My current discipline is Family and Consumer Sciences with and a concentration on Fashion and Fashion Merchandising. I have only taught at the College level or in Sunday School.
*What are the major themes or ideas in your content discipline?
Empowerment through education is a major theme in my current content discipline – Family and Consumer Sciences. In my hopefully near future content discipline – online teaching or computer science education/Technology Education – it will be the same theme. However, a major idea is that technology is the way to teach in the 21st Century. Even in my current content discipline technology is used. Example: To create a garment the technology needed is the sewing machine to actually sew the fabric together. To create a garment another technology needed is the computer, in this situation the designer is creating the garment style for the client. Also the more advanced technology is that technology that is used to mass produce ready to wear clothing.
*Does your content discipline rely on specific processes for developing the key themes of ideas?
There are CSOs that my content discipline relies on. So yes there are specific processes for developing the key themes or ideas. Also one must keep in mind the No Child Left Behind Laws.
*How much of what you know is dependent on the way you learned your subject(s)?
I feel that a lot of what I learned was dependent on the way I learned my subjects. However, I also think that my attitude toward the subject played an important part to my learning the subject. I had the opportunity to shadow some of the high school and middle school teachers last year and I believe that my statement is correct.
*Do you think in terms of your content by the chapters in a textbook or do you think in terms of your content as an integrated whole?
I use to think of my content areas as if they were chapters in a textbook. However, after progressing into my discipline/content I saw that the chapters (the different areas) really where parts that were needed to be integrated in order to create the whole – the discipline.
*Does your knowledge of this discipline represent an integration of the concepts and processes that connect them?
Yes! The CSOs (content subject objectives) may seem odd at times but once they have been studied and understood it is all integrated.
*Technology
As I have stated already I have only taught at a college level and Sunday School at my church. So that means I have taught 4th – 8th and an adult Sunday School class and College students in the fashion design program at Pierpont C & TC. I have used my camera to take pictures of my Sunday School students and printed them off to make mother’s day cards and inspirational cards for the sick and shut in. In the college class I teach there is a computer software program that is a plug in to Adobe titled SnapFashun that is used. I have allowed the students to use other software programs to enhance their projects. By doing this I felt and also heard the students as they explained their projects and express their ability to learn more. Therefore, the students do in my opinion learn better from technology use than if they were in a lecture.
*Conclusion
I feel that technology is a great learning tool and should be used in the classrooms. With the information I have obtained in this class (EDUC 6305 ED Tech) so far; I think I can create a video of me threading a Serger/Overlock machine. This video could and will be used to show 15 students at one time how to thread a Serger/Overlock machine that required the use of tweezers. (Pretty hard to get 15 students that close.)
