1. The Educational Autobiography ELED 1010

2.  The Educational Autobiography is a story of your experiences, both inside and outside of school, that have had an influence on your education, your growth, and your interest in becoming a teacher.  Focus primarily on elementary through high school  Other experiences are welcome. What is an educational autobiography?

3.  6-8 pages, double spaced, Calibri 11 or Times New Roman 12 pt. font, 1” margins on all sides.  Proofread! Should be free of errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Have someone proofread it for you:  Friend or family member  The writing center  Me! Trevor.Davis@aggiemail.usu.edu  Cite your sources if you use them. Style manual APA 6 th Edition.  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01  Title page that has the date, your name, the title of your Educational Autobiography, and “ELED 1010.” General Requirements

4. How your title page should look: Title: An Educational Autobiography By: Your Name ELED 1010 Fall 2014

5.  The experiences that have led you to your current interest in becoming a teacher.  Important people/events that have influenced your thoughts about:  The goals of education  The role of teachers  You as a teacher What do I actually write about?

6.  Anything that impacted your education inside or outside of school!  Classes  Teachers  Sports/Dance teams  Clubs  Transitions between schools/grades  Extracurricular activities  And much more! What are some educational experiences?

7.  Take a minute to jot down some memories.  Consider these questions to get you going:  What lead you to investigate becoming a teacher?  Who has influenced you? Good or bad  Peer, coach, or family influences?  Memories of teachers (loved or disliked, why?)  Favorite/least favorite school year, why?  Successes and failures in life, what did you learn?  When you write your paper, make sure your experiences are organized in chronological order. Time to go back in time…

8.  Your theme is a metaphor that ties your whole paper together.  Carry your theme throughout your entire paper and tie it into the end.  Examples: ingredients in a recipe, a journey down a road, items found in a closet, crayons in a crayon box, your favorite sport.  Choose one that comes from YOU! Find a theme that gets you excited to write your story. Tie it all together with a THEME!

9.  Take a minute to write down three possible themes.  Choose something that you can relate to, something that would be interesting for you.  Something you can relate each experience to, whether it is a positive or negative experience.  Something to add a personal touch.  Books, poems, sports, sewing, painting, etc. Brainstorming Themes

10.  Be patient with yourself! Getting started is often difficult, just as it is often a problem to know when to quit. Quit when you have nothing more to share.  As you begin writing and memories come to mind, you may find your storyline shifting and sometimes changing dramatically. When You Start Writing…

11.  Write whatever you feel comfortable enough to write about.  Does the story feel right? Does it capture you and your thinking? The emphasis in the paper is more on the story than on the analysis. …

12. The Seven Big Ones Syllabus Pg. 6 Rubric: What you’re getting graded on

13.  It should Introduce your theme  The attention grabber!  This is your story, so don’t be afraid to make it sound like YOU! #1: Introduction

14.  It should be suitable.  Interwoven throughout  Carries the narration of the paper. #2: Theme

15.  Covers time period from elementary school through high school.  Organized chronologically.  Other experiences are welcome. #3: Coverage

16.  Important people and critical events that impacted your education and desire to become a teacher.  You can use fake names if that’s more comfortable for you.  The importance of these people and events is clear.  What did it do to impact your education or desire to investigate becoming a teacher? #4: Inclusion

17.  Your paper focuses on NARRATING rather than analyzing a story.  Narrating: telling the PERSONAL STORIES that got you here.  Analyzing: pulling things apart to examine and give a detailed explanation of why you’re here.  So write clearly with a purpose and write stories that detail your personal experiences.  The story draws from the broader view of being education-related. #5: Focus

18.  The narration of the story flows, includes brief introspection on teaching issues and relates to your current interest in teaching.  The theme should help with this.  “Brief introspection on teaching issues”= your opinions on how teachers should teach, among other issues.  This is usually easiest to discuss when you think of the teachers that have impacted you, positively or negatively. #6: Flow

19.  Your paper is personal and authentic.  You demonstrate your willingness to stretch beyond your comfort zone, take a risk, and share the experiences that have REALLY shaped who you are and have led you to this classroom today.  Use only personal information that is appropriate to the theme, purpose, and audience for this paper.  When we workshop each other’s EA’s, you can have your reader skip sensitive personal parts if you wish.  Mr. Markworth will be the only one reading your entire paper, and he will keep it confidential. #7: Self-Revelation

20.  EA first draft due March 2.  Hard copy/Laptop – relatively finished! (?)  We will be work shopping them in class!  EA FINAL PAPER due April 6. Dates to Remember:

21.  This really is a GREAT opportunity to put your story into words and remember the experiences that have shaped who you are and what direction you want to go career-wise!  After writing your paper, you could evaluate the reasons why you are interested in teaching, and that is the whole point! That is what this class is about: exploring your interest in teaching, and discovering what it takes to be a teacher. Remember to have fun!

22. Trevor.Davis@aggiemail.usu.edu Questions?