Reflection+Sheet

= = == =(PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM ON OUR SCHOOL VISITATION DAY: APRIL 30)= ** SCHOOL VISITATION DAY  ** ** FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2010  ** **// REFLECTION SHEET  //** Your Name: El Gagnon Division: Upper School **__ PLEASE COMPLETE THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE ARRIVING __** I. What are you hoping to gain from your visitation experience? I hope to learn about the 7th grade English and history curriculum and the 8th grade history curriculum. Of particular interest to me is what novels are read in any of these courses. I hope to learn of current novels in which the protagonist is a female and/or the author is a female. 2. Why did you choose this school? In that I used to teach at Kent Place School and it is an all-girls school, I am eager to see any changes that they have implemented in their courses since I was there years ago. 3. What are your expectations? I hope to come away with titles of possible novels that we could use in our studies. In addition, I hope to obtain an overview of their course of studies in these grade levels and learn of creative projects, perhaps using technology, and the focus of the papers that are written during the year by the students. **__ PLEASE COMPLETE THESE QUESTIONS AFTER VISITING __** 4. Were your expectations met? I greatly enjoyed my visit during which I met with a 7th grade English teacher and an 8th grade history teacher, and I sat in on several classes. I obtained a broad overview of the courses, they being much the same as I remembered when I taught there years ago. I was surprised, however, that there are no historical novels read in the history courses and that the English courses do not have at least one current novel or one by a female author or with a female protagonist. I did not find that technology was widely used in the 7th and 8th grade, certainly not on a daily basis. 5. What was your big take-away? Simply the experience of visiting another school and reflecting on what we offer here at GCDS in comparison to another private school was extremely rewarding. I am even more appreciative than ever of the opportunities that we are given to enrich our courses here at GCDS, along with the vast resources we have in order to create programs that are greatly beneficial to the students. 6. What changes will you consider making as a result of your experiences? At this point in time, I do not have any specific changes in mind as a result of my visit this week, though I will continue to search for any new literature that we can use in the courses that I teach.