I am a novice ESE teacher, and not trained in language arts, so I am soaking up useful information like a sponge. Being able to practice and reflect on the real assessment tasks that this course required put new knowledge into practice. I have already spoken with other educators at my school about this course specifically. This course was an investment in me becoming a better teacher.
I used the Anticipation Guide/KWL and it was like a Light went off in my student's brain. They were able for the first time to link all four chapters of this module together. I felt so proud! I usually do these things but didn't know the name and the structured way of doing it. Now, the class flows more smoothly and students participate more. You have activated what I have always wanted to do to improve comprehension.
Dawn M., Charlotte County Schools
I just wanted to say thank you for the helpful and positive feedback you provided during this course. I definitely
feel like I learned a lot and will use all of this new knowledge moving forward in my classroom.
Brittany C., Bay District Schools
It's only been about a week, but I am seeing somewhat of a difference when I've required more reading on the students. I plan to continue this method.
The moment I read your feedback, I knew exactly what you were referring and how to fix it. Honestly, I was so happy to spend the day at the library focusing on my coursework (after a substantial delay due to the start of the new schoolyear) that I "ran away with" the learning and lost sight of the actual tasks assigned.
Thank you for all of your support! I am grateful for your understanding, kindness, and patience. I am so impressed with you and Beacon.
I have learned so much in this class that I never even thought about. Even some things we take for granted in every day use. I appreciate you!! You have great insight, patience and great feedback. I have such admiration for teachers, especially since starting to teach this year - it is a lot of responsibility and time management - you have been here for me and I say thank you!!!
Thank you for being so positive in your responses to the submissions, you have no idea how much that helps with doing the work. It's a good reminder when we teach our students that a little encouragement can really help the student work harder and feel valued. I have felt valued by your input and I will check to see if I need to resubmit any of the summates.
Thank you for your help through the course, it was truly invaluable in completing my summative assignments. With your advice, and a reality check, taking my time through each chapter was very insightful and had me genuinely interested in the content. All that to say, thanks again.
Peyton B., Bay District Schools
I just completed ESOL: Curriculum and Materials with you and I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed this class. This was my very first time taking an ESOL course and, I have to say, you were very supportive and encouraging. Your feedback was so motivating and, although the topic was challenging, I still found every bit of the course engaging. That was mostly due to your encouraging words and motivation.
Thank you so much for your patience and guidance. You are doing exactly what facilitators for online classes are supposed to do...keep us focusing deeper on content and help us dive deeper into the curriculum. You're awesome.
Catherine L., Miami-Dade County Schools
I wanted to share this with you just because I feel it is important to understand how much independant self-paced programs are to teachers. Trust me, no one likes to pay for a course you can get for free and do at least 95% less work in to pass. But I prefer this than to sit for hours in a course.....doing much of nothing.
Having spent the majority of my career working with struggling readers, and learning, then advocating for research & evidence-based practices to be implemented in public schools so as to assist students with dyslexia as well as others struggling to acquire literacy skills, it thrills me that this was the scope of the reading endorsement 1 course.
I have learned a lot (tons) in this course and have a binder and a flash drive filled with all of the useful content, materials, videos, examples, scenarios, templates, etc.
While it remains challenging to allocate time to such courses while also working full time, it was well worth it to see how this course played out. It helped sharpen skills, and also echoed much of the research and practice to which I adhere... and seeing it within such a course is meaningful.