Jack McCarty

The "Use-It-Wisely" tactic is brilliant! I'll be sure to incorporate it into my class in the days to come. For younger teachers, I recommend that you do not let age get the better hold of you. It is easy for students to want to see you as their peer rather than a figure of authority. In the event that student's begin to cross the line, I will pull them aside and talk to them personally. Never talk to a student in front of a class for this is likely to embarrass them.

It is always a great reminder to use the syllabus as a means of establishing class policies and expectations and not having it stand as just another document the student will experience. The syllabus is, by far, the most important document the student will handle. It establishes the expectations for the entire duration of time you spend with them.

In this module I learned the importance of story telling in any curriculum whether it is something along the lines of nursing or a skilled trade. Stories are the outlets for the world, allowing us to engage with it in a critical way rather than having a passive experience. It helps an individual put themselves into the story teller and learn from their own experience. 

Storytelling is often a double edged sword. If wielded incorrectly, it can often disrupt the lesson being taught and even turn students away from the learning material. It is important for instructors to continually remind themselves that, when telling a story, that they are instructors. Over sharing personal details (i.e. politics) or using inappropriate humor will dissuade students from wanting to come to class or taking the lesson as seriously as they should be. 

As a novelist in my free time, I understand the impact a well told story can have on the individual at question. A story can change the way we see the world and engage the world, and so it is important to integrate in the classroom. One method I use for story telling focuses on reminding students that the people in question who often made such great leaps in our trade, are people like themselves. They, like them, are human. By sharing their stories my students propel themselves in education.

Storytelling, while used regularly in my classroom, is often a key tool in the instructor's toolbelt. This course serves as an important reminder that it can not only enhance the student's learning, but often provoke questions about their roll in the industry of choice. Furthermore, it is often used to boost engagement and dedication to the field. 

VR Simulation, in addition to other forms class engagement, is a great way to promote learning within a new dimension, alongside webpages and other multimedia outlets. As instructors, we are often too rigid in our structure for student development. If we are able to break out of the mold and adapt the platforms as promoted through this course, we may have the ability to create new forms of engagement and a better learning outcomes as a result. 

A couple of notes on this section of the course. When I was in High School, many of my classes implemented the Socratic method for promoting engagement in my education, a practice that certainly should be woven into post-secondary education, and yet has not. I believe my continuing to engage my students with questions, and developing answers as a whole, we are not only able to educate our students but better incorporate the 'self' as mentioned earlier. 

We also can not reject the importance of social media in the use of education. Most of our students are learning not through… >>>

There seems to be a certain disconnect between my younger students and myself brought on not by age, but by technological aptitude. While telecommunication as a whole has certainly revolutionized the means of literacy, it is important that literacy still plays an important role of everyday life. It has not disintegrated with the advent of hypertext and the webpage, but instead has evolved with it, for better and for worse. This course has told me that in order for instructors to maintain literacy standards within the classroom, they must be open to the changes that have been brought on with… >>>

As a writer in my free time, I understand the importance of literacy in whatever field you work in whether its nursing or electrical. However, with the course tying literacy to other key learning factors, it is an important reminder just how much our students depend on it. I try to exercise my students as much as possible in this key area, providing them writing prompts whenever the opportunity presents itself that are based on a variety of texts. The impact that these activities had on student comprehension can not be understated. It is a night and day difference in… >>>