EDU375 Fall 2006

Statistics at a Glance
EDU375 - 603 Linked Section, mean 4.39, adjusted mean 4.48, and median: 4.5
EDU375 - 604 Unlinked Section, mean 4.7, adjusted mean 4.71, and median 4.8

My Reflection on CTEs and Students' Course Reflections

For EDU375 -Teaching Undergraduate Social Studies Methods, I collaborated with Dr. Beth Klein, Dr. Andrea LaChance, and Dr. Tony Lee, and McGrow Elementary School students. Sometimes I had to give up my social studies instruction time for the activities in the local schools. I firmly believe that our pre-service teachers must work closely with students in "real students" in classrooms to understand what teaching means. That semester we also rescheduled all the Block I courses in order to make more time for Dr. Tony Lee, whose class was only scheduled for 50 minutes. I willingly agreed with our group's decision. As it turned out, instead of having 20 minutes to switch from EDU373 to EDU375, now students had only 10 minutes as a break. Before my class ended, students would then rush to the next class within 10 minutes instead of the originally scheduled 20 minutes. I found myself never able to start the instruction on time as there were always students who came in late from the early sessions or restroom breaks. I found students start packing before I signaled for an end of the instruction.

In fall, 2006, I taught the unlined block of students as usual. My course CTEs from both sections did not show a huge difference to deserve my concern, but students in the unlinked section rated me higher even though I didn't go to the Raquette Lake with the class since I went one week earlier with the linked class. One explanation might be that I performed better with classes of a smaller size. Another explanation might be made based on the comments of the students on CTEs. If you read the student comments of EDU603, you will see a couple of students suggested that I started class on time and manage activities in a more organized way. I will take their recommendations into consideration, but I think the changed schedule resulted in one class having a lower CTE than the other.

I appreciated all the support from other faculty working with me in both sections and I'm thankful for students' cooperation and understanding throughout the semester.