Showcase
Through my graduate coursework I have written and created my projects and papers. However some of them stand out more when I think back and reflect on my journey to earn my masters. The first theme is Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners. These projects taught me about teaching diverse students from English Language Learners to the specific needs of a student in my class. I also created many assessments throughout my coursework. Through Assessments and Analysis I learned about how to create unique assessments and find patterns in student understanding. Another reoccurring theme of my learning was Teacher Inquiry. Teachers continually are learning new methods and strategies to improve their teaching and through these projects I learned more about the process.
Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners
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Student textbook in China
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Literacy Case Study
Narrative Sketch
ELL Observation
In this Case Study I selected a student from my classroom. I identified skills he needed additional support on through assessments. After giving him one on one lessons I gave him a post assessment. I selected this project because it highlights my desire to teach students based on their individual needs. I learned how important it is to the student to receive instruction based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Three of the four years I have been a teacher I have had students whose first language is not English. They are often referred to as English Language Learners or ELLs. In this paper I reflected on my experiences being in a country where I didn't speak the language. This reflection helped me understand how my students feel when they enter my room not knowing much English. As a result I am a more informed teacher for ELLs and meeting their academic and emotionally needs in my classroom.
During the 2017 school year, I taught in a school that had an ELL or English Language Learner teacher for the first time. In this paper I observed this teacher deliver a lesson to a group of elementary ELLs. I then wrote two lessons as theoretical follow up lessons for the students based on my observations. This paper highlights meeting the various needs of multiple ELLs in one classroom mini lesson.
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Assessments and Analysis
Student work example
Student work example
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Integrated Social Studies Unit
Science Assessment Analysis
Discussion Inquiry
During my student teaching, I created an integrated Social Studies unit on colonial America. Thinking back on the unit, I am proud of the assessments I created. I didn't design tests but projects for students to complete to demonstrate their understandings. Students completed a Colonial Brochure and a post card to name a few. This is a method of assessment I continue to work on and use today. I learned from these assessments how accustomed students were to multiple choice tests and projects.
The first science unit I planned was also during my student teaching. I selected this assignment because I reflected and analyzed the results of my assessments in great detail. I organized the work into strong, medium and weak along with identify the features of each level. The process of analyzing assessments prepared me for grading and determining if my students in my classroom are meeting the standards. In addition analyzing student work helps to guide my future instruction today.
This project consisted of me collecting base line data and then teaching students how to have an effective discussion. I taught students to look at each other, connect their ideas to others, use evidence from the text, and more. Part of this lesson sequence included students completeing a self assessment on how well they were contributing to the discussion. Through a self assessment I gained insight into how students perceived participation and how to best support their learning.
Teacher Inquiry
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Math Action Research
Narrative Inquiry
Teachers are always working to improve their practice. In this project I researched ways to improve student engagement during my math instruction. I gathered baseline data and then implemented two strategies to see how they impacted student engagement. I tried two strategies: using technology during my lesson and teaching for 10 minutes and then giving students 2 minutes to discuss what we had covered. From my research and implementation I learned to be open to try new things to improve my teaching.
Vivian Paley wrote the book The Girl with the Brown Crayon. Following reading her chronicles, I understood the benefits from narrative inquiry. Through daily notes of her students' interaction and actions, Paley was able to gain insight into how her students learned and reflect on her own teaching. The process of reading the book and writing this paper about her methods made me reflect as well. While I was not completing a narrative inquiry myself, I learned about this type of investigation and how I in my daily teaching I do a less detailed form than Paley.