Personal Narrative: Two Core Teaching Strategies

Electrified. That’s the only word to describe my feelings when I first saw the quirky essay questions of UChicago. Yet I, instead of being daunted by the complexity of the questions, was enthralled as if an electric current went through every cells up and down my body, cheering them up. “That’s it! That’s the one!” I almost exclaimed. As a person who always with an insatiable curiosity and infinite academic vigor, I keep myself intellectually challenged all the time. Thus, I know UChicago is the one that I belong, a place where scholarly conversations are cherished and intellectual pursuit is fulfilled.

I believe that the fundamental goal of teaching is to provide a safe environment that allows students to meet their fullest potential in every aspect of their life. My job as an educator is to meet each child’s unique needs in a way that allows them to feel safe and secure to share ideas and take risks when it comes to their own education. I believe that as a teacher I should act as a guide to students’ learning rather than a dictator to it. I also believe that a child’s natural curiosity should direct their learning and impact what they choose to do. The final aspect that I believe is a must have in the classroom is a respect for all people and things. As a role-model for the students, I must show them how

Over my years of school, one big influence on me has always been sports. Ever since a young age, I have always enjoyed playing and watching sports. In my four years in high school, I have fell in love with the sport of lacrosse.

I woke up and took one bite out of my pop tart but that one bite was all I could eat. My legs were shaking, and my heart was pounding. My dad told me, “It is a true honor to even make it this far so go out there and have some fun.” Once I heard this statement, I knew I was ready to go. I arrived at school and boarded the bus. The car ride was an hour and fifteen minutes of hearing the squeaking of the wheel on the bus. My teammates were getting their heads ready for the big game.

As my high school years were coming to an end, all anyone could talk about was college. Where they were going, what state they would be a resident in, and what they would major in, what campus they would be visiting that weekend. I, however, thought I had it all under control. I thought that when my Senior year came by it would all fall in to place. That's crazy, right? The shows that I grew up watching did not have to deal with this. That is when expectation went out the window and reality kicked me in the butt. I had five months left to start applying to colleges and looking in to different campuses that offered my dental hygiene program. Lucky for me, my community college had a two year program.

I find myself reading this short paragraph over and over(above). My topic sentence makes me happy and proud. Going back to school was the best thing I have done. I chose to talk about going back to school to the “future employer” because it shows I am motivated as well as dedicated. This class has brought a lot to my attention. The mannerism that is expected in the “business world” is to speak and write well. It is extremely important to know how to write (type) a meaning full and proper paper whether it is for school or work. I have noticed a great impact in my vocabulary and writing skills. My boss told me on Monday he is impressed with the new docs I typed up for our new clients (with no help from him). I was not excited about this class

I have truly enjoyed writing for most of my life and after this class I will continue to enjoy writing hopefully with more skill. I have always viewed myself as a fairly strong writer and this class has reaffirmed that for me, but it has also shown weaknesses in my writing. As an introduction level class this has been one of my favorites; at some point I will take a higher level, even though it is not required for my major. Even though this class is almost over I am continuing to learn. I also love that this class will help me with literally ever other class in my college career. I am not a particularly strong reader, but as my writing skills improve so do the reading skills. While in this class I have learned a lot about everything from what I can improve, to subjects that interest me, and constructing a successful paper.

In this class, I have learned many new skills to improve my writing, and I have also learned new grammar rules. In regards to my writing, I have learned the importance of freewriting when beginning to write a paper. Additionally, I now know to allow ample time for revising and editing because I can look at my work critically for mistakes and make necessary changes. Furthermore, I have learned about grammar rules such as pronoun-antecedent agreement. This rule is something that I know subconsciously, but being made aware of it has allowed me to find mistakes I make more often.

What well in your classes? What did you need to do differently? What is your plan for success this semester? In this class, what will you need to do to be successful?

I believe I have grown a lot since the beginning of this course. My writing was severely lacking grammar and punctuation. I didn’t use any punctuation other than periods and very few commas spersed throughout my papers. My papers still need help in that area, but I have improved. I now know where they need to go and when it’s appropriate to use them. My papers aren’t exactly flawless but they are better than before. I would write how I speak at times and I knew it wasn’t right, but I would still do it because it allowed my papers to flow better in my mind. I read my papers out loud to help avoid my problem with writing how I speak. I’ve learned my writing style in this course, or lack thereof. I found a program that would benefit me now and

As technology evolves, the traditional style writing classrooms should do so as well. Students are used to the typical routine, in which an instructor lecture and hands out assignments. However, is that really the most effective way of teaching for all students? Teachers neglect the fact that not all students learn the same way. In learning this, I propose some changes that could be made in order to increase learning effectively such as; the choice of physical work verses online work, communications and feedback to students, and essays.

While not a hugely transformative venture, I have found this semester to be a good vehicle for making my writing more accurate to its intended purpose. Prior to taking this class I did have some experience in professional writing for a few of the jobs I've had in the past, but this class organized those thoughts, gave them name, and pointed out where and how to pursue them. Its been an enlightening experience and provided me with tools I hope to use the rest of my life.

I can still remember my heart pounding out of my chest. It was my first time in Writing 1, and my nerves were mostly the result of a friend’s advice. Winter quarter, my friend told me about her struggles in her writing class and she advised me not to take Professor Bernstein for Writing because as she said “he is really tough and a very hard grader.” However, I had no other option but to take writing with Professor Bernstein because all the other writing 1 classes conflicted with my schedule. Nevertheless, nine weeks have past since I first stepped foot in Writing 1, and I can certainly say that I have learned more than I ever expected. Yes, it is true, this class has been a challenge like no other, especially for me, being that English is

The three things I learned this summer was that I just have to read every once In a while and I understand stuff. Reading this summer has improved a lot in my opinion. I can follow along with the professional reader when he reads and I can follow along with my pen when Mcgee reads, so that has improved since the school year. Also that our teacher can talk about things and actually make you think a little bit. Just when he does the little kindergarten impressions, he makes a really good point. He makes you think in depth which I think is a good thing.

The fifth student learning objective assures that we will be able to function well in a multi- disciplinary team. I took Engineering 100 course in my past where I was required to work in a group of students of different majors. Our group had to design and build a hovercraft for the entire semester and the hovercraft project was divided into several parts which was excessively affective to perform the goal of our project. However, our team was able to help each other out when it came to the different aspects of designing the hovercraft by having a multi-disciplinary team. For instance, we were able to rely on the computer science teammate for the programming of the hovercraft while my team was able to rely on me when it came to the financial