Literacy showcase
I have always been a reader and a writer. It wasn't until I was placed into my first teaching position that I realized how hard it is to teach a student to become a reader and writer, especially because it came so naturally to me. When I combined that feeling of struggling with my experiences on my school leadership team, the understanding of the necessity to have every child be able to read and write hit home. It seemed a natural choice to focus on literacy for my MAED. Below you will find examples of my growth as a teacher of readers and writers. I am aware that my struggle will continue in the fight to make every child literate in reading and writing. I am thankful that I have all of this work to reflect upon in my continuing challenge.
Reading-Writing Connection
In TE 848, the majority of my time was spent reading text as a writer. Using that perspective, I was then asked to analyze a well known novel, The Book Thief and chart my thinking process as a writer while I read through the book and wrote a response to it. This activity reminded me the importance of putting myself back in the shoes of a learner. By going through the act of being a reader and writer, I was able to better the instruction for my readers and writers because I knew what it was like to go through that process again.
In TE 848, the majority of my time was spent reading text as a writer. Using that perspective, I was then asked to analyze a well known novel, The Book Thief and chart my thinking process as a writer while I read through the book and wrote a response to it. This activity reminded me the importance of putting myself back in the shoes of a learner. By going through the act of being a reader and writer, I was able to better the instruction for my readers and writers because I knew what it was like to go through that process again.
Another way that I made the reading and writing connection was to reintroduce myself with my skills as a writer. Also in TE 848, I got to experience writing in a variety of genres and took more important note of the process of my writing than my product. This experience rekindled my love of writing and again put me in the shoes of my students so I could understand what I was asking them to do and better my instruction because of it.
Purposeful Experience
Having a Master's program focused on literacy, it seemed only natural that I would be asked to go back to basics and reacquaint myself with the foundations of reading and the skills necessary to make every child a reader. In TE 842, one of the expectations was familiarizing myself with a variety of reading assessments and actually using student samples to plan for instruction as if that child were in my classroom. This class was the reminder I needed to recognize that assessment with a purpose is one of the most powerful tools in education.
Having a Master's program focused on literacy, it seemed only natural that I would be asked to go back to basics and reacquaint myself with the foundations of reading and the skills necessary to make every child a reader. In TE 842, one of the expectations was familiarizing myself with a variety of reading assessments and actually using student samples to plan for instruction as if that child were in my classroom. This class was the reminder I needed to recognize that assessment with a purpose is one of the most powerful tools in education.
Incorporating Technology
As a teacher of 21st century learners, I see the importance of technology and its influence on positively impacting student engagement every day. Although the technology that I have available in my classroom is utilized as much as possible, I am still in need of a growing sense of comfort in its use. Simply saying, there are many more ways I can use technology, I just have to do it! TE 818 provided me with that push to use technology as a way to push myself as an educator. Again, it put myself in the seat of a learner, not an educator and I found great growth in that experience.
As a teacher of 21st century learners, I see the importance of technology and its influence on positively impacting student engagement every day. Although the technology that I have available in my classroom is utilized as much as possible, I am still in need of a growing sense of comfort in its use. Simply saying, there are many more ways I can use technology, I just have to do it! TE 818 provided me with that push to use technology as a way to push myself as an educator. Again, it put myself in the seat of a learner, not an educator and I found great growth in that experience.
Incorporating technology not only provided me with growth, but also gave me experiences that I could see being put to effective use in the classroom. Again, an assignment that was a requirement of TE 818, I had to include several hyperlinks in an essay. The hyperlinks had to enhance the engagement and meaning of my writing. This is something that I can take forth and use in my own students' writing.
Not only have I been able to incorporate technology into the experiences of my students, I was able to do it in the classes that I was taking. In TE 861, we are required to post our thoughts and reflections based on weekly readings, but encouraged to do so in more creative ways. So, in order to integrate my own use of technology, I posted my growing knowledge of science understanding on the classroom blog; an element of this online portfolio.
Level of Rigor
The level of intensity and rigor of assignments over the course of my Master's would vary, but it was very evident that all of the classes were designed to push each learner to a higher level of discourse. So, why not ask the same of our students? In TE 855, that was exactly the task at hand. After careful examination of a rubric designed to define higher level thinking I was asked to redesign a math assessment that would ask my student to raise the level of their thinking in mathematical practices. Although math was not the focus of my program, I was enlightened by TE 855 in a way that made me recognize rigor and intensity should be evident in all content areas and it is up to me to facilitate it.
The level of intensity and rigor of assignments over the course of my Master's would vary, but it was very evident that all of the classes were designed to push each learner to a higher level of discourse. So, why not ask the same of our students? In TE 855, that was exactly the task at hand. After careful examination of a rubric designed to define higher level thinking I was asked to redesign a math assessment that would ask my student to raise the level of their thinking in mathematical practices. Although math was not the focus of my program, I was enlightened by TE 855 in a way that made me recognize rigor and intensity should be evident in all content areas and it is up to me to facilitate it.
Roles of a Teacher
The roles of a teacher go way beyond just educating children in the core content areas. In a growing global society revolving around technology and social media, a teacher's role has to encompass not only what is written on the report card, but is responsible for creating the next generation of our society. That struck me most in TE 849. The understanding that the use of accurate and authentic literature in the classroom and how that literature will be used to shape future generations was a truly moving experience. I was amazed at the transformation of my own beliefs and ideals as a teacher of readers that I had as a result of participation in this course.
The roles of a teacher go way beyond just educating children in the core content areas. In a growing global society revolving around technology and social media, a teacher's role has to encompass not only what is written on the report card, but is responsible for creating the next generation of our society. That struck me most in TE 849. The understanding that the use of accurate and authentic literature in the classroom and how that literature will be used to shape future generations was a truly moving experience. I was amazed at the transformation of my own beliefs and ideals as a teacher of readers that I had as a result of participation in this course.