Teaching Journal

Reflective Statement Prior to coming to Kent State University, teaching at a college level was not an idea I had considered as I developed my professional goals. It was when I took the Faculty Roles and Responsibilities course with Dr. Iverson my first semester in the program that the idea of teaching at the college level became of interest to me. Up to this point, I have only had experiences teaching leadership workshops and presenting coursework, both of which I have always enjoyed. However, teaching a pre-planned leadership workshop and preparing a single class presentation are not the equivalent to preparing coursework and discussion for a 15 week course. I am so grateful that this practicum experience exists as it will provide me with guided experience as I work to develop the skills and competencies needed to pursue adjunct work in my post-masters experience. Below I have outlined goals for myself as I pursue this practicum experience along with goals for the students in the Administration of Multiculturalism and Diversity in Higher Education Institutions course that I will be cofacilitating with Dr. Lara. Personal Goals 1. My first goal for this practicum is to develop skills in creating a syllabus for a 15 week course. This includes outlining chapters and additional readings, outlining objective, developing assignments, and creating an appealing syllabus design. 2. My second goal for this practicum is to develop skills in presenting from a text book. While class discussion that stems from articles and journals is often most popular among students, it is important to understand where the theories and ideas that guide many of the articles and journals that are discussed originate from. At this point in my experience, I have had the opportunity present ideas and foster discussion that has already been outlined for me. While this has been a great experience, I want to develop skills in reading text materials and targeting what I believe to be the most beneficial for the students in the class while leaving room for students to expand on those subjects in the text that stand out most to them. Please see goal three for complementary desired experience. 3. My third goal for this practicum is to gain confidence in discussing text book related materials such as theories and models as they apply to multiculturalism in higher education. Gaining confidence in presenting these materials will allow me to feel comfortable fielding questions that arise from students and have the ability to foster student discussion on topics they felt passionate about from the course reading. In order to do this I will have to be knowledgeable on the course content for the class session and prepared to speak more in depth on subjects that may not have been planned as part of the primary class lesson. 4. My fourth goal for this practicum is to develop skills in the behind the scenes work of a 15 week course. This will include, but will not be limited to, lesson preparation, development and management of a Blackboard Learn course site, scanning and copying information as needed, and on-going communication with students. 5. My fifth goal for this practicum is to observe Dr. Laras teaching style from the lens of an aspiring adjunct faculty member rather than from the lens of a student. Observing from a different lens will allow me to take note of successful teaching methods that engage students that both educate and engage students, and reflect on creative ways I can develop my own teaching personality. Student Goals 1. My first goal for the students in this course is to feel comfortable engaging in discussion about topics related to diversity and multiculturalism. 2. My second goal for the students in this course is to maintain an open mind during class discussions while bringing forward personal ideas and experiences in a way that encourages learning and reflection. 3. My third goal for the students in this course is to reflect on their own multicultural experiences and the role they play in their current assistantships as it relates to diversity and multiculturalism. 4. My fourth goal for the students in this course is to identify key concepts and models that will be beneficial when addressing issues of multiculturalism and diversity in the workplace. 5. My fifth goal for the students in this course is to feel comfortable designing programs and developing solutions around diversity and multiculturalism related issues.

Note Journal Entries

Listed below are weekly journals documenting personal observations and experiences through the teaching practicum. Throughout the journals I will highlight experiences that align with the goals listed in the reflective statement and will reflect on the following required text Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

1-10-13

Prior to meeting for class, Dr. Lara and I met to discuss how the class would look for the semester. I sent Dr. Lara a syllabus that I drafted from Dr. Iversons class and the class before which was taught by Dr. Rashid. I found it very exciting to draft the syllabus and was surprised by the amount of time it takes to thoughtfully plan out assignments and coordinate text book readings with supplemental readings. Dr. Lara and I will be using the text Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and creating Inclusion (Cuyjet et. al). Dr. Lara explained that she likes the use of theory in this text. I dont currently feel that theory is one of my strongest suits so I look forward to the learning experiences ahead. We are also going to be using Privilege, Power and Difference (Johnson, 2006). For the syllabus I drafted, I made use of event observations, weekly journals, and inter-group dialogue discussions. Additionally, I planned for three major essays including a cultural reflection which would allow the students to reflect on their own cultural identity, and event observation reflection in which the students would describe the events they attended and provide insight as to their thoughts on the objectives of the programs and what types of programming they could implement as aspiring student affairs practitioners, and finally, a course reflection where students would identity key concepts for the course and reflect the lessons that stood out the most to them. Upon meeting with Dr. Lara this week I have discovered that students will be doing case studies, and five essays which are included on the course syllabus. The students will be doing inter-group dialogues and will not be providing weekly journals. I did get to use the bizhub today where I made copies of chapters for students. Dr. Lara and I plan to meet again after the first class so she can show me how to build a BBLearn site. I am looking forward to the first class next week. This week I met personal goals one and two.

1-15-30

Today was the first class meeting. We met in the library and attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Event that was based around Latinos and African Americans. The panel was made up of Shana Lee, the director of the Multicultural Center, a professor and a lawyer. I had my own concerns after the event as there was a lot of focus on the need for Latino and African American children to be more encouraged to interact with individuals of the opposite race in order to be more prepared for the diversity of a college campus. My personal argument is centered around my own experiences. Having gone to a 99.9 percent Latino school, I did not have the opportunity to interact with a racially diverse population nor would have understood what those interactions meant at such a young age. To bring the point back to teaching, I feel this was an interesting experience as I had very strong opinions on the content discussed in the program but became very aware that as a co-facilitator of the course it is my job to get the students to discuss their opinions and thoughts rather than reflect on my own opinions. As a student we are given the opportunity to share our own views and values. As a teacher, it is not my job to share my opinions but rather think of creative ways to get students thinking from different opinions and viewpoints which are critical for a multiculturalism based course. During the class discussion that followed the event, I was surprised to hear that many of the students felt negatively towards the event and the content discussed. I was happy to see that members of the class were not afraid to speak their opinion and I observed how open Dr. Lara was to the students feedback and how she encouraged the students to share their opinions and exercised active listening. I observed that as Dr. Lara practiced the active listening and was encouraging that more students spoke up. This aligned with personal goal number five. I also believe this event and the class discussion was a good start for meeting student goals numbers two and three. Dr. Lara and I met this week and she showed me how to build the BBLearn site. I am excited to have the site built and ready for our first official in-class meeting. This aligns with personal goal number four.

1-22-13

This week we had our first in-class meeting. Dr. Lara allowed me to do the ice-breaker which gave students the opportunity to share information about themselves and get to know each other. With guidance from Dr. Lara, I planned an ice-breaker in which individuals would answer questions which required them to make a decision that would affect a diverse group and explain why they made that decision. The questions were fairly light-hearted and fun which helped to ease students into the classroom environment and get in the habit of sharing thoughts and opinions. We opened the class discussion today with current events and gave students the opportunity to share things they had heard or wanted to share. This seemed to be a popular action. Todays readings for the class focused on the role of student affairs practitioners in the workplace and the current focus making college campuses multiculturally sensitive. The readings also focused on the need and outcomes of student engagement with diversity and multicultural opportunities. In addition to the ice-breaker for class, I was able to explain the set up of the Blackboard Learn site to the class which I completed earlier in the week. I tried to build the site from the lens of a student in an effort to make the folders and content easily viewable and accessible for students. The preview essay was due today for the class. I received a lot of questions about this assignment and there seemed to be a lot of confusion about what the students were supposed to do. Seeing as we did not have an official in-class meeting for the first class I believe it was confusing for the students to have an essay due the next week. In the future I will note that an assignment due date such as this one is not helpful to students and causes more confusion than learning.

1-29-13

This week our readings came from Johnson and Cuyjet et. al. I was very interested to see what the students reactions would be to the Johnson book as the language used in the text is very strong and can even be described as biased. When I took the Multiculturalism course with Dr. Iverson I loved reading the Johnson book because it not only challenged me to think about the literal meaning of the text but pushed me to reflect on my own values and beliefs. I believe that I enjoy the Johnson book more so than Dr. Lara. I was happy to see that the students took the Johnson reading in the way that I had hoped for them too. Rather than becoming defensive against the text which discussed privilege and oppression, the students embraced the value of having personal beliefs challenged and confirmed. I feel this is a key piece to teaching a class. As discussed in chapter one of my Bain text What the best college teachings do teachers who are effective reflect a strong trust in their students. This was an interesting reflection for me as I had not trusted that the students would find the reflective value in reading the Johnson text. I was pleased that they had and intent to have more trust in the students from this point on. I have to remember that these are graduate students and may not need to be as guided as high school or even undergraduate. This is a great lesson to take with me no matter what demographic of students I teach in the future. There was overall very good discussion today and I am happy to see that more students feel comfortable participating this week. This week Dr. Lara and I met to pick the cases to use for the case studies. It was very interesting reading the cases and learning to identify which cases match the goals of the class and what research questions to use. I gained more experience in using the bizhub and was able to post all of the cases and group assignments BBlearn. I am going to get the experience of writing one of the case studies that a group will present on. I am very excited about this experience as I have not written an actual case before. Dr. Lara wants it to be on either a veteran student or a nontraditional student. I think I shall combine both of the requests into one case. Added Note: I submitted the case I created to Dr. Lara and received positive feedback. Group eight will be presenting and researching this case. This was definitely a unique experience I had not expected to gain and I am happy that I did.

2-5-13

This week Dr. took the lead on teaching the class. Our class discussion today was based on environmental influences on a college campus and how those influences cam impact multiculturalism on a college campus. The readings for this week came from Bensimon (2005, Cuyjet, HowardHamilton and Cooper, and Griffin and Hurtado (2011). Class discussion did not seem as rich this week as last week. Today was primarily lecture based with few activities. Dr. Lara explained that she will do purely lecture based classes sometimes so students will feel they are learning based on the common perception that learning takes place in lecture form and that students are not always learning when doing group activities and want the professor to teach. This was an interesting perspective for me as I have become so accustomed to doing group work in class. In my undergraduate experience I enjoyed the lecture based classes but now that I am in graduate school, I have seen the value of group work. I feel that working in groups can be the place where we learn the most about ourselves. However, I still value class lectures. This is a reflection I will keep in my throughout future teaching experiences as I will strive to combine both lecture and activities in my classes. Dr. Lara and I met after class this week to discuss putting together the inter-group dialogue groups. Dr. Lara informed that she will give me the reins for putting together the groups and guidelines. I am excited for this task and going to give a lot of thought to group placement. Also, I will be teaching the entire class next week. I am excited and nervous all at the same time.

2-12-13

This week I had the opportunity to teach the entire class. This was the first time I had taught material that related to theory. It was such an interesting experience teaching my peers. I must admit that it was a bit intimidating teaching a group of students that included M.Ed. and Ph.D. students. I taught the subject of multicultural identities and African American college students. I also taught on chapters four through six in Johnson. Key points that I brought the attention of students through Johnson was taking the path of least resistance and how choosing to not stand up for what you believe in because it is easier contributes to oppressive and privileged behavior practiced by many. I also discussed the idea of how we choose to be involved in social systems which brought on a very lively discussion about the choices we make every day. Many students opening admitted to participating in social systems without even thinking about it. I believe the conversation had on this topic was very educational in nature and students learned a lot about themselves and were able to reflect on ways to stop contributing to social systems that they do not agree with. Key points also included Chaos Theory and Crosss Racial Identity Development Model. I found that I had to really study the subjects and do research on them before presenting them in class on the chance that questions were asked. This was difficult to do but I felt well-versed on the subjects and was ready to discuss them as I went into the subjects during class. This made reflect on how much research has to be done by professors prior to presenting a subject in class. This takes a lot of time and effort but is crucial to the learning process. I encouraged students to form into small groups to discuss ways that they may have exercised a privilege in the last month. This was beneficial as the students were able to reflect on their own actions. I also had students identity three to four items about themselves that showcase their identity and beliefs and share with a partner. I also incorporated a social media piece into the class with popular Memes and had student identify if the meme was offensive to them or not and had a class discussion afterwards why it was offensive to them or why not. What I found helpful in preparing for this weeks class came from chapter three of the Bain book which focused on how teachers prepare for class. What I found to be the most helpful was the advice that educators should present topics that encourage their students. Additionally, it was helpful to consider what the students should learn intellectually, physically, or even emotionally as a result of the class

experiences and how to best encourage the students to develop those abilities through the course (Bain, 2004). I would have liked to focus more on the evaluative piece suggested in the chapter and would have perhaps created a little feedback form for students to fill out. However, I look forward to Dr. Laras observation comments. Overall I believe the class was very successful and received good feedback from students in the class afterwards. Teaching was definitely something I enjoyed and I feel I was able to combine lecture and activities to create a dynamic classroom environment. I look forward to further teaching experiences. 2-19-13 I was not present in class this week as my grandfather passed away and I had to travel back to New Mexico for the funeral. This week was the first week for inter-group dialogues. I am particularly excited about this element of the class as I thoroughly enjoyed the inter-group dialogue piece when I took the Multiculturalism class with Dr. Iverson last semester. I put together packets for every student to review and was able to present the inter-group dialogue piece to the class and field questions about it. I had sent my group assignments to Dr. Lara prior to todays class and she rearranged some group members for reasons I did not think to ask about. I reviewed the goals of the dialogue groups and the functions of the dialogue leader. Additionally I outlined rules and expectations for the dialogue group and encouraged students to be respectful of each other and keep open minds when discussing sensitive topics. The group then met together to outline their own expectations. Dr. Lara appeared to be pleased with the packet I had created for the students and received positive feedback on the content and the layout of the packets. There were a few questions about the groups that I was able to answer and Dr. Lara helped answer some of the questions as well. I think the class seems to be a bit skeptical of the groups at this time but I will be curious to see if their skepticism changes as they begin to see how useful the conversations can be when interpreting the readings for the week and addressing sensitive issues. This helps students to feel comfortable talking about these subjects which is both challenging and supportive. In the Bain book I am reading for this course, it is discussed that the best teachers provide environments that are both challenging and supportive. I believe the inter-group dialogues are a great opportunity to create this environment for this course. Dr. Lara led the class today aside from the inter-group dialogue presentation. There were group activities involved and the class seemed to move through discussions and activities productively. This weeks discussion focused on readings from Harper and Quaye (2007) and the Cujyet et. al book. The overarching theme for this weeks class was Teaching, Training, and Curriculum for multicultural subjects and how to incorporate multicultural competence in non multicultural based classes. 3-5-13 The readings for this weeks class were Engines of Inequality (Chang, 2011), and chapter seven of the Cuyjet et. al book which focused on self-identities. I presented the Cuyjet et. al chapter and focused on the Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People and the Stage Models of Biracial Identity Development: Poston and Kich. This focused on personal identity, choice of group categorization, enmeshments/denial, appreciate, and integration. Students had the opportunity to participate in an activity where they categorized themselves. We also reviewed Wijeyesinghes eight factor model of multiracial identity which focused on ecological approaches to categorization. Today was the first day of the inter-group dialogues. I was happy to see that conversation was rich and as the time went on students in each group began opening up more and sharing stories. Dr. Lara and I traveled from group to group to listen to the discussion. It was an interesting experience to just listen and not chime in. I have found that on certain occasions I have to remember to draw the line between being a student and a facilitator in the course. Having had Dr. Lara as a professor and being in a classroom like setting with my peers it can be easy to want to fall back into student mode. I feel that the inter-group dialogue discussions really bring out a good point that is made in chapter seven of the Bain book. In the chapter Bain expresses the important of stressing learning rather than performance. The dialogue groups encourage learning without the stress of a professor evaluating the

2-26-13

performance. While Dr. Lara and I would listen in we would not be taking detailed notes on the performance of those speaking but rather encouraged students to share with each other.

3-12-13

This week we focused on Latina/o college students and the Dream Act. I was pleasantly surprised at how many students were able to draw back on the Martin Luther King Jr. event that we attended at the beginning of the semester. This was an interesting subject for me as I am a Latina student and grew up in a Hispanic environment. It was interesting to hear discussion from students who are not familiar with the environment and it gave me new perspectives on the way the Hispanic community is perceived in other cultures. I was able to participate in discussion as I have experience living in this environment but I was also able to tie into the course that I do not speak on behalf of all Hispanic students which is a message that Dr. Lara and I had pushed in various class sessions. It was interesting to see the realization of the students who had asked me questions and singled me out in this capacity. While I was happy and more than willing to share my beliefs and values I feel it was a neat educational moment that presented itself without preparation. I believe this is something that is important to remember when teaching as well. Sometimes educational opportunities will present themselves and it is not bad thing to jump on those opportunities. While it is important to stay on task as well, I believe it is equally important to take opportunities when they present themselves. This week one of the students sent an article that they felt the class would find interesting. I decided to create a discussion board for the class so they can post articles and things they would like to share. In hind sight I should have created this discussion board earlier but at least it is there now. I will keep that in mind when working with online resources for classes I teach in the future. This week was the first of the case study presentations. We did cases one and two. I feel the students did a good job presenting. It was interesting to see how different each presentation was. Dr. Lara informed students presenting in the future that she wants more focus on what the students learned from the case rather than on the research they did. I found this interesting as that was not something I would have thought of. I will be curious to see if the students in the upcoming presentation will follow the advice given.

3-19-13

I found out this week that my peer, student, and good friend Tony Fucci has accepted a job in Nebraska. Dr. Lara has given me the unique and exciting opportunity to be in charge of Tonys distance learning. I will be communicating with Tony weekly and have created a journal on BBlearn for him to post his thoughts about the readings and will be posing his questions to the class. I am very excited about this opportunity as I have not had any experience with distance learning. I havent even taken an online course before. I have decided that I will use my iPad to film the presentation with the permission of those presenting and upload the videos to a private YouTube link where Tony will be able to actually view the presentations and listen to the class discussion. This week case groups three and four presented. The group took Dr. Laras advice into consideration and focused on what they learned. There was great group discussion on the cases this week and I was happy to see the increased discussion from last week was a little quieter now that I think about it. Next week is spring break so I think many of the students are getting excited for a break. It is interesting to see the jitteriness in students from a teaching perspective. As a student you may feel it but I have never thought it was as noticeable as it is. I can tell that students are anxious for a break just based on their body language. This made me reflect on the first chapter in the Bain book where it is discussed that the best teachers should know their subjects well.

3-26-13 4-2-13

Spring Break-No Class I was not in class this week as I took an extra day away to celebrate the Easter holiday with my family. My plane was delayed upon returning which did not allow me to make it to the class. I read Tonys journal this week and was able to get the footage of the presentations from Michelle. I uploaded the case five presentation for Tony.

4-9-13

This week was an exciting week as we had guest speaker Roxi Patton come into class to present on her work with the LGBTQ Center on campus. Roxi was a dynamic speaker as always and had great reactions from the crowd. I was able to reflect this week on the difference between a presenter and a teacher. Most of my experiences to this point have been with presenting. With presenting I believe you focus on getting the audiences attention for a certain amount of time. When presenting you focus on humor and attention getters and precise communication. When teaching you become very focused on the students and their learning. You have more opportunity to elaborate on a subject and explore what students are thinking and discussing how they can apply the subject in a practical sense. As I proceed with teaching experiences in the future I will want to be sure to not turn every class into a presentation per say but rather focus on the extended learning objectives. I believe I have been doing that to this point but I believe it is something beneficial to keep in mind. While putting your best foot forward is important in the classroom as it is in a presentation it is important to remember that teaching a class is not over in 15-20 minutes but rather acts as more of a marathon which requires excellent performance over a longer period of time. I responded to Tonys journal this week and brought some of his questions to the classs attention. I was able to take notes on the responses and respond to Tony. This was the last week for the inter-group dialogues. I was happy to hear students exclaim that they are sad that the dialogue group sessions have come to an end and talk about how much they had enjoyed the sessions. It was a wonderful shift from the skepticism that the students had showed at the beginning of the groups. I will personally miss hearing their discussions. I have been so impressed with the depth the students have taken their dialogues and the quality of conversation that is had with the students every week. I dont believe there was a week of dialogue that was over before Dr. Lara or I wrapped up the class. Every week there was room for even more discussion if time had allowed.

4-16-13

This week we finish up the case presentations and have the first doctoral presentation. The doctoral was very interesting this week. The student brought up a school in the south that was still home to a building that used to house slaves and how some buildings were named after members of the Ku Klux Klan. This spurred amazing conversation in the group and I was very impressed with the overall quality of the presentation. The class today was very heavy in discussion and there was little room for lecture. The past few weeks I have not done any presenting but have met my goal for observing. I have had the opportunity to observe lectures, presentations and student discussion from a teachers perspective. I look forward to the remaining doctoral presentations. I continued my correspondence with Tony this week and had a phone conversation with him about how he has felt about the material in the readings and was able to brief him on the discussion had in class that was not caught in the video. Facilitating the distance learning has been a very interesting experience. While I try to provide as much information as I can, I know there are key pieces to the class that are being missed. I truly value the in-class experience for students as I feel that when learning from a distance you miss things that could be great learning opportunities. I can tell Tony what was talked about in class but what stood out the most to me may not be what he would have taken from the class. This is why I have tried to be as comprehensive as possible in my discussions with Tony and try to catch as much in-class discussion as possible on camera.

4-23-13

Today we had more doctoral presentations. Both of the presentations were very interesting. One was on financial aid and the other was on environmental factors. I found the financial aid presentation very interesting as it is a subject I dont know very much on. Both Dr. Lara and I had the opportunity to ask questions and have a learning opportunity of our own. I am always proud to see the intelligent questions that the students come up with and felt the students engaged well in todays class. I can tell that the students are ready for the semester wrap-up. The students only have one more assignment due during the week of finals which is a final reflection essay and many of it done already. I have noticed that one of our students has not been present for a few weeks. There is not an attendance policy in the class. This is something that I will definitely want to incorporate to my future classes. I think an attendance policy is important because it creates equality for students. The students who come every week and participate

and engage in the class should receive a higher grade in participation than those who do not. However, I am understanding when things come up for students. It has been a neat experience receiving the emails from students who are unable to attend class. I am grateful of how the class has embraced me as cofacilitator for the course all year and I have felt very respected. I cant believe next week is the last class and my final reflection for this practicum. Next week we will have a guest speaker and wrap up the course. Final Reflection As I look back on the past semester I cant believe how fast the time went by. It seems like just yesterday that I was talking with Dr. Lara about co-teaching the course. I have been so grateful to have the opportunity to not only learn from a faculty member I respect and admire, but to actually have the opportunity to teach beside them. When I took the Multiculturalism class in the Fall 2012 semester, I fell in love with the challenging yet supportive environment brought on by the course material. I truly felt as though I was learning ways to support a multicultural environment in the workplace while learning new things about myself. As I juggled the idea of pursing the certificate in college teaching, I received advice to pursue co-facilitating the Multiculturalism course the next semester. The idea of having the opportunity to play a new role in one of my favorite courses sealed the deal for me and I registered for the practicum the following day. Looking back on my reflective statement, I outlined five personal goals for myself. Those goals included: developing a syllabus for a 15 week course, gain skills in presenting material from a text book, become confident in discussing and answering questions related to theories and models from a textbook, gain experience in working behind the scenes for a 15 week course and finally, observe Dr. Laras teaching style from the lens of an aspiring adjunct faculty member. I am thrilled to say that that all of my goals were met this semester. I was able to teach one full class session and share multiple class sessions with Dr. Lara. When I taught, I presented theories and models designed around student development in the multicultural spectrum. When students asked questions, I was able to answer questions with only minor hesitations as I had properly researched the subjects I was presenting. I observed Dr. Lara and student presenters from a new lens where I gained new perspectives on teaching styles and I participated in the detailed behind the scenes work that goes into making 15 week course successful. I have learned that presenting in front of a class and facilitating a pre-planned leadership course are great experiences but are on a completely different level than a 15-week course. Developing the syllabus was a challenge yet exciting. It was great to think of the different opportunities to educate students and was simultaneously difficult to coordinate the assignments, readings, and in-class agenda to match the endless opportunities forming in your mind. I believe the syllabus I created was user friendly, with creative assignments and learning opportunities. My original syllabus was re-drafted by Dr. Lara to better fit her objectives for the class and I learned from the adaptations why some of my original ideas would not be as effective. I have attached my original syllabus to the artifacts in the teaching portfolio. Another thing I have learned is the importance of encouraging student interaction and the value of encouraging students to speak their minds in class. I found that disagreements in the class can serve as great opportunities to see the diversity that exists in their cohort and for students to learn about their own values and beliefs. I have also learned that maintaining a healthy balance between lecture, small group work, full-class discussion and group presentations is essential to maintaining the attention and active participation of the class. I have also learned that research is key when presenting a subject in front of a class. If I were to go in front of the class and just have a basic working understanding of the subject, I will not have the ability to present the subject matter in a different way. I found that when I presented on a theory or model, I would often receive questions for clarification and would have to draw on the research I did about the theory or model to better explain the subject. As it is stated in the Bain book, [Teachers]know how to simplify and clarify complex subjects, to cut to the heart of the matter with provocative insights, and they can think about their own thinking in the discipline, analyzing its nature and evaluating its quality. (Bain, 2004). I found this to be very inspiring as I did many pieces of the Bain book which are further detailed in the book review.

As I move forward from this practicum and look to grow as an instructor I will seek to follow the goals listed below. - I will only seek teaching opportunities that I know I will have time for. If I am to seek adjunct opportunities just to earn some extra cash I will not be doing myself, the students, or the institution where I am teaching any justice. I will remember that teaching a quality course takes time, planning and patience. - I will seek professional development opportunities designed for faculty. I will do this by keep current with higher education websites and with my institutions event calendars. I will stay in contact with faculty mentors to gain perspective on changes and developments in the classroom environment. Additionally, I will seek new faculty mentors. - I will not be afraid to pursue teaching opportunities that are out of my comfort zone. Before co-facilitating this course, teaching a 15 week course was out of my comfort zone. Pre-planned leadership courses and presentations were my comfort zone and now I have gained a new confidence in teaching. My next step will be to take of the training wheels and teach a 15 week course on my own. - My final goal will be to continue to grow as a professional after graduation. I have learned so many new things throughout this practicum and my time in the HIED program and will have time to truly reflect on the subjects that I am most passionate about. Additionally, I will not be afraid to add new passions or change the subjects I am currently passionate about. I believe one of the keys to teaching is to believe in what you are educating your students on and keeping an open mind. I have truly enjoyed this practicum opportunity and look forward to what the future holds in store for my teaching career. I have learned that teaching is all about on-going learning and I am excited to pursue new teaching opportunities. Book Review

The book What do the best college teachers do by Ken Bain is a book that I would highly recommend to any individual looking to pursue a career in teaching. Throughout the following text I will provide highlights and key points raised in this text in an effort to provide a review of my learning. Ken Bain begins the book by raising questions designed to look at the best practices and thinking of teachers who are considered to be the best and who have remarkable success in their field. Bain designed a study to include a handful of professors from at least three dozen schools from a variety of different backgrounds. Bain explains the details of the study and goes on to ask and answer the following questions throughout the remaining six chapters: 1. What do they know about how we learn? 2. How do they prepare to teach? 3. What do they expect of their students? 4. How do they conduct class? 5. How do they treat their students? 6. How do they evaluate their students and themselves? The knowledge gained in response to questions one listed above regarding what the best teachers know about how we learn is that knowledge is constructed rather than received. Bain describes the best teachers as having the ability to construct students sense of reality in an effort to help the brain build patters of the way students think the world works. Bain also describes the use of mental models which refer to how an individual envisions or perceives something. Bain goes on to explain that because successful teachers believe that students should use their mental models to interprets what they are learning, and therefore look at teaching as stimulating construction rather than simply transmitting knowledge. Along with this idea Bain explains that successful teachers must understand that mental models change slowly and that caring and encourage questions and engagement are crucial to the students success. Additionally, Bain explains that the best college and university teachers create environments were natural thinking is encouraged in an effort to help students recognize their potential and develop practical skills. The knowledge gained in response to question two regarding how the best professors prepare to teach is very reflective in nature. Bain suggests that prior to preparing for a class, teachers should ask themselves what their students should be able to do as a result of the desired learning, how the individual can encourage the students to develop the ability to apply the desired learning, how can the individual guide the students towards progressive learning and finally, how can the individual evaluate their efforts in the classroom. Bain explains that teachers who are highly effective focus on designing the best learning experiences for their students and guide their actions by

staying away from tradition and recognizing change. The knowledge gained in response to the third questions asked regarding what the best professors expect from their students is setting high standards. Bain explains that teachers who set high standards convey a strong trust in their students. When students are provided with realistic goals and expectations, combined with natural learning environments, they are more likely to achieve at a higher level. Bain also explains that the best teachers know their students and understand that every student needs something special and using one approach will not be successful for everyone. Bain recommends beginning your expectations of students with the student and not with your ego to meet a certain criteria or mark. Trusting that the student is capable of completing challenging work and encouraging and motivating the students to go beyond their comfort zones is another message in this chapter. The knowledge gained from the fourth question regarding how the best professors conduct class focuses on the learning environment. Bain suggests that successful professors ask questions that are highly provocative in nature. The suggestion of using stories to relate learning to topics they may be interested is also explained. This chapter also explains that one you get the students attention you have to keep it. This is done by engaging the students and encouraging participation. Bain also explains that successful teacher focus on the students first then the discipline. Bain also suggests asking students for a commitment to the class and their learning in the class and to encourage students to learn outside of the classroom environment as well. Finally, Bain recommends using the basic methods of public speaking which include things such as good eye contact, good posture, changing vocal tones, and making sure that the students are able to hear what is being said. The knowledge gained from the fifth question regarding how the best professors treat their students. In this chapter Bain shares stories of many successful professors who have left a positive mark on their students. Some of the qualities described through these stories include treating students with fairness, compassion and concern. Additionally, Bain explains that the professors give students a sense of control and provide the students with justification and explanation that is tied to their learning. Finally, Bain explains that successful teachers get to know their students on a level beyond the classroom in an effort to explore and understand their ambitions, accomplishments and concerns. The knowledge gained from the sixth question regarding how successful professors evaluate their students and themselves focuses on evaluating learning rather than performance. Bain suggests using assignments such as a paper or project to communicate learning rather than a multiple choice test. Bain explains that this approach requires professors to get to know their students as much as possible to better understand their thinking. For the evaluation of teaching, Bain suggests not using the performance based model as the questions on these models trigger students to judge the professors. Bain includes a variety of questions that may be used to trigger students to think about what they learned from the professor and how they can apply their lessons outside of the class. What is learned from this book is that to be a successful professor one must understand change and be willing to put their students first. The examples and detail provided in this book are outstanding and would be helpful to any aspiring professor.