listen & write."  I would use this in order to facilitate my students' metacognition. 

The multiple strategies mentioned in the article seem to all be great tools for any teacher to incorporate in the classroom.  The goal is to have students know how they learn and one of the best ways for this to happen, as stated in the article, is through writing and speaking.  Literacy is an important function of education that needs to be promoted in all areas, not just the language arts.

Reflections on Classmates Introductions

I began reading Donya's post because of my knowledge of her son's disabilities. An interest to know more about his struggles in school led me to read her post. Donya's personal experiences drive her in her educational goals. People need to have a passion for their career choice and having personal experiences as a driving force can fuel that passion. So many children are over looked, considered nuisances, and thrown to the side because they are different. I feel the same way about so many children in our schools.  There is such a large number of students that have no one to speak for them, and they are not able to be advocates for themselves; therefore, there is a need for individuals to step up and take on this role. This is one aspect of teaching that excites me and drives my passion and motivation as well.  I want to not only guide students to success in school and education, but to be a voice for those who need a little extra.  I plan on this being a goal of mine throughout my career. 

Amanda's post struck an emotion in side me too. She stated that she is nervous about teaching certain content because she feels inadequate in that particular subject area. Well, I have experienced these exact same feelings. It is a scary feeling knowing that I will be teaching someone when I do not feel 100% confident. This is why I will be spending a lot of extra time studying high school subject area content. I want to be the best I can be, and my overall goal is to be an effective teacher. I cannot reach this goal if I am not fully prepared and knowledgeable in every area that I am teaching. It will be a challenge that I am looking forward to and definitely always up for! 

I read on a few posts the mention of Shannon Haley-Mize possibly being the instructor of the class in Pennsylvania.  If this is true then I am even more excited than before. When I was in school previously, I had her as an instructor and LOVED her!  Her style of teaching was great, as well as her humor and kindness.  Having the chance to work with her again would be a wonderful experience that I look forward too.

My Thoughts on the Syllabus and the Class

This course seems to be very hands-on and discussion based, which I think will be a wonderful experience, by which I will learned greatly.  After reading the syllabus, I am so very excited about all we will be doing throughout the semester.  However, even after thoroughly reading the syllabus, I cannot say exactly what this course will be about because it seems to encompass so many different aspects of teaching.  Just going from what I read, I will have to say the course is going to deeply investigate and teach multiple learning strategies and methods of teaching.  I believe the reason the class is so discussion based is because literacy is a main focus of the course; therefore, teaching it using a high volume of all six components of literacy is needed in order for us to not only gain the book knowledge of literacy, but to have the experience in using all components as well.


While reading the syllabus, I noticed there will be a great deal of technology incorporated into this class.  I am thrilled, as well as a little nervous, about the high level of technology.  During my IT class, I used a some of the software listed, but has been years removed so there is a small amount of worry about remembering how and/or learning new programs in order to display my ideas and assignments.  However, with any fear comes excitement, and I cannot wait to jump in head first!  I am looking forward to learning all the old and new ways to use technology in order to enhance my teaching.  We live in a technology based world, and I know that to gain my students attention there will have to be some sort of fun, colorful, talking, etc… form of technology incorporated often times. 


After reading the syllabus, I am very intrigued by the idea of working with students from the North.  Being able to gain feedback from students that are from an entirely different part of the country will be very educational, and give me the chance to see things and hear stories that are possibly different from the traditional “southern” thoughts and ideas.  Also, collaborating with the other USM block will be exciting because it opens the door for more thought provoking feedback.  I do not believe people grow personally or educationally (actually growth in all areas of life) without critical feedback and personal reflection so our class being driven by this excites me!

The fact that this course will be focusing on the adolescent student interests me greatly.  As I stated in my “get to know me" post, I plan to spend a lot of time this semester reflecting and evaluating my experiences with various grades so that I may decide which is best for my future teaching career.  I have had very little experience working one-on-one with adolescents in an educational setting.  I look forward to learning different strategies that will help me as the teacher be able to more effectively teach subject area material to my students.  This is an aspect of teaching that has not been focused on up to this point in my student career.  I find this to be essential information for a teacher to know in order to know how to best guide the students’ thinking in the multiple subject areas.

According to the syllabus, there will be a lot of assignments to complete throughout the semester, but I can already tell this will be one of my favorite classes.  I think my level of learning during this class is going to be very high and that thrills me.  I cannot wait to get started and let the blossoming of new ideas begin!

Get to Know Me

Hello everyone! My name is Crystal Wolf. I graduated from USM in 2009 with a degree in Psychology.  When previously in school, I planned on majoring in Elementary and Special Education, I dropped my education degree though because I wanted to graduate sooner. I was so excited about graduating and beginning to work in the “real world;” however, after being out of school and working for a year and a half, I realized that all I wanted to do was be teaching.  It was at this time when I decided to come back to school and finish my degree in education.  Being able to pick back up at the exact spot I left off in the education program was great, and puts me graduating this December…yayyyyy!!!

The grade level and area I plan on teaching is still unknown to me, at this point.  I always saw myself teaching students with learning disabilities on the high school level; however, after working with so many elementary age children last semester, I have begun exploring the possibilities of teaching on lower grade. Since I will be working with higher grade levels this semester, I plan on comparing the two and figuring out which age group I feel most effective and natural teaching.

Deciding to dedicate my life to a career of teaching was the best school decision I could have ever made.  College is so enjoyable to me; I just love learning.  I get scared and nervous like everyone, but I overcome it by focusing on my overall goal, which is to be in the classroom helping others to learn!  Finishing my degree is going to be the easy part.  The hard part is will come when I have started my teaching career.  Having someone else’s “educational life” in my hands is a scary thought.  My biggest fear is that I will not be effective in reaching students.  A teacher’s job is critical.  Therefore, my time of being in school is spent learning the most I can, not only through books and instruction, but by teacher example.  I have had some fabulous instructors, which have been exceptional models for what an effective teacher looks like, and I can only hope to be half as good as them when I begin teaching.

To add a little about my personal life...I got married in April of last year to my wonderful hubby, Jack, and am blissfully happy! One of the great things I got from my marriage, besides my husband of course, is a beautiful "bonus" son, but he lives in Videlia, LA so I do not get to spend as much time as I would like with him.  I had a cute little Shih Tzu pup, but had to give him away. There is no time in my life right now to care pets (I can't even keep plants alive!), but hopefully once I graduate things will slow down a bit and the time will present itself.

I am in class at USM on Monday and Wednesday all day, have online chat classes Mon and Tuesday nights, and then clinicals on Tuesday and Thursday. My course load is a little heavier this semester because I am dead-set on graduating this December. I would rather work a little harder so I can get out there and really start teaching! Outside of my school life, I help take care of an elderly couple. Mr. Jay will be 92 this Tuesday and Mrs. Margaret will be 81 in March. They are an awesome couple and I love them like my own parents.

As of now, I am working Thurs, Fri, and Sat 5pm - 8 am. I plan on seeing how this works as far as being able to handle it with all my classes. I managed pretty well during the Intermediate block last semester so I think I'll be alright :-) As you can see, I have very little free time, but when I do it is spent traveling around. Oh, and I LOVE football. I am actually very sad that it is almost over; I hate having to wait until the next season, but the ending of football does mean the beginning of beach weather and that makes me happy too!!!! :-)

With all that said, I look forward to working with each and every one of you this semester, and hope I was able to let you in a little on who I am. I think this semester is going to be AWESOME!!!!    GO SENIORS   J