Transcript Slide 1

The Recipe of My Life
As human beings we all have experiences, and people
in our lives that have made us who we are today. I like
to think of these things as the ingredients that make up
the recipe to our lives.
Table of Contents
1. Myself as a Learner – The Ingredients
2. Myself as a Teacher – Mixing Everything
Together
3. Myself as a Teacher Researcher – Putting it
in the Oven – Letting it Bake
4. Reflection – The End Result
Myself as a Learner – “The Ingredients”
I was born on February 25, 1986 in Long Island, New York. I am the oldest
of four girls in my family. Growing up we were a very close family. We
took many family trips, we spent all of the holidays together, and we
ate dinner together every night. I grew up with rules to keep me safe. I
grew up surrounded by love, and laughter. I grew up knowing that I
had a family who would always be there for me. This shaped me as a
person in many ways.
Journal Excerpt – July 9th – Family Values
Growing up these are things I was taught to value, and still believe in today. These are
values that I carry over into my classroom with my students, and things that I will
teach my own children one day.
Close Family – Italian
Life messages, that You need to work hard for what you have in life. Family will stick by your side
is, what
through anything.
to expect from life
Family messages
Family is EXTREMELY important! Family will be there for you no matter
and expectations
what, through the good times and the bad times. Be open with one another, and
respect each other.
Gender roles in the I was brought up that women are equal.
home; in society
Education
Education is very important. I was told that I could not receive anything less
than a B- in college or it was unacceptable.
Work values and
You were expected to work hard, and follow the rules. I am in education today
behavior
because both of my parents set that example for me; they both worked in the
education field. In my family the example was set that you worked hard to earn
what you have, and that if you need to you work from the bottom up.
Family Traditions
Family traditions are very important to me. There are
many traditions in my family that we still do today.
These traditions include going to a nature reserve
to feed the birds, and baking Christmas cookies in
December (where my love of baking has come
from). Family traditions remind me of the
importance of family. These traditions bring us
closer together. Now that I am older, and have
moved out of my parents house I have created my
own traditions with my husband in our home. As a
teacher, I believe it is important to have certain
traditions in my classroom that build a community
of learners.
My mom and I at age 3 and age 26 feeding the birds
at Elizabeth Morton Wildlife Refuge
.
Journal Excerpt – July 11th – Elementary School
“As I think back to my experience in elementary school, the first thing that comes to mind is how much I
loved going to school everyday. As I try to remember certain things, such as how I learned to read, I
have a hard time…did I learn in a small group? Did we use texts such as basal readers? I do not
remember how I learned to read. I do remember each and every one of my teacher’s and how I
learned more from some than I did from others. I learn better with teacher’s who are kind and
caring, such as my first grade teacher, Ms. Monzillo. I remember being a much quieter and
introverted student in third grade because my third grade teacher, Ms. Warnken, was not a very kind
and caring teacher. I remember things such as my science project from 4th grade in Ms. Fosdick’s
class, and the group project I did on the stock market in 5th grade in Mr. Black’s class. I learned well
through projects, and group work, which is what those teacher’s did a lot of. All of those experiences
that I can remember have shaped the teacher that I have become today.”
Elementary
School Artifacts
I was taught the importance of school
from a young age. Both of my parents
were teachers, and later on they both
became administrators. I was taught
to love school and to always work
extremely hard in school. These
artifacts show my love for school, and
how I always worked hard to get good
grades.
Many Types of Baked Goods!
Growing up I loved to participate in many different activities. I was taught
to work hard, and to never give up on anything you started. My parents
taught me that just because something is hard work does not mean
you can’t do well in it. This has helped me in many ways as an adult.
There are many obstacles in my life that I have overcome by not giving
up, such as this master’s program.
I participated in dance, orchestra,
and cheerleading as a child.
Journal Excerpt – July 9th – My Religion
Life messages, that is,
what
to expect from life
Family messages and
expectations
Gender roles in the
home; in society
Education
Catholic
Growing up in the Catholic religion I was taught that you needed to be
honest, and true to yourself and the people around you. Being faithful
is very important and valued in the Catholic religion.
Having a family in the Catholic religion is very important. It is looked
down upon not to have any children.
I was brought up that women are equal.
Education is not something I learned a lot about through my religion.
Growing up I did take religion classes until I was in 8th grade.
“Being Catholic was very important in my life. We went to church on Sundays, and from the time I was in first
grade until the time I was in 8th grade I attended religion classes. I learned a lot about having faith. Now that I
am older I realize there is a lot more to the Catholic religion than my family practiced growing up. My family
believes in god, and having faith in a higher power, but they are not at all strict Catholics. This is what makes
me uncomfortable today, and I have realized this only since moving to Virginia. Being from New York the
Catholic Church was much more liberal than they are in Northern Virginia. There are a lot of things I do not
agree with in the Catholic religion, that I didn’t realize growing up. Things such as natural family planning,
living with someone before you get married, and the fact that priests teach you about getting married and
having a family and yet they can’t do those things themselves and are preaching things that they have never
experienced for themselves. I still consider myself Catholic, and I would still say that I believe in God, but
there are things that I know now that I don’t agree with at all. I continue to be a very faithful person today,
and I believe that everything in life happens for a reason, and I feel that I am like this because of my religion.“
Multiple Intelligences
Results from the Multiple Intelligences Indicator (Silver, Strong, & Perini, 2000)
Multiple Intelligences (cont.)
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The results of the multiple intelligences indicator do not surprise me. According to Silver,
Strong, and Perini (2000) people who are bodily-kinesthetic learners learn best by
doing, moving, and acting things out. I like to learn in a group, and by doing physical
activity. I do not learn my best by sitting in a lecture hall.
To me, even though interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences are very different from
each other I am not surprised that I scored the exact same in each. I take after my dad in
the sense that at times I like to be a very social and outgoing person, but at other times I
am very introverted and would rather work on my own. I enjoy working with other
people when I am learning something new, and I learn a lot from other’s, especially when
they can explain things to me in a different perspective. If I am in a time crunch, or I am
personally struggling with something I would much rather be alone and work by myself.
In my classroom I try to find a nice balance between group projects and activities, and
independent work. I believe there are benefits to both and that both are important. I
think this is also why I scored high in the verbal-linguistic intelligence. I enjoy reading,
and I could sit for hours by myself and read a book.
Learning Styles
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I scored highest in the Sensing-Feeling or Interpersonal Learner category for my
learning style. Silver, Strong, and Perini (2000) describe this learning style as:
Prefers to learn by:
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Studying about things that directly relate to people’s lives rather than impersonal facts or theories.
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Receiving personal attention and encouragement from his teachers
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Being part of a team – collaborating with other students
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Activities that help her learn about herself and how she feels about things
Learns best from:
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Group experiences and projects
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Loving attention
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Personal expression and personal encounters
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Role playing
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Receiving personal attention and encouragement
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Opportunities to be helpful in class
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Personal feedback
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Sharing personal feelings and experiences with others
Likes:
Dislikes:
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Long periods of working alone silently
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Emphasis on factual details
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Highly competitive games where someone loses
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Detailed and demanding routines
Learning Styles (cont.)
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There are many things I agree with about the category I fell into
for learning styles, and certain things I do not agree with.
Agree:
I learn better when I am working in a group. I tend
to do worse if I am working silently alone, when
there are other people around. I am the type of
person who needs feedback in order to learn. I
need clear examples, and I need to be told whether
or not I am doing something correctly. I get very
frustrated if I have done something wrong, and
need to redo it rather than being told how to do it
correctly the first time. I enjoy projects much more
if they are personal rather than factual. I enjoy
having personal conversations with people. I am
not a competitive person whatsoever. I love to be
helpful for other people. I will go out of my way to
help you, and I love to do personal things for
others that will make them feel special and loved.
You can find all of these things happening in my
classroom on a daily basis.
Disagree:
I tend to not like attention on me. I get very
shy, and almost embarrassed if there is too
much attention on me. I do like very
detailed and demanding routines. I am a
very detailed person when it comes to
routines in my classroom. We have
routines that we follow every single day,
and we practice them over and over.
Without a routine I feel very scattered and
unorganized.
Some bumps in the road – burnt baked goods?
“Growing up I had a wonderful childhood. I came from a family that spent a lot of time together doing different family
activities. We had family traditions that we still do together today as much as we can. When I was in college my dad got
very sick. He had always been a closet alcoholic, and he was diagnosed as being bi-polar. Things in my family started to
change a lot at that point. My dad would have good days and bad days, and the bad days were always extremely scary.
We went through a lot of ups and downs for about five years, and this is when I realized that my family was going to
have to work harder to continue to be the family that I remember growing up. I felt scared at first, and a little ashamed
of my father and what he had. But then I realized that this is my family, and they are the people who will always be
there for me in my life. I learned a lot over those five years. Mostly, I learned a lot from my mom about being loyal,
sticking by someone’s side through the good times and the bad, and how important family is.
- Journal Excerpt, July 9th
Because of this experience my
mother is a hero in
my life, and the biggest role
model I have.
College
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I was one of those people who always knew they wanted to be a teacher. I loved school
growing up, and I loved most of my teachers, so I knew that was what I wanted to do. I
chose to go to college in Long Island, and stay living at home. The reason I chose the
college that I did was because it was known for it’s teaching program. My mother went
to the same college to get her teaching degree. The summer of 2004, I started on my
journey to become a teacher.
The journey was not always an easy one. St. Joseph’s College had one of the most
rigorous teacher programs in the area. They made it impossible to graduate in four years
by taking the usual 15 credits each semester. I had to work extremely hard by taking 18
credits some semesters, along with winter and summer courses in order to graduate in
four years.
In May of 2008 all of my hard work paid off! I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and
four certifications to teach general education, birth through sixth grade, and also special
education, birth through sixth grade.
My first thought was “what do I do now?!” Teaching jobs are impossible to come by in
Long Island, so I knew what I had to do…find a job in another state.
In order to finish my degree and move away from home to do what I love I used…
…My Recipe for Success!
Through the experiences in my
life, and the lessons I learned
from my mom here is my
Recipe for Success:
1 cup determination,
1 cup courage,
2 cups self awareness,
Dash of hope;
Bake in your heart and
Sprinkle with faith.
Store in your soul.
“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.”
- Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You’ll Go
This excerpt from Dr. Seuss encompasses a lot of
what I believe in. I read this book to my students
every year and try to instill the same beliefs in them.
Jordin Sparks – “One Step at a
Time” - I believe this song
describes my personality, and how
I feel that everything happens for a
reason, and how important
determination is.
Moving to Virginia!
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After being a special education
teacher at Just Kids, a
preschool in Long Island, I
moved to Virginia in August of
2008.
I had been applying for jobs all
summer, and I still did not have
one when I moved.
On August 25, 2008 I accepted
my first job as a Special
Education teacher at
Crestwood Elementary School!
Myself as a Teacher – Mixing Everything Together
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My first year of teaching was difficult for many reasons:
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1. While being a special education teacher was rewarding, it was not what I truly want to do. I
wanted to have a class of my own.
2. After reading the Brookfield article (1995) I realize that I made many assumptions as a new
teacher. Brookfield (1995) states that assumptions are the taken-for-granted beliefs about the
world and our place within it that seem so obvious to us and not to need stating explicitly.
I made the assumption that schools would be like they were when I was growing up. I grew up
in an area made up of mostly middle class, Caucasian families. Crestwood Elementary School is a
Title 1 school with a population made of 63% Hispanic students.
Journal Excerpt – July 9th
Another time I realized how different my upbringing was, was when I
moved to Virginia. Growing up in New York I did not see many different
kinds of families or cultures that was different than mine. Moving to
Virginia was a very eye opening experience. I learned a lot about
different types of families, religions, and cultures through the students
in my classroom and their families. It has taught me to embrace anyone
in my classroom no matter what type of background they come from.
Myself as a Teacher – Mixing Everything Together
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I took all of my experiences and what I learned at Crestwood
Elementary School and set out on a path to do what I truly wanted
to do. The summer of 2009 I was offered a job to teach 2nd grade at
Providence Elementary School. I couldn’t wait to get started! I
have been working there ever since; I will be starting my fifth year
there in August of 2013.
I have grown so much as a person and as a teacher during the four
years that I have worked at Providence.
Teacher Beliefs

As a teacher, I desire my instruction to be developmentally
appropriate; be authentic; be differentiated; be engaging; but most
of all it should be inspiring. I must be my students’ cheerleader,
advocate, guide, and motivator. It is my belief that when a student
is motivated it empowers them to fully embrace the learning
process. In return, their academic pursuits will be more successful
and rewarding.
Teacher Beliefs
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I strive be able to view the world from my students’ perspective.
I believe instruction should be differentiated so that all students can
access the curriculum.
I believe that parent’s should be involved in their students education
as much as possible. I get my parents involved through emails and
newsletters on a weekly basis.
Most importantly: My classroom is a caring, safe, and stimulating
environment where each child can blossom and grow.
Teacher Beliefs
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I strive to make instruction authentic for my students;
helping them to make connections as often as possible.
Falk and Blumenreich (2005) say, “Good teaching is not
merely a technical matter of delivering information from a
recipe or text. Rather, it is about coming to know students
well – need of improvement – so that we can help them
make connections between new information and what
they already know; connections that make sense and that
last.”
Teacher Beliefs

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I believe that all students are able to learn (no matter their background) and want to be
successful. It is my job to help students be successful.
This quote from Purcell-Gates reminded me of how important this belief of mine is:
“First, and most obvious, teachers and schools must accept, believe, and act upon the
belief that children of poverty are learners, have been learning since birth, are ready to
learn at anytime, and will learn” (Purcell-Gates, 2002).
“Our varied beliefs and backgrounds are icing. Our shared humanity is cake.”
- Colin Wright

“I just completed reading two articles for class this coming Tuesday. These
articles made me think a lot about how important it is to think about the way
we talk to children and the way we treat children. As a teacher I believe that all
children should be treated equally no matter where they come from, what race
they are, what religion they believe in, or what their family is like. The article
titled “…As Soon As She Opened Her Mouth!”: Issues of Language, Literacy, and
Power by Purcell-Gates was very powerful to me. The article continued to
refer back to Donny and his mother Jenny, and how teachers kept pushing
them to the side due to their dialect and lack and literacy knowledge. I grew
up in New York, and there was not as much diversity in culture when I was
growing up there as there is here in Virginia. Even so, as a teacher I could not
imagine casting off a student and his family due to their dialect and their lack
of literacy knowledge. If anything, a teacher should be trying to help that
student more in school due to the lack of support they are able to receive at
home. It is shocking to me that an article like this even needs to be written. As
a teacher I think it is extremely important to see all children as capable
learners, as long as we are willing to give it everything we have to teach them.
“ – Journal Excerpt, July 7th
Teaching Experiences

Through the years I have learned a lot about being a teacher. I feel that the most
important thing I have learned is that learning needs to be fun for students. In
my classroom I try to differentiate my instruction as much as possible, so that
students are actively engaged in what they are learning. I use hands on projects
as much as possible with my students. I try to stay away from worksheets and
“busy work.” I put my students in cooperative groups to work on projects and
assignments. I try to incorporate crafts and games as much as possible as well.
Teaching and Baking!
Students participating in a cooperative
group activity where they learned about
economics. Students learned about
assembly lines, interdependence,
consumers and produces in this
Gingerbread Factory activity.
To practice using a thesaurus and
using synonyms, student’s
participated in a craft where they
created “synonym” rolls!
Technology
Students today have been named digital natives. I believe
it is important to incorporate technology into the
classroom as much as possible.
Creating Community
In second grade at Providence Elementary School we like to create a community of
learners by having lots of different activities where all of the second graders can
learn, and socialize together.
Beginning of the year Apple Social
American Indian Day – Students
participated in different games
and crafts that reflect the
cultures of the Indian tribes they
learned about in our American
Indian unit.
Markey Day to end our economics unit.
Responsive Classroom
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“What enables this shift toward intrinsic motivation is our developing a sense of purpose for the
activity and then using feedback gathered through both reflection on and outside observation of
ourselves involved in the activity. As we dialogue with this feedback and develop more complicated
theories about whatever it is we are doing, we eventually hit a level of sophistication in which we
can blot out the word about us, such is our concentration and involvement.” (Fecho, 2004)
This quote by Fecho is a lot of what responsive classroom is. My school is a
responsive classroom school, and I believe in many of its principles. Responsive
classroom is about building a community of learners through activities like
morning meeting, which we have everyday in my classroom. Through
responsive classroom students learn how to become self motivated, actively
involved students. This is done through reinforcing, reminding and redirecting
language as opposed to a behavior system.
Journal Excerpt – July 15th
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“As with a lot of teachers, my first year of teaching was my hardest. It was my
hardest for many reasons. I was learning the ropes at a new school, I was
learning the curriculum for a new grade level, and I was in a new state from
where I did my student teaching. I had no idea what it really meant to lead a
classroom on my own. I learned quickly, and I was managing well; except
when it came to one student. This students name was Saveon West. Saveon
was a very angry child, and he did not like to be told what to do. Being my first
year as a teacher he made it very hard for me to teach any lesson smoothly.
Everything he did got under my skin, and would affect the lessons that I was
teaching. I have learned since then how to better handle students like him, but
unfortunately from him and for me we went back and forth in a power
struggle all year. The obstacles were that being a new teacher I was unsure
how to connect with this student in order to help him. I wanted him to behave
appropriately, and I didn’t want to have to do much work in order for that to
happen. Unfortunately, Saveon did not have a very successful year in my class
that year.”
Taking a closer look, and connecting with students as
individuals…
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“ I had to see that all students are actors in their environment, with personalities,
experiences, and cultures to be valued and built upon for the good of the collective as
well as the individual” (Fecho, 2004)
“…Mary helped me to see that teaching and learning were about looking: looking closely,
looking over time, looking again, looking with purpose, looking to make sense” (Fecho,
2004)
“Since the year I had Saveon I learned a lot about connecting with students on a personal level in order
to help them in my classroom with any behavior or emotional issues that they might be having. This is
evident in the way I was able to connect with a very similar student in my class this year. Ian was very
defiant at the beginning of the year; he wanted to do what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it. It
didn’t matter what the class was doing. It took a couple of months, but I was able to connect with him
on a personal level, and he had a very good school year after that. He made huge progress in his
behavior in the classroom which resulted in better academic performance. I learned to have more
conversations with kids like Ian, really talk to them about what was causing their behaviors, and learn
what was setting them off to do the things they were doing. In turn, I was able to help the students
through these things, and help them to reach their full potential. I believe that Ian had a very successful
year in my classroom this past year. “
- Journal Excerpt, July 16th
The Power of a Teacher
“This weekend I went to a leadership conference in Baltimore. I was very
fortunate that my principal asked me to come to this conference with him and a group of
teachers from my school. I heard three very inspirational speakers at this conference.
Two of them struck a chord with me that brought me to tears. The first speaker was
Darrell Scott. He is the father of Rachel Joy Scott, the first student to be killed in the
Columbine shooting in 1999. He has started a foundation called Rachel’s Challenge. His
whole message taught me how important it is to instill kindness in my classroom. Rachel
Scott was one of the kindest people, and she made a huge difference in many people’s
lives. I teach my students and discuss with my students all year the importance of
kindness, but after the presentation I saw this weekend it will now be a mission of mine
to teach it and have my students practice it much more deliberately.
The second speaker who really touched me was Adam Saenz. He spoke all about
the importance of teachers in a student’s life. He told his very extremely powerful story
of how he grew up a very troubled child who was on a path to fail out or drop out of
school. Two teachers of his in middle and high school changed all of that for him. As a
teacher I know the effect that we can have on a student’s life, but Mr. Saenz made me
realize this even more. I will always remember the way he spoke of his teachers, and the
way he was brought to tears about how if it wasn’t for the teachers in his life he would
not be where he is today.”
- Journal Excerpt, July 15th
Myself as a Lifelong Learner
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I stated in my teacher beliefs statement that learning is
a lifelong process that has no real end. I believe this to
be true, and that is why I decided to go back to school
in 2011 to get my master’s degree.
I am attending George Mason University to become a
certified Reading Specialist.
This degree has taught me so much about teaching
children how to read. It has made me a better teacher
of reading, and has helped me teach kids how to love
reading.
Reading in my Classroom
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Reading instruction in my classroom has changed in many ways due to my degree at George Mason.
I have become a much more explicit teacher during my reading groups; helping students to better
use the reading strategies I am teaching them. I have become a much better manager of my reading
groups. This has enable me to reach more students. I was never comfortable teaching mini-lessons
for reading strategies. I am now able to plan and effectively teach a mini-lesson by modeling reading
strategies and having student practice them on their own during independent reading time. I feel
that through this degree paired with my teaching experience I am able to better serve my students
and meet their needs.
Myself as a Reading Specialist
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“A meaningful time in my career when I learned something new was just this last spring. I was enrolled in the
literacy course that was about running and leading professional development sessions at our school. I went into
this course absolutely terrified. I am not the kind of person who likes to get up and speak in front of other adults. I
think back to my first back to school night as a classroom teacher when I had to speak in front of parents and it
makes me sick to my stomach. Even five years later, I still get nervous for every back to school night. Just like with
back to school night though I had no choice but to hold these professional development sessions. I opened the
sessions up to all of the K-2 teachers in my building along with special education teachers, ESOL teachers, reading
specialists and administration. I did A LOT of research, and I went over my presentations numerous times. The
sessions went extremely well! What I learned from this experience is that I do have the ability to lead others, and
to even teach adults something new. The reading specialists in my building gave me unbelievable feedback, and
they relayed the feedback to my principal as well. The experience I had in that class gave me the confidence that I
might want to be reading specialist down the road, because before that class I was very skeptical about the degree
I was receiving, and if I could actually do it. I learned a lot about myself through the whole process, and it gave me
the confidence to take on running the summer school program at my school this year.” – Journal Excerpt, July 2nd
Cori,
Your workshop was fabulous. The amount of information covered was just enough for people
to digest, and you gave them something practical that they could take away and try today in their classrooms. You
were able to combine sharing research information in a hands on way that allowed everyone to take an active part in
their learning. You acknowledge that people tend to think of fluency in terms of rate, and then the information shared
allowed participants to broaden their knowledge of fluency by learning about the various components beyond rate
that work together to create a fluent reader…..and you accomplished this in 20 minutes. Wow!
From, Donna
- Email from my reading specialist about my
workshop on fluency
Myself as a Teacher Researcher – Letting is Bake
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“Teachers must be able to think systematically about their practice and learn from
experience. They must be able to critically examine their practice, seek the advice of
others, and draw on educational research to deepen their knowledge, sharpen their
judgment, and adapt their teaching to new findings and ideas.” (Rodgers, 2002)
Through my reading specialist degree I am working towards accomplishing what
Rodgers is talking about in the quote above. I have learned a great deal about myself
as a teacher by analyzing the way I teach reading, I have done a lot of research on
different strategies which has transformed my reading instruction, and I have lead
professional development sessions where teachers have been able to have
meaningful discussions and learn from one another.
However, I am always inquiring as to how I can continue to become a better teacher.
What other changes can I make in my practices?
Myself as a Teacher Researcher – Letting is Bake
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To determine where I can make changes, I am going to make critical reflection
a habit. I plan on using Dewey’s phases of reflection as outlined in Rodgers
(2002) to guide me towards effectively critically reflecting.
Research questions I have based on my critical reflections:
1. What are effective reading comprehension strategies that will deepen
students understanding of a text?
2. What are ways in which independent reading can help strengthen reading
comprehension strategies?
3. How long does a reading comprehension strategy need to be taught and
practiced before students will start to use it on their own to understand text?
4. Can a student be taught more than one reading comprehension strategy at
the same time and use them effectively while reading?
Reflection – The End Result
When I started this project I did not realize the impact it would have on me as a teacher
and as a person. I was extremely overwhelmed by completing it, and I honestly had no
desire because I didn’t see the purpose. Now that I am done, I feel completely different.
This project required me to really dig deep and think about how my life experience have
shaped me into the teacher that I am today. I knew that things from my past had an effect
on the person I am today, but I never knew how deeply they did until this project. If it
weren’t for my upbringing and those experiences I would not have the “never give up”
attitude that I try my best to instill in my children in the classroom.
The part I liked most about doing this autobiographical study was the multiple
intelligences and learning style inventories we took from the Silver, Strong and Perini
book. It was extremely insightful, and I very much agree with the results. I think it is very
important as a teacher to always be thinking about the different learning styles of your
students.
References
Brookfield, S. (1995). What it means to be a critically reflective teacher. Becoming
a critically reflective teacher (pp. 1 – 27). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Falk, B., & Blumenreich, M., (2005). The power of questions: A guide to teacher and
student research. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Fecho, B. (2004). Is this English? Race, language, and culture in the classroom. New
York: Teachers College Press.
Purcell-Gates, V. (2002) “…As soon as she opened her mouth!”: Issues of language,
literacy and power. In L. Delpit & J.K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin we speak (pp.
121-141). New York: The New Press.
Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective
thinking. Teacher’s College Record, 104 (4), 842-866.
Silver, H, Strong, R., & Perini, M. (2000). So each may learn: Integrating learning
styles and Multiple intelligences. . ASCD: Alexandria, VA.