I studied English grammar and composition in high school, and during my first quarter at C.O.D.  I did not have a very good instructor in high school, but my instructor at C.O.D. was excellent.  She tried very hard to encourage me to do my best, but I was preoccupied with some personal problems at the time, and did not put as much effort into the course as I should have.  Still, she did influence me.  Moreover, she instilled in me a desire to learn to write better, that I would realize upon my return to college four years later.
        When I returned to college, after working for four years so my wife could finish college, I had to decide where to begin.  Since I had already taken the placement tests and some courses in English and math at the college level, I had the option to resume my education where I had left off.  However, I chose to retake both the English and math placement tests to get an idea of where I should begin.  I scored well enough on the English placement test to begin in English 102, but considering the desire I had to learn to write well, I decided to retake English 101.
        Again, I was very fortunate; I was placed in a section with a very good instructor.  She covered a great deal of material at a quick pace, but she did so in such a manner that most students were able to keep up easily.  She offered as much extra help as anyone needed.  She even structured her lessons around suggestions made by the class.
 In this course, I learned the basis of good writing technique.  I came into the class writing around a 7th grade level, and left the class writing around a 10th grade level.  I felt that in that short amount of time, I had made excellent progress, and that feeling encouraged me to try even harder in my future English courses.

         I have included two samples of my writing, one from before my second English 101 course, and one from after.

        The exact process by which a teacher can encourage a student to do his/her best is not clear.  I have seen many different ways, by many different teachers.  I think it is a matter of personality and individual character.  I believe such an ability is developed through experience, and has to be modified for each individual student.  After studying the example presented by both my English 101 instructors, I have gained some insight into this much needed skill.  Both the writing and teaching techniques I have learned in this course will benefit me as a teacher.

        In this course, I continued to refine my writing skills.  In addition, I learned some research methods which included utilizing literature, interviews, the internet, and other media.  I studied the proper techniques of writing a research paper: selecting sources, outlining, structuring the paper, and citing sources.  By this time, my writing skills had developed considerably from the first English 101 course I had taken.  After the course was over, I felt I had a strong background in English composition.  This background will benefit me in my future career as an educator and in my everyday life.

        I studied trigonometry in my senior year in high school, and then again my first semester at U.I.C; however, I did not apply myself to learning the material then, and therefore did not perform well in the class.  When I returned to college, after working for four years so my wife could finish college, I had to decide where to begin.  Since I had already taken the placement tests and some courses in English and math at the college level, I had the option to resume my education where I had left off.  However, I chose to retake both the English and math placement tests to get an idea of where I should begin.  I scored well enough on the math placement to begin in calculus (I), but it was recommended to me that I refresh my algebra and trigonometry skills by retaking trigonometry.
        So, I retook trigonometry in my first semester upon returning to college and it was an excellent decision.  As the course progressed, I realized how uncertain I was about many of the principles of algebra that were required in higher level math and science courses.  I had to take the time, on my own, to review all the techniques and skills that are taught in algebra.  At the same time, I had to apply those skills while learning trigonometry.  It was a very fulfilling experience.  I attribute part of my success in the course to my renewed vigor for education.  Mostly though, I believe the personal, friendly instruction offered at the junior college is what helped me realize my potential.
        From this course, I learned several important skills: algebra skills and trigonometry skills.  However, the most useful thing I got out of the class was not the math skills, it was the math study and application skills.  The study techniques I learned during this course have helped me throughout all my math and science courses.  Moreover, the ability to apply subject material outside the class has not only helped me to understand new material better, but also to explain new ideas and skills to students of my own.
        During my college career, I have heard many conflicting opinions on extra credit work.  After listening to the arguments and gaining my own personal experience, I have developed my own opinion on the subject.  I believe extra credit, when used correctly, is a good tool to use to engage the student in the material and instill a desire to learn the material.
        The instructor of my trigonometry class offered one extra credit project, that was worth enough credit to raise a low borderline grade to the higher grade.  Even though I did not foresee the need for the credit, I took the option just in case.  The project required the use of trigonometry in some technical application outside of the classroom.  It had to be very detailed and had to utilize more than the basic concepts of trigonometry.  I had been working in an automotive repair shop prior to my return to college, and during my trigonometry course, I began to see how some of the work mechanics do was developed using trigonometry.  So, I chose to develop a method by which the "do it yourselfer" could align the wheels of an automobile.  When I was finished, I not only turned the project in for the extra credit, but I also utilized the method to align the wheels of my Buick, that two local shops refused due to the modified struts I had installed.  I received full credit for the project, and the Buick track perfectly and showed no uneven wear of the tires.

        The exact process by which a teacher can encourage a student to do his/her best is not clear.  I have seen many different ways, by many different teachers.  I think it is a matter of personality and individual character.  I believe such an ability is developed through experience, and has to be modified for each individual student.  After studying the example presented by my trigonometry instructor, I have gained some insight into this much needed skill.  The math, study, application, and teaching techniques I have learned in this course will benefit me as a teacher.
 
 

        In educational psychology, I learned a great deal about the scientific theories of how a student's behavior and ability to learn are effected by involuntary mental processes.  We also studied the various methods by which a teacher could influence the behavior of a student by applying sound scientific techniques, developed through the study of psychology.
        One thing we covered, which I have personal experience in, was the inability of a student to engage in learning when there is some overriding psychological need.  By that I mean, if the student is not receiving enough to eat, is being abused, or has some other personal problems of similar urgency, they will not be able to engage in school activities.
        In the latter part of the course, we studied behavior modification techniques.  The instructor insisted that if one could train a rat to do something, then why not a human.  Many of the techniques and principles can be very effective in a classroom setting, such as: rewards, encouragement, and punishment.  However, I believe that humans are vastly more intelligent than rats, and that it may sometimes be more effective to reason with a student rather that manipulate him/her.
        Some of the best things we learned during the course, were some techniques dealing with presenting new material in ways that are compatible with the human's ability to learn.  We learned techniques that promote better memorization and recall.  We learned to utilize all the student's senses and to make the presentation entertaining and rewarding, thus providing the greatest probability that the students will not only want to learn but will be able to learn, easily.