Thinking Geographically, GEOG 310-50

While the class content focused on teaching us the aspects of Geography, Dr. Kinman was very active in creating new and creative activites that would put us into the mindset of future teachers. Where other teachers or subject areas tend to focus solely on their won content, Kinman was explicit in stating the importance of bridging the gap and forming connections for students. As we learned about geography, and the methods and ways to teach the concepts through the students, the Honors section of this class was given an alternative assignment. Wile the general section would be researching and creating an annotated bibliography that woyuld serve as a library of resources for future teachers, the honors section was given the task of reading and writing a review for a separate book.

As most honors courses, Mr. Kinman wanted to focus on the different types of work that we can do; as a group, we decided to form a symposium that would be submitted for publication to a journal. The challenge, was to fill all criteria for the journal, while also being given the only stipulation of writing in the lens of our own major or future profession.

Below, is an excerpt from my submission that describes the focus of my paper.

Abstract

“With the diversity that teachers are facing in their classrooms, whether it concerns the large spectrum of cultural backgrounds, language barriers, gender, or special needs, it is high time that teachers began integrating new and alternative methods of instruction in the classroom. ‘Humanities in the classroom’ is one such phenomenal example of the attention to detail in providing multiple examples to cater to the needs of the students and the diverse minds that they have. In this Review, I focus on how the authors of Humanities in Class, primarily in the areas of art, music, science, and language arts,  have provided excellent tips and knowledge that will help in pre-service teachers see how it is important to make knowledge visible and accessible to all students

Introduction

When evaluating this literature, I use the perspective and growing knowledge of a fourth year student at Longwood University, as a pre-service teacher in the field of Special Education. Specifically, I evaluated this piece with the open mind of a new student teacher, hoping to gain access to the tips to help unlock potential in the students that I have come into contact with as I enter Partnership- a semester long apprenticeship of sorts in a classroom. What I focused on is this analogy that I have come to associate with the  many classes and instructional methods that I, and all students, have or will encounter.

Essentially, what the program and some professors have shared, is that many instructors teaching methods can be classified though this analogy of a river. What many teachers tend to fall under is the practice of teaching a a very wide spectrum of information, but at a very surface level as they stress memorization and testing. What our program at Longwood aims to teach us is that we should aim to form connections by focusing on the narrow content areas of our courses, and delve very deeply into that smaller area while forming connections and generalizations that will transfer to other course areas and subjects”.