Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education MATC Synthesis Paper

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Teaching Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University

Emily Jacobsen PID A35295323 July 12, 2013

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education

Finding my Future Path I stumbled upon the MATC program in quest to broaden my educational marketability. After completing my Bachelor of Arts in History with a Secondary Teaching Certification, I struggled to secure a teaching position in Michigan, where I was determined to stay. Through substitute teaching I discovered my passion for working with elementary students, so I sought an Elementary Endorsement from Michigan State. When researching my options I discovered the MATC program, its vast course options, flexible program structure, and online courses made it a perfect fit for me. I was able to fulfill two of my educational goals, to earn my Elementary Endorsement and work toward my Masters degree, at the same time. My goal through my courses was to broaden my knowledge of the content areas I was not exposed to in my history and social studies undergraduate major. To accomplish this I took courses in science, math, writing, and literacy instruction. The world of education and my concept of teaching drastically expanded and adapted to encompass more subject areas and a younger student base.

Exploring Literacy Instruction The role of direct reading instruction was brand new to me as I entered Advanced Methods of Elementary School Reading (TE 842). I quickly became engrossed in the many different approaches to reading instruction. Through my substitute teaching experiences I had heard mention of The Daily 5 and The Daily Caf, both developed by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. The two concepts correlate around students completing independent literacy activities while a teacher can confer with other students. Boushey and Mosers (2006) goal was to change

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education the atmosphere in classrooms and our own roles, from trying to manage students to creating routines and procedures that fostered independent literacy behaviors that were ingrained to the point of being habits (p.9). My inquiry into The Daily 5 (2006) led to the creation of a guide that breaks down the basics of the program, which is my first artifact. I have used this guide personally as a quick reference in my internship and have shared it with colleagues who were unfamiliar with The Daily 5 (2006). Although I have yet to teach direct literacy instruction, I

hope to implement The Daily 5 and The Daily Caf independent literacy centers for students into my own classroom. In continued exploration of literacy instruction I studied the role of graphic organizers in expository writing in TE 848, Methods of Writing Instruction. Writing instruction is an oftenoverlooked aspect of literacy and takes a back seat to reading instruction and vocabulary, especially with the new uses of technology. While working with third grade students, as part of my second artifact, my teaching project from TE 848, I discovered the difficulties students have with organizing their ideas in writing. From my research and inquiry in the effectiveness of graphic organizers, I revealed students produced more coherent pieces when their ideas were clearly organized before drafting and shared my findings in my second artifact, The Role of Graphic Organizers: In Writing and Beyond. By realizing the usefulness of graphic organizers within writing I began to find ways to use them within other subject areas because evidence revealed that graphic organizers allow for better recall and deeper connections between ideas. Rebecca Kaminski (1993) found that use of graphic organizers increased student involvement in learning regardless of ability (p.2), which drives my use of graphic organizers across content areas and student ability levels. To support greater understanding and recall I regularly use graphic organizers in social studies and science instruction. Having a broader perspective and

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education greater acceptance of graphic organizers has allowed me to provide better learning experiences and clearer instruction for my students with language barriers. A third way I expanded my knowledge of literacy instruction was through the development of a unit plan in TE 847, Advanced Methods for Teaching Language Arts. Through a deeper exploration of literacy instruction I developed a unit plan on Friendship for

first grade students, my third artifact. Creating a unit plan for literacy was more challenging than expected with my secondary social studies background. It took lots of research to select appropriate, meaningful texts that conveyed the purpose of the unit. Working between multiple sets of standards including reading, writing, and speaking as well as social studies presented another challenge as developed this cross-curricular plan. From this experience I truly realized the time and dedication good, thorough planning requires. I also developed a new appreciation for teaching at the elementary level because elementary teachers must consider all the content areas when developing plans for instruction. Before developing this unit for TE 847, I had never considered using standards from multiple content areas in one unit. Today as I create plans and units for my classroom, I strive to incorporate multiple standards from various threads of the Common Core to provide meaningful, constructive learning experiences for my students.

Embracing New Subject Matter Math instruction was also a brand new field for me when I entered the MATC program. Through other Michigan State courses I learned the basics of instruction, but within TE 855, Teaching School Mathematics I was able to truly understand what mathematical reasoning looks like within the classroom. My view of mathematics, was if the student can find the answer then they must grasp the concept, my fourth artifact is my research into how kindergarten and first

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education grade students sort objects, I discovered there are multiple ways for students to complete mathematical tasks. In my research I inquired into the reasoning behind kindergarten and first

grade students patterning and sorting skills. Through my research I realized that students need to initiate conversations with others and compare their ideas (Maher & Martin, 1996, p.196) to truly make meaning from the operations and math strategies. Math no longer has one singular answer or one step for everyone to solve to me; it has become a showcase for students to demonstrate multiple approaches to the same problem, hopefully reaching the same solution, but through various paths and allowing time for conversations during math instruction. Teaching School Mathematics strengthened my role as a math teacher by opening my mind to the unique approach each of my students could take in solving a problem. This course also made me realize that mathematics can be more than a worksheet, or textbook assignment. While working with third grade students as part of TE 894, I developed more interactive math activities for students to use hands-on tools to explore concepts. One lesson and my fifth artifact is Jolly Rancher Math, in which students partnered to explore fractional relationships of a group of objects. In pairs, students worked to identify multiple fractions based on the flavor of Jolly Rancher candies. This lesson was a break from the typical instructional approaches of my cooperating teacher because it allowed the students to work with manipulatives and a partner, which reflects my efforts to acknowledge the different instructional needs of students. From this internship experience and my work in TE 855 I now strive to incorporate interactive lessons, partner and team work within my mathematics instruction because it exposes my students to multiple perspectives and opinions while also providing opportunities to share their reasoning and explanations to a problem.

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education Teaching Is More Than Content Exploring the broader field of education within TE 807, Professional Development and

Inquiry, was truly an awakening experience. From my secondary level perspective, I only had to focus on content and curriculum and my students learning styles, my students should already have established the fundamentals and be on their way to being self-sufficient individuals. In my reflections of the course as a whole I had to define good teaching and the aspects it encompassed, that essay entitled A Balancing Act is my sixth artifact. Through this course and its reflections I came to realize that good teaching required considering much more than just content. For me to be a good educator I must balance my students individuality, parental concerns, methods of instruction, my colleagues, and the curriculum all within my instruction. Ultimately, through this course and my inquiry into what good teaching looks like to researchers and other educators I found teaching to be a complex balance of sharing my knowledge and providing opportunities for students to explore and develop their own learning. My teaching has become a balance of content knowledge and life skills including speaking, writing, and developing individuals opinions and ideas. In accepting this realization I strive for my classroom to be a safe learning environment that allows both collaboration and individual thought development while respecting the views of all. Along with personal experiences brought into the learning environment there are political and personal agenda factors. Exploring the history of education through TE 818, Curriculum and Its Social Context, was fascinating. Todays educational environment is filled with multiple agendas from parental goals for their children, to national policies competing on a global scale, to district mandates ensuring financial stability. In my final, summative essay for TE 818, Changing Visions of Education, my sixth artifact, I was able to reflect on the path American

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education education has followed from Horace Mann in the mid-1800s to John Dewey to James Bryan Conant in the mid-1900s. From studying these views of education, I was able to develop my personal goal for teaching: to provide meaningful learning experiences that incorporate the variety of beliefs that helped make this nation what it is today in ways that allow students to develop a sense of individuality while still wanting to belong to this great nation. This goal for learning links to my explanation of good teaching, to blend content knowledge with opportunities for collaborative and individualized thought development. To reach this level of teaching and learning I recognize the necessity to continually research the current trends in education, work collaboratively with my colleagues, embrace the individuality of my students and continuously attend professional development sessions.

Area for Expansion My goal throughout my MATC program was to broaden my views and knowledge of education. My primary focus was content, but as my coursework progressed it included the hidden curriculum of education including personal and political interests. I know that my journey with the MATC program is coming to a close, but that does not mean my efforts to further my knowledge is complete. The majority of my MATC coursework was completed while I was an intern with Michigan State University and serving as a substitute teacher in several Michigan school districts. Unfortunately this movement between school settings limited my opportunities for formal professional development and building collegial relationships. In a way I see my courses within MATC as my professional development because I have deepened my knowledge of subject matter and explored unfamiliar aspects of instruction. My lack of artifacts demonstrating goal 3 and standard 6 from my coursework are a direct reflection of not

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education

having a permanent teaching position throughout the program. Much of my research and inquiry projects throughout the program reflect the grade level I was working most closely with at the time of the specific course through my internship and long-term substitute positions. Fortunately at the close of my MATC program I have entered a permanent position, unfortunately I had to leave Michigan. During my first year of teaching in North Carolina I had limited opportunities to work collaboratively with my colleagues. My activities were restricted because my administration wanted me to focus my energies on my classroom and students. We have grade level professional learning communities, but from my studies I do not believe they are beneficial in their current format. I hope, entering my second year in the school, I will get more opportunities to share my ideas and provide suggestions for making our PLCs more productive and collaborative. As William Ayers (2010) states, outstanding teaching is usually against the grain, and teaching against the grain can be best accomplished with allies (p.144). Entering into my second year, I aspire to teach against the grain, and contribute more to my instructional team and share ideas with my grade level. In doing so, I hope to create more learning opportunities for both my students and myself, because as an educator I am never done learning.

The Next Endeavor Reflecting on my MATC courses, I selected topics that were of interest and use to my goal of expanding my educational marketability and ultimately I reached my goal as I have my own classroom and am confident in working with elementary age students. Working with my students has brought on new challenges that I had not considered during my MATC program. As the majority of my students are English Language Learners, my next endeavor in the field of

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education

education is to learn strategies and techniques to enrich the learning experiences in my classroom for ESL students. Language and culture differences created a barrier in my teaching and relationship building with both my students and the community in which I teach. By learning about working with ESL and ELL students I hope to strengthen my abilities to develop meaningful relationships with my students, which as the MATC program has revealed is crucial to being a good educator.

Expanding My Views and Knowledge of Elementary Education 10 References Ayers, W. (2010). To teach: The journey of a teacher (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2006). The daily five: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Kaminski, R. (1993). Students ability to apply and reflect on organizational structures used in composing. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference. Charleston, SC. Maher, C. A. and Martino, A. M.: 1996, 'The development of the idea of mathematical proof: a 5-year case study', Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 27(2), 194-214.