Nate Scholten 270764 Spring Arbor University Secondary Comprehensive Social Studies Major As with every education class

at Spring Arbor University, EDU 360 has greatly increased my knowledge of concepts focused on how to effectively educate students at the secondary level. While there were indeed similarities between this course and other education courses, EDU 360 expressed one significant difference: a devoted attention on the use of technology. Even with this variance in content which sought to analyze and implement technology in the classroom, EDU 360 still directly related to the conceptual framework and has definitely prepared me to be an effective teacher in the future with its concentration on pedagogy, assessment and management/organization. This blending of teaching elements and technology made for an outstandingly rich educational course. In regards to pedagogy, EDU 360 provided numerous strategies for upcoming teachers to implement technology in order to enhance the art of teaching. One of my favorite strategies, especially in relation to social studies, is the utilization of text-to-speech tools for reading text books and other reading materials. Students seem to be struggling with reading more than ever before. In order for students to understand and comprehend material, teachers must be able to adapt their pedagogical strategies, especially with lower-level reading students. By using text-tospeech software in daily lesson plans, the teacher is not only implementing technology to help students, but students are engaging with text in a more interactive activity. Not only was this course effective in its focus on pedagogy, but also in its stressed importance of assessments. When observing schools today, Common Core standards and formal assessments are used much more frequently. Teachers must have the ability to construct Scholten 1

challenging tests while also aligning these tests with standards. EDU 360 provided Robert Marzano's Four Point Assessment scale as a great tool for teachers to observe when creating assessments. Not only were we expected to use this scale, but we were instructed to prepare clicker questions for the entire class in order to measure learning. Again, technology is a huge part of teaching and this course made sure to address important educational issues while relating it to technology. Lastly, it is the management and organization aspect of the conceptual framework that was the culminating focus of this course. The Digital Portfolio project asked for individuals to construct an online portfolio containing artifacts from many different courses. However, these artifacts had to specifically match the Technology Operations and Concepts section of the Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers (PSMT). The portfolio forces students to gather and display pertinent assignments in a way that is both pleasing and effective. EDU 360 makes it clear that an organized and manageable digital portfolio is the key to this assignment and for upcoming endeavors in the teaching profession. I feel incredibly confident after the completion of this course I am prepared to implement technology in my future classroom. EDU 360 did an outstanding job of not only focusing on the conceptual framework created by Spring Arbor University, but also focusing on strategies to prepare students for a future in teaching. I am exciting to employ my new ideas on pedagogy, assessment and management/organization in the classroom. I will be sure to enhance student learning by making social studies a subject where students are excited about learning. It is a great feeling knowing this class and other educational classes have giving me the tools to succeed.

Scholten 2