Entry #13- The Final Blog Post!

I can not believe this is my final blog post for LTED 618! This semester has really flown by! I have learned a lot about the connection between reading and writing and about a variety of genres. I feel more confident in my abilities to teach writing now in my classroom. 

Reflecting on the blog posts that I have done throughout the semester, I believe that they have been beneficial to my overall understanding of the parallels that exist between reading and writing. I found the blogs to be a place of reflection and, put simply, a place to "word vomit" what was on my mind regarding what we discussed that week in class. I really enjoy being able to express what I learned in an informal way. For me, if there are too many "rules" to follow when expressing my learning, I feel stuck and confined. I felt that the blog posts were a perfect combination of prompts and free choice of what to write. Admittedly, there were some weeks that were harder to write than others, simply due to the nature of what we discussed in class that week. If it was a genre I was previously comfortable with, I had a harder time writing the blog post. I also enjoyed the entries where were were asked to "Bless, Address, or Press" because it really encouraged me to read my peers' blogs with a critical eye. It also gave me the opportunity to read through how my peers interpreted the readings and discussions for the week. It was interesting to read all of the different perspectives that my classmates had.

When looking at the Student Learning Outcomes for this course, I felt that this blog was a great way to keep track of what I have learned all through the semester. One outcome particularly was highlighted though the blog, which is #5 (the role of metacognition in writing (composing) proficiency and reading comprehension). This blog served as a place for me to reflect on my learning, which made me really think about what I was learning and thinking (metacognition). Not only was I thinking about what I was learning through the readings and other course activities, but I also needed to think about what I was writing while composing each blog post. One thing I learned from this course that is not listed in the Student Learning Outcomes in how to effectively and efficiently run a writers workshop. I enjoyed the reading/writing time we had in class and how it mimicked an actual writers workshop that can be used in our classrooms. This really challenged me to think about the writing time that I currently have in my classroom and how I can revamp it to make it more effective for my students. Overall, this course gave me more confidence to teach writing, and the blog posts were helpful in reflecting what I learned each week. 

Thanks for a great semester LTED 618 peers and Dr. Jones!