MAT 718- FINAL REFLECTION

Jean Clarke
University of St. Mary
Duringmypreviouscourse,ResearchBasedAssessment,Ifocusedonimproving
mystudentsreadingcomprehensionandfluencyskillsusingguidedreading.I
experiencedalotofsuccesswiththatproject.Mykidsarecontinuingtoimproveand
showagreatdealofgrowthintheareaofreading.Duetothegreatsuccessofmylast
project,Idecidedtousethesameformatofsmallgroupinstructionbutfocusonwriting.
Thisyear,myschoolimplementedthewritingworkshopmodeltoteach
writing.Learningtoreadandwritearesuchimportantaspectsofthefirst
curriculum.Thewritingscoresinpreviousyearswereweak.Thedistrictsawthe
needtoenhancethewritingcurriculumandimplementthewritersworkshop
model.Thischangeinprogramshaschallengedmeasateacher.Isawthisasagreat
opportunitytousetheactionresearchprocesstopromotepositivechangeinmy
classroom.
Mydesiredoutcomeisthat12outof15studentswillincreasetheirwriting
staminaandproductfromSeptembertoJuneasmeasuredbyawritingrubric.
Ihavebeenconducingsmallstructuredminilessonsfollowedmyindependentwriting
timefollowedbygroupsharetime.Mythreepartdailylessonsaredone45timesper
week.Studentsarereallyenjoyingmoreandtheirskillsarevastlyimproving.
The biggest change that Ive seen since implementing this action research is the
positivity among my students. The new structured writing curriculum has the children
excited and motivated to write each day. It is very great to see. My students know the

daily routine very well. They know what to do each day during writing time. The
students are applying many of the writing strategies they have learned in other subject
areas as well. They are producing quality work. I am noting an increase in both their
skills and their writing stamina. I am excited to continue to implement the writers
workshop model in my classroom. I expect to continue to see a rise in students writing
scores, attitude and stamina.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the constructive criticism of my peers. One of the
benefits of online learning is being able to read and review peers work. I did not have this
experience in my other schooling years. I learned a great deal from my peers in class and
gained an interest on their research topics as well.
The USM conceptual framework states that "Our conceptual framework builds
upon the belief that teachers (our candidates) are leaders who shape change through
research and reflective practice." (USM Conceptual Framework of Knowledge in Action)
I have has the opportunity to complete several different action research projects
during my coursework at USM. I have continued to reflect and change my methods as a
result of these projects. We have to keep education current. The only way to do that is
through research. Teachers need to research best practices and put them into action. This
is exactly what I have done in the past nine courses.
One of the propositions of the National Board Profession Teaching Standards is
that " Teachers are committed to students and their learning. (NBPTS 2014) This is
something that drove me to USM in the first place. I did just choose the carret course of a
teacher and then leave it at that. I am dedicated to my students and to providing the most
meaningful education possible.

All of the USM graduate program outcomes align with the course. One that stands
out is Demonstratetheabilitytobereflectivepractitionersbyidentifyingaproblem,
examiningresearch,advocatingsolutions,implementingaplan,andmeasuringand
evaluatingoutcomes.
Ihavedonethisprocessmanytimes.Iamfortunatethattheprogramprovides
suchastructuredplanforgraduatestudentstoreflect,change,implementandmeasure.

References
NBPTS. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nbpts.org/
USM Conceptual Framework of Knowledge in Action