SYNTHESIS ESSAY
This essay is a reflection of my learning throughout my time in the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University.
INTRODUCTION
My Personal Mission
The course TE (Teacher Education) 250: Human Diversity, Power, and Opportunity in Social Interactions made a profound impact on how I view the world. TE 250 was one of the first teaching courses I took as an undergraduate student at Michigan State University. The course focuses on issues of diversity: race, class, special needs, gender, sexual orientation, language, and culture, among others. The course introduces prospective teachers to the way in which social inequality affects schooling and how schooling affects and/or reproduces social inequality. This course played a large role in shaping me to be the educator I am and helped me to develop my personal mission statement.
After taking the course, I realized that as an educator, I could be a positive influence and tackle some of these social inequalities that exist in the education system. I realized that I wanted to equip my students with the knowledge and power to tackle these inequalities when they are older. After taking this course, I developed my personal mission statement. My personal mission statement is to empower students with the leadership skills and knowledge to become agents of positive change. To help fulfill my personal mission statement, I applied to the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program at Michigan State University, with a concentration in literacy.
When I first applied for the MAED program, I set out to learn best teaching practices and foster a love of literacy among my students. I have worked to meet these goals and will continue to develop them. I chose to pursue a specialization in literacy because I believe that reading is a powerful and transformative tool that can help my students become positive agents of change.
Throughout the program, I learned several skills that will help me to equip my students with knowledge and leadership skills. The courses that I completed have taught me skill sets that I can apply directly to my teaching. I have learned best practices in teaching instruction and how to apply different engagement strategies. I also have found the power of project-based learning, how to integrate technology and discovered strategies to support all students in their learning. Throughout my time at Michigan State University, I have found myself better equipped to support diverse learners.
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
One of the first classes I enrolled in was Elementary Reading Assessment and Instruction (TE 842). This course played a large role in developing my literacy instruction. In this course, I explored the characteristics of effective reading assessment and instruction. I analyzed student data and developed lessons to meet individual student literacy needs. I also participated in a book study with several classmates, where we read and discussed the book "Inside Information" by Dr. Nell Duke. Through this book study, I learned how to use project-based learning to effectively teach informational texts.
There are several benefits to using a project-based teaching approach. Project-based instruction piques students’ interest and is more hands-on than traditional informational instruction. With project-based learning, students are working over a period of time for a specific purpose. This instruction provides real-life situations for students to apply to their learning. Teaching informational texts with a project-based learning unit helps to empower students with knowledge and skills that go beyond traditional comprehension skills. Project-based research has positive impacts not only with academics but with things such as attitudes, motivation, engagement, creativity, and responsibility.
I took my learning from this course and developed a project-based learning task for teaching informational text structures in the classroom. I had my students create informational magazines, written with various text structures and informational text features including quizzes, a glossary, diagrams, maps, and graphs. Students were so engaged in this project, that they even worked on it at home, during indoor recess, and during their free time.
Since implementing project-based learning for informational texts, I have seen a huge increase in student motivation, higher-quality student work, and students taking ownership of their learning. Students in my class went from learning to read, to reading to learn and create. There were several students in my class who did not read for enjoyment, but rather because they felt that they had to. During my project-based unit, the same reluctant readers began constantly reading and researching for their projects independently. Overall, project-based learning has helped me to empower my students to take responsibility for their own learning and promote engagement in the classroom.
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
Another course that I made a large impact on my teaching was TE (Teacher Education) 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology. In this course, I explored the uses of technologies in teaching subject matter to diverse learners. I learned about different teaching frameworks such as TPACK. TPACK is a technology integration framework that identifies three types of knowledge instructors need to combine for successful integration—Technological, Pedagogical, And Content Knowledge. This framework helped me think about how all three types of knowledge must be blended into meaningful classroom instruction. Many of those working in education understand the benefits of using technology in the classroom, but that merely the presence of technological tools will not improve instruction. I learned how to integrate all three types of knowledge into my teaching practices, which has helped me to become a better educator and empower my students.
With the TPACK framework in mind, I also began to develop my digital pedagogy and promote critical-thinking skills while utilizing technology. I learned how to integrate technology into my classroom as a way for students to collaborate, problem-solve and share in their thinking. I also learned how to repurpose lesson plans by utilizing different technological tools such as Classkick, Flipgrid, and Voicethread. For example, when I teach mathematics, I have had my students make their thinking visible on the Flipgrid platform. I will take common misconceptions from a skill we are working on and have my students collaborate with others, explain and correct the misconceptions. Afterward, students can comment on the thinking of their peers and share in their learning. This has helped my class to practice their problem-solving skills and created an environment of positive peer collaboration.
Overall, TE 831 played a large role in helping me to enhance my classroom instruction by helping me to integrate technology in a meaningful way. I learned how to combine technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge into my lessons. Additionally, I learned how to push my students to use technology to create, collaborate, and problem-solve.
In the future, I hope to encourage innovation in the classroom, while using technology. I have been inspired by the work of innovators such as George Couros and want to help my students develop an “Innovator’s Mindset.” Couros defines an innovator's mindset as "Belief that abilities, intelligence, and talents are developed so that they lead to the creation of new and better ideas." I hope to create more opportunities for my students to engineer, problem-solve, and create in the classroom. I understand that when my students are empowered to become innovative thinkers and learners, they will see that they have the potential to create a better world.
SUPPORTING ALL STUDENTS
As an educator, I believe it is important to develop the whole child. I also believe it is my role to provide both academic and emotional support to those in my class. The course CEP (Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education) 832: Educating Students with Challenging Behavior, helped teach me instructional practices and classroom management techniques to help students who are “hard to teach.” I explored the psychological and behavioral characteristics of children who display challenging behaviors such as defiant behaviors, impulsive behaviors, socially isolating behaviors, and failure oriented behaviors.
At one point or another, I have worked with several students who have displayed different challenging behaviors such as those listed above. This class helped to equip me with strategies, management tools, and positive stances I could take to help support students who display these behaviors. I took part in case studies, watched videos, and participated in peer discussions to share and apply my learning. I enjoyed participating in group discussions and hearing the perspectives of my peers.
The most beneficial part of the course was when I developed, implemented, and reflected on a personalized plan to help an individual in my class who displayed low-achieving and failure-oriented behaviors. I observed my student, created a personalized behavior contract to support him and communicated the plan with his parents. Together, we all worked to change the low-achieving behaviors the student displayed and promoted independence. I saw a change in my student’s work habits and was proud of the shift of my personal stance towards the student. I found it much easier to show patience and develop a great relationship while we were all working together.
This course taught me that patience, consistency, projecting positive expectations, and developing positive relationships all play a large role in supporting students who display challenging behaviors. I found that it was important to set firm, but flexible limits and continued to accept students, but not their inappropriate behaviors. I learned valuable classroom-management strategies such as creating mystery motivators, utilizing peer relationships, and developing behavior contracts. I understand that there will always be students in my class who are “hard to teach” and will need extra help and support. After taking this course, I feel more equipped to help meet the needs of these students and ensure that they can continue to grow and develop socially, academically, and emotionally. By meeting the needs of my students, I can provide a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhance my students' ability to succeed in school, as well as in their careers and later in life.
CONCLUSION
The MAED program at Michigan State University has provided me with the skills and knowledge to better my instruction and support my students, both academically and emotionally. I have been able to encourage different ways of thinking and learning, by utilizing project-based learning and technological tools. I have learned best practices in literacy instruction and how to identify and support individual literacy needs. I have also learned how to combine technological, content and pedagogical knowledge to provide quality instruction and encourage collaboration. I developed both instructional and classroom management techniques to support all learners- including those who display challenging behaviors.
Now that I am finishing up my coursework, I am proud of how I have grown as an educator. I believe that I am better equipped to help meet my diverse student needs as I work towards fulfilling my mission statement to empower students with the leadership skills and knowledge to become agents of positive change.