I began taking classes for my CLAD through CTEL in the Spring of 2016. The school I am currently teaching at didn’t require me to have my CLAD so I had put it off. I found that going back to school after graduating 20 years ago was very difficult. I relied on others to discuss lessons and assignments. The UCSD Extension courses were a good avenue for me as it was easy to talk with my fellow classmates about the curriculum. I enjoyed reading others' posts and seeing their interpretation of the material.
The first course I took was Culture and Inclusion. I was immediately overwhelmed with the readings and the expectations of the instructor, however, as I settled in to being a student, I relaxed and began enjoying the discussions and assignments. I enjoyed learning about society, ethnocentrism and acculturation. This vocabulary was new to me and I found myself using it in my discussions with my fellow teachers. I have seen families acculturate and others that chose not to acculturate. This school year, I have a Jehovah Witness Family that is allowing their kindergartener the choice of whether or not she wants to celebrate holidays. As her teacher, I am preparing lessons in case she doesn’t want to celebrate or participate, but, in the end, the choice is hers.
The Assessment of English Language Learners course was taken simultaneously with the Culture and Inclusion class. This was a bit overwhelming for me but I found the Assessment class to be applicable to my class at that time. I enjoyed applying the SIOP lesson plan to my kindergarten ocean unit and was excited to create and use a lesson immediately rather than saving it for future use, which is what I needed to do for my summer courses that utilized the SIOP lessons.
I began taking the Foundations and Methods of English Language/Literacy Development and Content Instruction at the end of the summer and was excited to begin coursework again. This was my favorite course. This course focused on the CELDT, reclassification, SIOP lessons and affective teaching. I have been teaching for 20 years and have seen CELDT results of many students, however, I did not know about reclassification and how there is not an agreed upon definition among districts and states. I decided to incorporate the New Generation Science Standards into my week long SIOP lessons that I created. I am excited to bring the new science standards into my class this year and to teach a new science unit!
My final course was Language and Language Development. This course focused on: legal decisions that have had an effect on education, how language has changed through time, multiple intelligences and the zone of proximal development. Multiple intelligences play an important part in teaching and the classroom. In kindergarten, many students are visual or tactile learners, needing to see and be hands on with their learning rather just listening. Recognizing this as a teacher is an important part of reaching each child and helping them to be successful.
Overall, my experience in the CLAD through CTEL program has been a great experience. I was amazed at the knowledge that I gained and am exciting about implementing it into my current and future classes.
The first course I took was Culture and Inclusion. I was immediately overwhelmed with the readings and the expectations of the instructor, however, as I settled in to being a student, I relaxed and began enjoying the discussions and assignments. I enjoyed learning about society, ethnocentrism and acculturation. This vocabulary was new to me and I found myself using it in my discussions with my fellow teachers. I have seen families acculturate and others that chose not to acculturate. This school year, I have a Jehovah Witness Family that is allowing their kindergartener the choice of whether or not she wants to celebrate holidays. As her teacher, I am preparing lessons in case she doesn’t want to celebrate or participate, but, in the end, the choice is hers.
The Assessment of English Language Learners course was taken simultaneously with the Culture and Inclusion class. This was a bit overwhelming for me but I found the Assessment class to be applicable to my class at that time. I enjoyed applying the SIOP lesson plan to my kindergarten ocean unit and was excited to create and use a lesson immediately rather than saving it for future use, which is what I needed to do for my summer courses that utilized the SIOP lessons.
I began taking the Foundations and Methods of English Language/Literacy Development and Content Instruction at the end of the summer and was excited to begin coursework again. This was my favorite course. This course focused on the CELDT, reclassification, SIOP lessons and affective teaching. I have been teaching for 20 years and have seen CELDT results of many students, however, I did not know about reclassification and how there is not an agreed upon definition among districts and states. I decided to incorporate the New Generation Science Standards into my week long SIOP lessons that I created. I am excited to bring the new science standards into my class this year and to teach a new science unit!
My final course was Language and Language Development. This course focused on: legal decisions that have had an effect on education, how language has changed through time, multiple intelligences and the zone of proximal development. Multiple intelligences play an important part in teaching and the classroom. In kindergarten, many students are visual or tactile learners, needing to see and be hands on with their learning rather just listening. Recognizing this as a teacher is an important part of reaching each child and helping them to be successful.
Overall, my experience in the CLAD through CTEL program has been a great experience. I was amazed at the knowledge that I gained and am exciting about implementing it into my current and future classes.