Eric+Thieleman

My name is Eric Thieleman, I am a post-bachelor student with degrees in History and Political Science from MSU so those are my major and minor when it comes to teaching. I graduated in the spring of 2010 and gave law school a go before coming to my senses and deciding I would much rather become a teacher. I am married and while that takes up a lot of my time, I enjoy sports, both watching and playing, as well a growing interest in hobby farming. We currently have two cats living with us in our one bedroom apartment and that seems to keep life exciting as they carry on with their crazy antics.




 * Differentiated Lesson Plan **

Lesson Plans
(Cooperative Learning)

(Simulation)

(Debate)

(Student-lead Investigation)

REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING PROMPTS

 * Assignment 12 11-30**

My top three intelligences were self, language, and logic/math. I believe that these describe me pretty well but like anything I think there are drawbacks. I don’t think a 50 something questionnaire can accurately predict something as complicated as someone’s intelligences. It may give an idea of what the person is strong in but it shouldn’t be taken as fact. I feel that taking this test as a post-bachelor student will not impact my learning at all since my learning in an academic setting is nearly completed.


 * Assignment 11 11-16**

Write about the teacher you were closest to in either middle or high school, why was this teacher important to you? How did it impact what you did in his or her class?

I was closest to my 8th grade social studies teacher. He inspired me to get involved in social studies and history. This was when my initial desire for the subject matter came about. This teacher was important to me because without him, I may have never grown to love the social studies and may not have paid attention in high school. Because I was very interested in the topic and respected him, I was much more attentive in that class compared to others. I performed much better and was better behaved. His passion for history and the other social sciences is what drove me to first consider teaching. As a teacher in the future I hope to be able to emulate his passion for the subject matter.


 * Assignment 10 11-9**

Anything you remember, or want to ask about our visit with Ben at Haslett Middle.

I enjoyed the time we spent in Ben's class and found his teaching style to be very engaging and was an eye opening experience knowing that it would be possible to bring my own personality into my teaching and I don't necessarily need to fit the role of the prototypical "teacher." One question I would have for Ben is how students react when he isn't as energetic as normal? Also, I would ask him how he continues to be so energetic and sustain his teaching style when he has to teach the same things every year? In other words, how does he stay interested and engaged in the material even after teaching it for so long?

Looking back on my previous education, I believe there are numerous examples of times where I have experienced both null and hidden curriculum. For null curriculum I would say looking back on my experiences while they can be perceived as "white based" I can honestly say I have never once thought the importance of the history of whites in America was ever portrayed in school. Even in the social studies classes I have been in there has been focus on every minority race throughout all facets of time but I don't recall a teacher ever saying "and white people at this time were..." Granted, that history in general is presented from a white perspective I have always been aware what was happening within the black community, the Hispanic community and even the Asian community but as for those from Europe, I can recall none. I don't really even recall much discussion on the struggles of Irish, Italian and Eastern European immigrants throughout my coursework. The absence of instruction on these topics had left me believing that all whites in American history had not gone through any struggle which is false and left me believing, once I did discover their struggles, they must be unimportant. As for hidden curriculum, I will use the obvious hidden curriculum in seating. I can recall numerous teachers attempting to change the normal row seating by putting us at tables thinking that if we are sharing a table with another, that we would somehow do better than if we were all sitting separately. However they overlooked the fact that we were all still facing forward with our attention at the front of the room. The best two classes I had were those who instead of simply forming different combinations of tables and groupings with us all facing forward towards the front, would put it into different arrangements facing other ways. I believe as students when we enter the same types of classrooms having us all face the teacher at the front of the room, we become complacent and too comfortable in which we are much more likely to drift off into the abyss. The best classes I had would change that trend, ones that put us in groups combining two tables much like how our class is (usually) constructed and the other put us into a horse shoe pattern. Not to say these are better than any other arrangement but they are different and that simple fact that they were different threw students off and forced them into a new situation every day which helped divert their attention from the norm.
 * As****signment 9 11-2**
 * Assignment 8 10-26**

I was surprised most that we read this in our class. Not so much the article itself and what it said but rather that we were required to read it for our class. The topics were so different than what we are use to learning in our TE classes. It was refreshing to see other views on social studies even if they are not generally accepted. I think one aspect that is correct is that if we allow the teaching of democracy it will in fact cease to exist. I do believe that the fear of our democracy dissipating does drive our social studies education in public schools. I think the focus of social studies being for primarily preparing people to become more responsible and accountable for the democracy they both benefit and participate in.


 * Assignment 7 10-19**

How will you teach about Columbus after our discussion the other day? Why?

I believe it is important to teach facts about Columbus and then present the ideals around his discovery both the pros and cons. It is important not to present only one view of Columbus such as the negative effects implemented upon the native population. It is necessary not to implement our own bias as teacher regardless of the subject even when it comes to slavery. We need to present the facts, how both sides viewed the topic and then address its aftermath. For a history class, our duty is not to give our opinions on historical events it is to present the facts and the conflict or impact it had on the broader history of the country.


 * Teacher Correspondence on** **Assessments**

Hey Eric, You’re right it really depends on the classes. Right now I teach 4 sections of AP World History and one section of regular world history. So it’s obviously going to bring about different challenges for assessments. You may remember that for the AP classes I design the assessments to mirror the AP Exam. Which means that I give multiple choice exams followed the next day by an essay exam. Then they are also assessed using the DBQ. These are the things that they’ll be required to do for the ap exam, so that’s what I use for my classes.

For the regular world history classes, I vary the assessments between essays in class, multiple choice chapter quizzes, DBQs, and free responses. They also have geography quizzes and open note quizzes randomly. Then I try to make different types of assessments for learning styles and strengths, like skits and songs or pictures or poems. I give them lots of room for creativity if it’s a group project. I have a lot more latitude in the regular class for student creativity and strength.

Hope that helps.


 * Assignment 6 10-12**

How do you feel about the process of creating a professional growth and development plan? Do you think this is a useful task? Would it have usability in a middle school or high school classroom?

I believe that it is important to create a PGDP because it helps us set goals for ourselves that we can evaluate throughout the year and beyond. Having the goal set aside and following your process to reach it allows us a tangible thing to accomplish rather than just saying I want to speak better in public. This plan gives a plan of how to achieve the goal and having the teacher know your goals, she can further drive you to meet them. I think you can use something like this in a middle school or high school setting as long as we keep in prospective that these students may not meet nor have the drive to meet their goals.


 * Assignment 5 10-5**

The Sir Ken Robinson video further showed that the education system itself is broken. We attempt to standardize every student’s education and make them all clones, punishing those who do not excel in math and reading while ignoring the subjects they do well it. The educational system has definitely placed a higher value on certain subjects and then has moved “all in” on those. What we don’t realize it what we are losing by ignore things like the arts and even social studies. We will have a bunch of mathematicians who will have not ability to critically think or come up with creative solutions to problems. In such a case I fear for the future of our country. Robinson made light of the system trying to create professors and college grads. I think a significant problem in our educational system is this drive to send all students, regardless of ability, to college. I think this is very dangerous especially with how the college experience is becoming increasingly easier. We are going to have people who cannot critically think, cannot retain information being passed through college because it’s the way for the university to make a profit. It is sad to think but the world needs ditch diggers and garbage men perhaps we can accept that and not act as if the student with no motivation can end up being a college professor one day. Maybe that student doesn’t want to seek higher education and would benefit more from a class where they can express themselves.


 * Assignment 4 9-28**

My corresponding teacher seemed to almost have a pre-written, rehearsed paragraph about unit plans. He made it clear that his unit plans are pre-organized by what he described as a sort of committee of teachers that use the district curriculum to form their plans. This district curriculum, to my surprise, is determined by the major standardized tests (MME and ACT). He seemed very firm on this topic and really left no room for a different interpretation in his description. I thought it was odd that all the curriculum is based on standardized tests which many students may not have motivation to perform well on and that he didn't seem to attempt in any way to tailor the unit to him own preferences. I doubt he adheres that strictly to the curriculum but he didn't seem to want me to know his process.


 * Assignment 3 9-21**

//__A) What has been most difficult in planning this unit so far?__//

I find adhering to the curriculum standards has been slightly difficult. For this particular subject it doesn’t bother me too much because I am not incredibly well versed on the Modern Middle East however, if this were any topic in American History or even European History I may have a huge problem with the standards. I felt in high school that my history teachers were all so focused on the textbook and essentially our lesson involved reading the chapter(s) out of the text then doing an outline in class. I have a hard time believing that is what every teacher wanted to do. Since the district determined that the text was required to learn to master the class, the teachers had to follow suit even if they may have wanted to emphasize different things. I feel that I will definitely want to teach the subject my own way, focusing on the points I want emphasized not the points someone who has no background knowledge of the subject decides.

//__B) Do you think units should be planned chronologically? around a theme? through enduring understandings? a combination? Why?__//

I am a strong believer that planning should be done chronologically. Especially with history, there is a need for structure and organization so that students have the basic timeline down and can build upon that the foundation of their historical learning. I have no problem with themes and understandings being included but not at the expense of a solid chronological base. I can recall a history course I took at MSU in which we were assigned to read a peer’s paper and revise it how we say fit. The subject was the first half of the nineteenth century and the student’s paper I read obviously lacked an understanding of the chronological way of things. While his understanding of the themes were fine, it seemed he lacked the knowledge that the Whig Party came before the Republican Party and that Andrew Jackson had nothing to do with the Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian political climate. Not having the chronological knowledge of American history made the student seem as if he had no knowledge of the subject at all. This is truly the foundation of learning history upon which you can place everything and group themes and gain understanding.


 * Assignment 2 9-12 **

//__ (A) Keeping in mind that there are many models of good teaching, describe some attributes or characteristics that good teachers possess. __//

I think that a good teacher must not only be able to regurgitate information, they must be able to make that regurgitation attractive to students. That sounds bad but it is true. Often time’s teachers can be highly intelligent in their subject(s) but be poor or even unable to translate that into a digestible product for students to learn from. This is the essence of teaching in my opinion. A teacher must be the translator between the complex theories and information and the student’s ever-changing mind.

//__(B) Reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher at this point, what are some areas you are strong in? Where do you have room for improvement? __//

My strengths would be a mastery of the information to be taught to students and a passion for such information. My weaknesses would be the lack of experience and confidence when it comes to being relied on by others to learn certain information. I believe that I have a strong grasp of the material and can begin to translate the information for students however; I do not yet know how to prepare for the many variables that will arise in these situations. A major improvement I need to make is in public speaking. While I have no issue speaking as a part of a discussion or smaller group, I have a hard time commanding the attention of a large group unless I am familiar with the environment and the people.

//__(C) What are some things you need to learn or skills you need to practice to improve your teaching? __//

I need experience in the classroom. To this point I have not been in a classroom as a teaching student. I am currently in TE 302 and will be taking TE 250 next semester along with TE 408. My major improvement lies in the classroom and getting acquainted again with the classroom atmosphere and reaching a comfort zone to which I can build experiences on. As previously stated, my public speaking skills need to improve and I need to feel more comfortable commanding a large group.


 * Assignment 1 9-7 **

//__ A) d escribe and post your favorite memory from a social studies class from middle/junior/senior high school; __//

My favorite memory comes from my AP History classes in high school. I came into my senior year of high school being a steady student, 3.0 GPA but having never taken a “hard” class however, I strove to get into MSU. This led me to schedule two AP classes for my senior year, AP US and AP European History. The first day of class, I was told by both teachers that the intensity of their class would bring me to my knees. Intimidated, I journeyed forth into the year with hesitation. Just as the first semester came to a close my teachers met with me in the hallway as they had each just discovered I was taking both of their classes at the same time. They questioned how my semester was going and I gave them a simply reply of “fine.” Then my AP Euro teacher, the younger, more energetic of the two asked me how I was handling the course load. I told him that I had yet to open either textbook for their classes. Stunned, my AP US teacher asked how I was doing so well in his class and before I could answer, asked the other teacher if I was doing well in his class to which he nodded. I told them simply that with the lectures in class and my previous knowledge, I had no need to open the books and would rather spend that time reviewing and studying for my real enemy, math. Their intrigue grew even more at the end of the year when it came time to take both AP exams which of course, with my luck, were on the exact same day within a half hour of each other. In the end I ended up with a B+ in the AP European class and a solid A in AP US as well as a 4 out of 5 on both AP Exams. This was by far the best year I had in social studies throughout my entire educational career.

//__(B) describe and post your worst memory or experience from a social studies class from middle/junior/senior high school;__//

The worst memory I have comes from a “Practical Law” class that was offered my senior year as well. I had scheduled the class because I thought at the time, Law was the career path for me. Being that I had an intense senior year schedule, I thought this class would be a blow off of sorts. The teacher was a bitter old woman who had been stripped of her department head title in favor of a younger, more ambitious teacher. Her tone in the class was mundane and gloomy. She would often sit at her desk and read a book while giving us busy work out of a workbook. After about three weeks of not having any idea what exactly we were supposed to be learning, we were given an exam that tested us on the principles of law and why law exists. Everyone in the class received below a 50% and she then lectured us on why we all failed and how the exam questions came directly from the workbook. Her teaching method continued to plague the class until a parent complained and she began to take a more active role in the class.

//__(C) describe and post your rationale for why you want to teach social studies and what particular reasons you find compelling for having students study and learn social studies in schools.__//

My particular reason for why I want to teach social studies is simply a love of the subject matter. Since a young age I have enjoyed history and politics. Government structure and the way it affects the people it serves led me into political activism for a few years at the beginning of my college career. However, Economics, geography and the behavioral sciences, Psychology and sociology, also peaked my interest the further I went in my education. Convenience also fits in to my rationale to become a teacher. My wife is also planning on becoming a social studies teacher and the idea of complimenting schedules has played a large role in my settling into the idea of teaching. The subject of social studies is important for that very reason; it is the study of society. Where we have been, where we are, what drives us to do what we do and have done, and of course how that all leads us to where we are going. Students need to understand that no amount of math or science will ever replace the ability to learn from the actions of mankind in the past and present and use that to critically understand decision making and how our world as we know it has become what it is.