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Showcase of Graduate Work

As I earned my Master of Arts in Education, I had many opportunities to make choices about my learning, from course selection to choosing topics for inquiry projects in those courses. As I made these choices, I consistently found myself gravitating towards two topics: equity and student engagement. These two concepts were central to my graduate studies and are fundamental parts of who I am as an educator. My showcase features samples of work from my graduate studies that helped me become a more equitable and engaging educator. Click on the images next to each description to access the work samples. 

I believe that as an educator, I must work to ensure that all students have access to education that works for them—that honors their identities, that recognizes and builds upon their strengths, and that provides effective supports that they need to thrive.

Writing Instruction For Multicultural Classrooms

In this three-part inquiry project, I researched the qualities of effective writing instruction for a multicultural classroom, synthesized this research, and applied it to my own work with students. In Part 1, I created an annotated bibliography of extant research on the topic of writing instruction for multicultural classrooms. In Part 2, I crystallized this research into a presentation created with fellow educators in mind, and I identified ways that teachers can incorporate best practices for teaching writing to a diverse group of students in their classroom.  In Part 3, I created my own lesson plans that reflect those best practices by affirming students’ identities and native languages and supporting their mastery of Standard English writing conventions. This project equipped me to effectively teach writing to a culturally and linguistically diverse group of students.

Part 1: Annotated Bibliography

Part 2: Prezi

Part 3: Lesson Plans

Critical Reflection and Action

In this essay, I critiqued the approach of educators depicted in the film The Class (Cantet, 2008) and outlined recommendations for improving the educational experiences of the multicultural student population. My recommendations included challenging educators to acknowledge and reject deficit theory, and to acknowledge and reject the privileging of the norms of the dominant group, both in their individual practice and in the systems in their school. Through this paper, I recognized how important it is for all educators to be critically reflective, to deepen their self-awareness, and to take action to promote social justice in their own classroom, in their school, and beyond.

Unheeded Voices

In conversations and decision-making about improving education for students of color, the voices of adults of color are much-needed, but too often excluded. In this paper, I explored the impacts of this problem as well as several steps that can be taken to address it. This paper prepared me to more fully and meaningfully engage with the families in the college access program for which I work.

In this paper, I evaluated the benefits and drawbacks of one model of ELL education: two-way bilingual education programs. This model is an example of one way that the language learning needs of native and nonnative English speakers can be met. I learned that English Language Learners’ native languages are inherently valuable and are powerful resources that can be leveraged when learning English. This project prompted me to make greater use of students' native languages in the classroom and to promote native language literacy in outreach events in primary schools in my community.

Supporting Bilingual Language Learning

Equity

Student Engagement

Motivation Design Project

I believe that as an educator, it is a part of my work to be persistent in creative in designing learning opportunities that are engaging to my students—learning opportunities that activate students’ sense of agency and deepen their ownership over their learning process.

In this project , I worked to understand the nature of one student’s lack of motivation to learn Spanish, and I designed interventions that resulted in a significant observable increase in the student’s motivation and performance. Through this project, I realized that only by getting to know our students and understanding root causes of low motivation can we improve student engagement. I also learned that mastery experiences, strong relationships, and appropriate scaffolding can have powerful positive impacts on student engagement.

Critique of Rewards

Rewards are ubiquitous in our education system, but do they effectively promote motivation to learn and facilitate deep learning? In this paper, I explored the benefits and limitations of extrinsic motivation in the classroom, and outlined my approach to fostering motivation in my students. This paper prompted me to revisit my team's approach to rewards, and to create guidelines for effective uses of rewards and praise in our program. 

Making Literacy Fun

I created two literacy lesson plans to meet the individual needs of one pre-school student. My goal was to create learning experiences that would both further the student’s development as a reader and engage her. To meet these goals, I applied my knowledge of literacy development, child development, and motivation. This work reminded me of the importance of joy and fun in learning and in motivation to learn. I also strengthened my abilities to assess student needs and design instructional resources to meet those needs. Artifacts referenced in the lesson plans as well as a thorough description of lesson rationale and implementation are available upon request.

Meaningful Reading

This brief essay outlined my vision of how I want to teach reading and engage students with texts. I address the questions What texts should we read in the classroom? and How and why should we read them?  I affirmed that students are most motivated to read when they find reading meaningful, and I as an educator can help students find meaning in texts by providing exposure to diverse texts, challenging them to think critically, and providing effective strategy instruction. Ultimately, I want to empower students to be in control of their own reading, learning, and thinking processes. This essay prepared me to create an inclusive classroom library and to provide effective, meaningful reading instruction.

Leadership Reflection

In these reflections, I realized that many elements of my approach to supporting and engaging students in a classroom also apply to supporting a team of co-workers. I recognized that best way for me to lead and motivate my team is to understand their perspectives, empower them to take ownership over our work, and provide them with the support they need in order to thrive. These reflections transformed my leadership style, prompting me to differentiate my support for each staff member, prioritize relationship-building, and more frequently take on the role of facilitator and resource rather than driver.

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