The Never Ending Journey
Synthesis Essay - By Jennifer Rudolph
Graduating from Michigan State University in 2008 and completing my internship in 2009, I always knew that I wanted to pursue my Masters in Education, but felt passionate about having my own teaching experiences under my belt before embarking on this next journey. I wanted to have my own knowledge to draw upon and an idea of which direction I wanted to take in education from this. I had been told many times that I would make a great leader, that pursuing my Masters in Administration would suit me well, however after years of teaching, I became passionate about teaching literacy, and less on the administrative roles so many told me I would excel at.
Teaching second grade in a small rural community in Texas, I embarked on my
beginning years of teaching; learning how to effectively manage students, plan
lessons, work cooperatively with coworkers, communicate with parents, attend
special education meetings, and take on the many other aspects of being a teacher
that we could have never learned in school. Becoming more comfortable in my
classroom and school district, I took on various leadership roles; team leader,
University Interscholastic League director, and student study member. I also began
to work closely with the Literacy Interventionist as I became more and more
discouraged with the curriculum our district used to teach literacy, and how
ineffective I felt as a teacher of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Each week I would introduce a text to my students, we would read it as a whole group, discuss different aspects, and then test students on their understanding at the end of each week. Each child, regardless of their reading ability, would be tested on the same text. Every week I would watch the same children succeed and others fail, disliking reading and school a little more each time. This was the moment I became passionate about literacy in the classroom, and knew that when I began my journey to pursue my Masters, I wanted to focus on getting my degree in literacy education; to discover how to become a better literacy teacher and how to differentiate my instruction to meet the needs of all my students. Enrolling in the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program at Michigan State University, I felt confident I would gain insight into how to become a more effective literacy teacher, where I would be able to instill a love for reading and school into my students rather than deter them as I had done in the past.
Beginning the program in 2015 after moving back to Michigan, I was ecstatic to begin taking classes again. After receiving my first text books in the mail, I looked forward to expanding my knowledge further, as it was time to challenge myself once again. One of my first courses was called Accommodating Difference in Literacy Learners (TE 846). I enrolled in this course specifically to be able to support the variety of learners I had in my classroom. In a room filled with 26 students all reading at different levels, I needed to be able to determine what each students needs were and how to differentiate my instruction to increase their abilities. In this course I learned various assessment strategies that would help me to shape instruction to support all students, no matter their learning ability. In a case study, Literacy Learner Analysis, completed during this course I was able to work with a student to take a closer look at their literacy abilities and areas of struggle. I chose a variety of assessments and used the data to drive my instruction where I chose researched based strategies to increase student success. Through this experience I was able to see fist hand the benefits of a variety of assessments and how to effectively differentiate lessons to meet specific needs. Working with this one student during several weeks and observing the positive changes in their reading abilities provided a great deal of excitement to use these strategies in my own classroom each year and how I would be able to help children succeed in reading more than I ever had before.
The next course which changed the way I saw my teaching responsibilities and had immeasurable value for my understanding of literacy assessments and individualized instruction was Elementary Reading and Assessment Instruction (TE 842). In this course I learned how to analyze student data and use data to modify instruction. Reading Assessments for Reading Instruction by McKenna and Stahl and exploring best teaching practices in Best Practices in Literacy Instruction by Gambrell & Morrow, I gained an abundance of knowledge and resources to use in my classroom, many of which I share with my colleagues each year. While we begin our school year assessing student’s abilities, I use these books to acquire the needed data to work with groups specific to their own individual needs. One assessment I use each year is the Spelling Inventory Assessment where students are asked to spell certain words to the best of their abilities. The data from this assessment aids in understanding what phonemic skills the students are succeeding with or lacking. I have been able to use this data to work with groups on vowel sounds, beginning blends, and final consonants, rather than working with students on the same skill regardless of their needs. I also reference these books when deciding which instructional techniques to use to shape my instruction. Another advantage this course had was how closely we worked with classmates in analyzing student data that was provided to us. As opposed to each colleague working with their own student as in TE 846, we were given data from a variety of learners and had to use the knowledge learned from the course to successfully modify instruction. In an Analyzing Student Data Project, I was able to analyze data, create a variety of goals for the students, and modify instruction to meet individual needs; much of the strategies I continue to use effectively in my classroom today. It was a rewarding experience working with colleagues online and discussing different point of views, ideas, and strategies. Communicating frequently I was able to build on the experiences of others and create a repertoire of skills that knowledgeable teachers used in their classroom and were successful with.
Awards and Classics of Children’s Literature (TE 836) was a course I enrolled in hoping to
expand my experiences of children’s classics and ways to teach them in my classroom. I
was pleasantly surprised that this course not only did just that, but also increased my
understanding of teaching injustice, exploring different cultures who are under or
misrepresented, and the importance in providing opportunities for students to find
literature in the classroom that represent themselves and others in our diverse world.
Week after week we read and discussed different cultures including Native Americans,
LGBT, Asian, African American, and many more. While studying African American’s in
literature we learned about a little girl named Marley Dias who began a campaign to bring books into the classroom that did not always have white males as the main characters. She started a campaign called “1,000 Black Girl Books” to bring awareness of this issue and demand authors to make a change in the protagonist they often cast as white boys. In this I began to order such books for my own classroom and was amazed at how not only the African American girls in my class took to these stories, but all the girls in general. This class opened my eyes to the impact literature has on young readers and how they can influence children into becoming avid readers. For my final project for this course I chose to focus my studies on African American culture in children's literature where I created a website that provided information on African American Language, The Civil Rights Movement, and variety of children’s literature and lesson plans to use in the classroom. This course was also the first in which I explored how to create a webpage. I enjoyed using Weebly to create my final project page, and shared this website with colleagues at the school I teach at to expand their knowledge of the importance of diverse books in the classroom as well as lesson plan ideas and a variety of books to use.
Aside from the many courses that influenced my practices and approaches of teaching literacy in the classroom, Classroom and Behavior Management in the Inclusive Classroom (CEP 841) greatly influenced my behavior as a teacher, leader, and role model. This course identified behavioral, social, and academic characteristics of children with special needs. Exploring principles and techniques f or classroom and behavior management in the inclusive classroom I was able to understand the importance and rational of School Wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (SWBIS). I also explored in depth the importance of prevention as a SWBIS strategy and how effective time management, lesson presentation, classroom and seat work management, and home communication can be in preventing disruptive behaviors from occurring in the classroom. I created an in-depth Power Point Presentation that outlines why prevention is an important aspect of SWPBIS, helpful strategies to use in the classroom, and forms to use to track student misbehavior. Similar to sharing my website created in TE 836, I increased the knowledge of prevention to my coworkers and worked on creating a system where we would provide students with reoccurring behavior issues with a “cool down” notebook where they would write about their experiences to determine what triggered them to act a certain way. Using this information we could determine specific ways to handle all students and situations differently, rather than a one size fits all solution. Finally, this course really opened my eyes to the overall impact I have on student’s lives. Whether I was reading course texts or articles, watching TED Talks and other videos posted, I came to understand my role as an educator and how I can make positive changes in the lives of students each day by my behavior, how I react to situations, use words of encouragement, and the relationships I create. Rick Lavoie was a great inspiration during this course, and taught me a great deal about meeting the needs of all students, the importance of positive feedback compared to negative feedback, and finding ways to give out "chips" each day so students leave with more than they came with.
As a culmination to my career in the MAED program, my final course, Capstone Portfolio Course (ED 870), allowed me to revisit my experiences throughout the online Master’s program. Creating a website that displayed my learning allowed me to learn new technologies and reflect on all that I have learned throughout the program. Each step of the process was fun and engaging, and provided me with a feeling of great accomplishment. Working with colleagues and instructors who gave positive and helpful feedback each week aided in this experience. The Capstone Portfolio Course helped me to display my personal and professional identity where I looked back at my aspirations by writing a Goal Reflection Essay and analyzed how my thinking and goals have changed through my Future Goals Essay. Each of these pieces reminded me that as a teacher we never stop learning and understand that I will always continue to strive to learn more. I am reminded of how rewarding continuing education can be and the benefits that come along with it. When looking back at my initial goals; to increase my abilities in teaching literacy to students, I can say I have been successful, but can also reflect on aspects of the program that have changed my outlook on literacy and teaching as a whole. Whether I am diversifying my library, lessons, and experiences I share with students, or building positive relationships and encouraging a passion for learning into my students, I know that I am more than capable now and will continue to strive to achieve greatness.
Courtesy of http://www.wordle.net/create