Course Overview

 

Course Overview

 

Makiba Ward:

Let’s us just begin and say WOW! Even though this course has come to an end, I must say it was an enjoyable one. For a person who never likes writing as much but only enjoy writing poetry to express my feelings has now a different view on writing as a whole. I basically, feel like a brand new person towards writing. The duration of this course has opened my eyes to the view of writing from different perspectives such as: trends in writing, writing as a stage, process and trait, teaching of writing and reading connection, philosophy for teaching writing, promoting writing approaches, strategies, and activities, designing writing assessment and assignments for the primary grades. This has really shown me how writing is important in our everyday life especially within the classroom environment. As a teacher in training this course made me realize that writing gives students practice in participating in the discipline, rather than simply testing their acquisition of knowledge, writing provides an opportunity to analyze, challenge and contribute to existing ideas moreover, students deepen their knowledge of course material by writing whether reflecting on what they’ve learned, composing a question, or connecting knowledge to lived experience, writing extends students’ engagement of a subject.

In conclusion, according to a quote by Stephen King “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Writing today is not a frill for the few, but an essential for the many.

 

Derika Joseph:

As a little girl growing up, anyone who knew me well would always see me writing. I always just loved the thought of having a book/paper and a pen/pencil, writing. I've always had a "thing" for writing because I always wanted to be a teacher and knew to be one, I had to write a lot. However, transitioning into Higher Education and having to write essays that required sources for back up, had caused some questions about writing to surface. Then, came along this course. From the information, right down to the lecturer, I was able to see the importance of writing again, be it just writing in general or writing for a story or professionally. This course overall came in like a walk through the park. It taught me that writing is to be taken seriously, likewise as reading. Why? Because as humans, we need them in everyday life, literally every day. We get through life by reading and being able to write. It is how we communicate and as teachers, it should be our top priority to ensure we teach this skill carefully and patiently to our students-not just for writing sake, but to just make life easier for our students when they become adults one day themselves. This course has been a joy to me and I hope it will be and do the same for others.

Shaquan Williams:

At first, my focus was never on writing. I thought that it was just a simple task especially when it came to teaching it. Although it was not difficult, I realized the importance of writing. Through exposure to this course, I was able to learn ways of making writing interesting for my students and also expose them to the different forms of writing and getting the most out of their writing. Now, because of the importance of writing I've learned, I believe that writing should be a vital part of the timetable for students and should be taken seriously.