The class is made up of both undergrad and grad students from a range of majors and interests. What brings them all together is their interest in serving the community through this exciting book project, organized by 826 Valencia.
The students have completed their third week of mentoring at John O'Connell HS and I'm very impressed of their progress. They were thrown into the mentorship of the book project from the beginning, and they all have risen to the challenges of encouraging and helping the HS students with their personal essays. It helps everyone to realize that this will be a beautiful finished project available at bookstores nationwide and online.
After the first mentoring session, the CCA students had the opportunity to meet as a class to reflect about their first week experiences. Students were able to share their anxieties and concerns, while also sharing best-practice methods in tutoring. Many were interested in learning about strategies of inspiring students who do not consider their stories or writing seriously--because they've often never been told they were worthwhile.
We also reviewed the Eight Studio Habits of Mind, which we will come to again during the Pedagogy section of the course.
I will try to post pictures soon of the high school mentoring.
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It's wonderful to see images of your work in progress at John O'Connell and to hear that students are raising important questions and sharing ideas. I'll be interested in learn more about the strategies that the CCA students come up with to inspire the high school students to move beyond their anxieties. I always find it helpful to remember that anxiety is a part of learning and that learning requires a healthy amount of disequilibrium. Learning how to manage anxiety and to keep students engaged in the process is another thing--and the creative challenge of teaching. I have found reading and discussing learning theory (Piaget's ideas about assimilation and accommodate) useful in developing this understanding about the learning process.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experiences in this blog. I also want to remind you to post your reflection to Tana's questions and the posted readings on the main blog. Hoping to get cross fertilizing reflections and exchange going now that we're 6 weeks or so into the semester.