BLOG 2

I really enjoyed reading throuh our classroom blogs and learning even more about my classmates.  The pictures were also great. Gabby and Kaitlin Smith's  blogs really were relatable to me when I was reading them.  Like Gabby I am also nervous about haveing to teacher in the upper grades becasue as she stated, "some are too cool for school."  Its a sad but true reality and it makes added stress on the teacher because many times those students make it hard to have decent classroom management.  Gabby also is anxious about teaching math.  I know that it is just an uncomfortanble thought to think about because I have never like it myself.  Kaitlin and I share the same desire to work with third graders which is few and far to come by.  We also both attended Jones before comming to USM to study elementary education.

The design thinking peice that I read I though was really great.  It was very helpful in providing a step by step script of what could be done in the classroom.  The idea of design thinking sounds great and I know, from having participated in the steps in class this week, that it is a great "tool" to use in order to get students really thinking and motivated to learn.  As with everything there would more than likely be some flaws with the approach that was shown such as internet access.  Although in today's world many of us carry the internet around with us in our pockets or purses there are still some student's that do not have this luxury.  However, I beleive that with a teacher that knows what they are doing andy think can be tweaked for maximum effectiveness.  One of my favorite ideas mention was that the teacher plays more of a "guide on the side" approach in the classroom.  Personally, I love classroom discussion and when you and your peers become not only the learners but also the facilitators I think that the classroom tends to open up. 

I have enjoyed using the design thinking process in our classes and I think that it would be very effective in promoting the students to be more individual learners in my future classroom.