EDUC 5313 Blog

Effective curriculum design should prioritize student engagement and cater to their executive function needs by incorporating varied pacing instructions and hands-on activities that sustain attention and facilitate information retention, inhibition of incorrect responses, and goal achievement (How People Learn, p. 70). Self-regulation is fostered through challenging learning activities that encourage students to set and pursue reasonable goals while tracking their progress through scaffolded instructions. Memory retention is enhanced when students reconstruct their learning experiences aided by environmental cues, fostering higher-order thinking skills.  Educators must (also) make Creativity a priority learning goal and see to it that it’s a facet of thinking and working that is well developed in their  students throughout their education (Gura, p. 7).  Teaching divergent thinking alongside traditional subjects like reading and math nurtures creativity, with tools like So...

EDUC 5313 Week 2 Blog Part 1: Authentic Intellectual Work/Authentic Instruction & Assessment.       Authentic Intellectual Work involves an original application of knowledge and skills, rather than just a routine use of facts and procedures that commonly occurs with traditional approaches to instruction and assessment. This work is rooted in a construction of knowledge through disciplined inquiry, which can be described as organizing, interpreting, evaluating, or synthesizing prior knowledge to solve new problems. Students must develop a deep understanding understanding of a prior knowledge base in the specified topic in order to consider alternative solutions to any particular problem and apply their knowledge to new contexts. The final component, which is unique with Authentic Intellectual work over a “traditional” approach, is how students can express themselves through elaborated communication. This simulates a real-world scenario, where students must justif...

Hello all! My name is Ethan Albala, and I am currently working as the Director of Theatre Arts and Choral Music, and the Performing Arts Department Chair at Weston Ranch High School in Stockton, CA. My current professional goals are to grow the Performing Arts department at my site to reach more students and larger audiences through our diverse program offerings. In addition to my work at WRHS, I also work as a freelance lighting designer for local theatre productions, and strive to grow my skillset as a professional in that area as well. My future career goals change often, as my interests and skills develop further in my profession. However, the one goal that has been on the top of my list for a long time is to teach Theatre at the College level, whether it be community college or a 4-year institution. I feel a particular calling towards pre-professional work, with the goal of giving the students the practical skills and hands-on experience to be able to enter the professional world ...