Meaningful Writing and Co-teaching

Co-teaching. So two teachers working together? 
Yes, but Emdin writes about so much more than that. 
He discusses that students can also be teachers.
Students... teachers? Yes. Working with students to not only teach them the content, but also teach them to be teachers. Most of the time when teachers do so, the students don't even pick up on it. Working in groups and partners can help so many students learn. Especially if there is a student that can interpret the content to another student in a way that is easier to understand. In high school I always seemed to know what I was learning or I was able to pick up on it quickly. However, my first semester at CCRI I was completely overwhelmed and the workload was more than I had ever experienced. One of the classes I really struggled with was General Psychology. I tried so hard, but continuously felt like I wasn't progressing. I ended up getting a D, for the first time in my life. I was devastated and knew it wouldn't transfer over so I decided to retake it. This next time, after going over the chapter my professor would have us work in partners and review. I would sit down with a partner or a group of students and we would discuss what would be on the next exam. When talking it over with my peers, they seemed to make a lot more sense and make more relatable analogies so I could relate to the content and understand it on a more personal level. I think it is important to be able to make time for your students to work together and help one another for instances where you may just not have the right words to teach a student and someone else does. I like even more that Edmin looks at it as another example of co-teaching placing the students at the same power level as the teacher.


Both Christensen and Gallagher discuss the most meaningful writing.

Specifically, Christensen writes about Narrative Writing. Being able to write about your own life, your own situations or something that is most meaningful to you is important. Narratives may seem like informal writing pieces to some, but the student is able to develop the same writing skills as if writing an essay. One of my favorite high school writing pieces is my college essay that I wrote my senior year. This was all about my life and goals as a student. I think the reason why colleges ask for these personal writing pieces, not only to see what your background is, but also so they can see your best and most meaningful writing skills.

Similarly, Gallagher discusses "The Power of Choice". I immediately thought of our everyday quick writes in class. We are given two questions with the option to write about something else.I also thought about our first writing assignment, we were all able to write about our personal histories. Like Gallagher states, two benefits of choice are:
1.) ownership in the writer, which in turn creates a stronger work ethic and
2.) Drives revision because the student is more likely to care about the paper
I have to admit I am definitely more likely to carefully revise a paper that I am interested in than a paper I know nothing about and will never use again in the future. If I would not take the time to revise it, why would any other student?
It is important to give students the choice of prompts to help build them as meaningful writers, allow them to share about their life, and build a trusting student-teacher relationship.