Stacey Avery's Portfolio

After being accepted into the graduate program, the two concentrations I selected were literacy and special education. I felt these areas would be the most beneficial for me in my current teaching position. With the continual rise in educational needs, it was best for me to brush up on my literacy skills. Literacy had not been my strongest area in teaching, and I wanted to learn the newest practices to build the best reading and writing program for my students. It was also important to build a love for reading and writing for myself so I could be passionate for my students in these areas. With the demands placed on education, there are more and more students falling through the cracks and several ending up on the special education caseload. This is why I selected special education as my second concentration. Many students do not qualify for the extra service which is why teachers are being asked to accommodate more in the classroom to meet the needs of all their students. I wanted to make myself more knowledgeable with the accommodations I could make for all my students. When I planned my program, several courses had similar themes between the two concentrations I selected. This allowed me to blend my concentrations as much as possible instead of having two completely separate entities. There were also some interesting courses around technology which fit extremely well into both concentrations to enhance learning. I was pleased to be able to incorporate the technology aspect so I could learn more about the ways to use technology in my classroom.

 

 

One benefit from my program was I was forced to become a more research focused practitioner to finding the best instructional practices. When taking my literacy courses, a huge focus was placed on best practices for reading and writing and using data to drive instruction. I was introduced to several different assessment options for gathering data. Schools are continually being evaluated for their instructional practices through standardized assessments. Teachers need to be prepared to meet the needs of all of their students. My responsibility is to be informed often of the research based practices and implement them in my classroom when applicable. The Masters of Arts in Education program is specifically designed to provide the students with the most effective strategies and help students learn how to use inquiry effectively. Every one of my courses had a research based assignment for the semester that I was asked to complete. The Writing Assessment and Instruction (TE 848) course focused strongly on doing research for a teaching project in writing. Writing has always been one of my least favorite subjects to teach. This writing course had me researching the best ways to incorporate authentic writing into the classroom. I created a letter writing unit in my classroom where my students were asked to compose a new letter or respond to a letter during our writing time. After the unit was over, my students asked if we could continue with letter writing as they found much enjoyment writing letters to others. By being research driven in education, I learn from expert teachers and implement the practices they deem most effective. TE 848 helped me begin to love writing, to explore new genres, and find new ways to teach my students how to write.

 

 

As technology continues to develop, schools are being asked to incorporate more technology into the classroom instruction to prepare students for the 21st century. One of my favorite courses was Technology and Literacy for Students with Mild Disabilities (CEP 850). This course not only fit well into my special education concentration but also incorporated the literacy and technology skills I wanted to explore. The instructor provided a plethora of technology resource options to assist students with their learning and several of the resources were applicable to any student. This helped me begin looking outside of the box for new instructional practices to make learning as effective as possible for all of my students. From the list of technology options we explored, my favorites were concept mapping and text to speech. I love to be organized and have a place for almost everything. Creating concept maps on paper has been an option for quite some time. However, I was unaware of the availability for creating online concept maps. My favorite website was Popplet where you create bubbles and connect them in a webbing format. This option would definitely improve my writing lessons with my students giving them a new way to brainstorm their writing before even picking up a pencil and paper. My second favorite technology was text to speech. Text to speech is developed to help low readers learn to read fluently as text on the screen is read to them. With teaching first graders, I find this to be a fun way for them to enjoy books without feeling intimidated by the overwhelming text. E-readers are one of my favorite options to use with my students. Two sites I love to use are TumbleBooks and Raz-Kids. My students have loved listening to stories on the computer during center time. It happens to be the most enjoyable center by all of my students.

 

 

Each of my graduate courses focused heavily on participation with other classmates. We were asked to participate through discussion questions, collaborative assignment options, chats, emails, or even video chats if possible. With online classes, face to face interaction is not always an option. At first, I was discouraged when my instructors asked us to work with a group of individuals to complete tasks. This did not seem like a smart option since we all had different schedules and some were in different time zones. However, this proved to be an effective way to increase collaboration skills by being accountable to each other, setting schedules, and learning to communicate as effectively as possible since the majority of the conversation was in text form. This form of collaboration with my classmates was quite enjoyable for me by the end. My Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning (CEP 802) course was one of those coursed designed to develop collaboration skills through several group work assignments. Half of the course focus was to work in a group of four to discuss behavioral issues from the course content. By working in a group, we took what we had learned from the course materials and shared our experiences, perspectives, and new ideas with each other to build a stronger understanding of the material. For each assignment, we would set an appropriate schedule and assign tasks quickly so assignments could be completed in a timely manner. Within my group, I learned who was quick to finish tasks, who needed a little more time, and individual strengths and weaknesses. We would establish a leader for each assignment so that person could make sure we stayed on task and submitted the assignment. Each assignment had a different leader so each one of us had a chance to lead and organize the materials for the group.  

 

 

Collaboration is a very valuable tool for a team especially in a school setting with many different personalities and job descriptions. The collaboration skills I learned in my graduate program can easily transfer to my school environment. In schools, the staff must be able to share ideas and experiences freely to build a strong environment for the students. For me to be the most effective teacher, I need to take the opportunity to work closely with my colleagues to expand on my instructional practices, leadership skills, communication with others, and classroom management skills to name a few. My school has undergone a huge expansion while I have been in graduate school, and I have used the collaboration skills I learned quite often. Scheduling was vitally important in my courses as well as learning how to take responsibility for assignment tasks. I continue to use this model in my building when collaborating with my colleagues. We have a set schedule for our meeting times as well as topics of discussion. This allows the staff to stay on task and allows us to use our time effectively. Time is very valuable. I learned that quickly in my graduate program. Collaboration in the school building also allows for opportunities to share new ideas and work on projects together. This helps to be a more unified community with a common goal of improving the environment for our students.

 

 

As I approached the Capstone Seminar (ED 870) course, I began to realize that every one of my courses fit together almost exactly. It was as if a puzzle had finally been completed. The Capstone course allowed me to reflect on all of my learning. I discovered pieces of work I was most proud of, reflected on my goals, and decided how my learning would continue. This reflection time was most enjoyable as well as the time I spent creating my web portfolio. There was only one other course where I completed a website but only had a few weeks to complete the task. My technology skills were quite average, and I encountered many stumbling blocks and frustrations trying to create the website. With having a semester long Capstone course dedicated to web design, I spent several hours up front learning the ins and outs of the platform I chose to make sure I had eliminated as many stumbling blocks as possible. Now I would not say my technology skills are expert, but I definitely feel more confident with web design and could easily transfer this skill to a possible classroom webpage.

 

 

Ending my graduate program does not mean I have ended my approach to learning. However, some very valuable information will be taken with me to continue my journey. The Masters of Arts in Education program led me to a place where I am more confident in my teaching. The education field will change. New instructional practices will be introduced. Technology will continue to expand. The staff at my school may change. I need to be more research driven, technology focused, and willing to collaborate with the ones in my career. The hours I spent researching best practices in literacy, special education and technology have prepared me for the research I need to complete in my career. I am pleased with the journey I have taken and look forward to using my skills in my classroom, school, and beyond.