Synthesis Essay
A little more than three years ago, I was teaching in a classroom with more than 25 students and on the verge of burnout. I had forgotten why I had decided to change careers and become a teacher. I had forgotten why I had been so passionate about impacting my students’ lives and helping them achieve their potential. Unthinkable thoughts were creeping in slowly but surely. ‘Is it time for another career change?’ ‘Am I really making a difference to my students’ learning?’ On one particularly hot, humid and dull afternoon I returned home with a huge bag stuffed with my second graders literacy homework. There was still so much to do, I had to cook dinner, help my own daughters with homework and then wrestle these 25 odd smudgy yellow books. Yet despite the overflowing to do list, I decided that I would just sit back and do nothing. Only five minutes I told myself and then I’ll get started. My daughter who had just come back from school walked in and started chattering excitedly about her day. ‘You’ll never believe what we got to do today, mum’ ‘Mrs. Campbell got us to read this most amazing poem. It’s all made up words. I’ve already learnt it, and tomorrow I’m writing my own. Do you want to hear it?’ And without waiting for a response she recited the entire poem perfectly (The poem was Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol).
Her enthusiasm was infectious and despite desperately needing those five minutes to myself, I was very much intrigued. Since when did a fifth grader get so excited about poetry? Since when did they come home reciting a poem with words like ‘frumious’ and ‘galumphing’ by heart? And then it hit me. I was missing the learner’s enthusiasm! The excitement of learning and applying something new. I needed to reignite my passions for teaching by becoming a learner myself. Enrolling in a masters program had always been one of my goals but I hadn’t realized how I was in desperate need for it. That evening, after I had finished marking the last of my smudgy homework books, I shared the idea with my husband. He looked at me in semi-shock. ‘Are you sure you have time to do this? You’re always wishing for an extra ten hours to your day’. Yet even he knew that I needed that new spark. At the end of the evening the seed had been sewn. Two months later my application had been submitted.
The first course I decided to take was TE 842 Elementary Reading Assessment and Instruction. I had always felt that I needed to deepen my knowledge of literacy theories. I felt that I was lacking in exciting, new strategies that could impact my teaching. My particular concern was that I was not able to effectively support my most struggling students. As I sat one evening to tackle my readings for the first module of my course, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The journal article, ‘Thinking for Ourselves: Learning in a Diverse Teacher Inquiry Network’ read as follows:
‘We give up Saturdays and evenings to keep in touch about work… What holds a group such as ours together? It is the common ground of a problem of practice with which we all struggle in our respective teaching contexts: How can we re-engage low- achieving readers?’
We come to this question as experienced teachers who have often felt frustrated and isolated in our work. Too often we have identified struggling readers and worried that our interventions to support their learning of skills and strategies have, in fact derailed them from literacy’ (596-597).
As the authors spoke exactly of my situation, my feelings and anxieties, I felt that I was transported into their virtual community and inspired by their ideas. The authors helped introduce me to the idea that each student can take part in a challenging text without having to actually read it independently through the concept of book clubs. I had never used book clubs in my classroom but started to think about how this model would work for my young students. By the end of the first term at school, I had created more mixed ability groups and my struggling readers were learning from challenging texts and taking part in discussions. It was the first course in my Masters program and I was already implementing effective strategies in my classroom.
The second semester I decided to take a course that would help me address my most challenging area in teaching. The teaching of writing. TE 848 Writing Assessment & Instruction was a course that opened my eyes to the processes and best practices needed to develop writers. My biggest challenge as a teacher of writing was motivating children who did not want to write. There were always a few students who would not write at all despite much encouragement and prompting. Many of these students were English Language learners who found it difficult to express themselves. Through the course texts and an extensive teaching project I delved deeply into the many dimensions of motivating writers. I learned to develop student’s self-efficacy (self-efficacy is one’s belief in their own ability; it is important because students who believe in their own ability are much more likely to persist in their writing tasks instead of avoiding them or showing apprehension). I learned the importance of nurturing students functional beliefs about writing by helping them see the value and relevance of the writing they produce. I learned to provide writing tasks that match students’ abilities and to break difficult writing tasks in smaller parts. This course helped me develop a wide range of strategies that could help even the most reluctant writers. I also began focusing my efforts on creating an environment where all students feel that they can be successful as well as providing students with different tasks to minimize comparisons and ensure that differences in competence become less obvious.
As I approached completing the first year in the program, I decided to take a course that had a technology focus. I wanted to understand how best to use technology in the classroom and CEP 813 Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning was intended to help students think deeply about the design of assessments and evaluation in a digital context. I took this course in the summer of 2015, and have been fascinated with digital learning ever since. Not only that but the importance of formative assessment was further strengthened in my mind, and its impact in particular on low achieving students highlighted. I became more conscious of the assessments I was administering in the classroom and how I could use them to inform my instruction and improve my students’ learning. I also began administering assessments at various points during my instruction to discover early who had understood various concepts and who still required additional help. I also learned the importance of self-assessments that are administered by students who have a clear picture of the targets and goals of their learning. This course also introduced me to a wide range of electronic assessment tools that I could integrate in my classroom. It helped me understand how games can impact learning and challenged me to try out new tools and games myself. Throughout the course, I was continuously learning how to learn and forced out of my comfort zone to grapple the learning curve of mastering new tools. Experiencing this anxiety, and the frustrations reminded me of how my students need continuous support and encouragement when introduced to new concepts. I began to allow more time for exploration and support when introducing new concepts and I am now more conscious not to tie these attempts with large grades to minimize student apprehension.
Towards the end of my program in the Masters of Arts in Education (MAED) program, I took the Capstone Seminar (ED 870). This course enabled me to reflect on my experiences throughout the program and to create a digital portfolio that highlighted the various areas of my learning. Each step was carefully designed to emphasize the various achievements and to have a resource that can be used for communicating with colleagues and future employers. I feel that my digital portfolio offers a great insight into who I am as a person and professional and the work I have completed. The capstone course also furthered my skills in building a website and into considering various elements of design and organization. It also afforded me with an incredible opportunity to receive feedback from both my instructors and peers and stressed upon me the importance of giving specific and constructive feedback. The feedback I received helped me create a final product that I felt proud of.
Finally as I look back at my experience as a whole on my master’s program, I can see the extensive shifts that have occurred in my thinking and the impact this has had on my classroom. Throughout my courses I have learned how to become a reflective teacher who is constantly evaluating the assumptions and impact of my instruction and how they are affecting my students. I have become more conscious of how my decisions can have a huge influence on my students, and that when I take the time to reflect and inquire into how different students were affected, I can devise better ways of learning for all. I have learned the importance of collaborating with colleagues and the role that discussions can have on enriching our thinking with the unique perspectives that each individual brings. I have learned how it is important to constantly learn and apply information that can improve my practice and that when I stop learning and having the passion to learn then my students will too. As I think back to that day three years ago, I can see the incredible transformation in my mindset as a teacher and the extensive set of skills, resources and learning I have acquired. The spark that was fading has not only been ignited but also fueled to continuously learn and apply new practices.
References:
Raphael, T.E., Florio-Ruane, S., Kehus, M. J., George, M., Levorn Hasty, N., and Highfield , K. (2001). Thinking for Ourselves: Literacy Learning in a Diverse Teacher Inquiry Network. The Reading Teacher. International Reading Association. 54(6)
Photo credits:
Photo and poem retrieved from
http://tavinjer.com/post/115117484126/jabberwocky-lewis-carroll
