My Learning
Learning should be a lifelong process. As a teacher I strive to model this for my students. I recently completed my Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in literacy and technology and learning at Michigan State University through the online MAED program.
Below is a subject-specific list of the courses in my MSU program and examples of my coursework. You may click on a course title to go to a comprehensive overview of my work in that class. I have highlighted a few examples of my work on this page, but for a more thematic view, please visit my Technology & Literacy Showcase.
Below is a subject-specific list of the courses in my MSU program and examples of my coursework. You may click on a course title to go to a comprehensive overview of my work in that class. I have highlighted a few examples of my work on this page, but for a more thematic view, please visit my Technology & Literacy Showcase.
Michigan State University
Required Courses
ED 800 - Concepts of Educational Inquiry
Course taken: Spring 2011 Instructors: Dr. Steven Weiland (weiland@msu.edu) & Nathan Clason (clasonna@msu.edu) Reflection: ED 800 provided many of the foundational concepts that frame the MAED program: the role of the learner, the role of the teacher, the process of inquiry, research, participant observation, and the nature of current education debate. Reading the work of important figures such as John Dewey, Howard Gardner, and Vivian Paley helped me re-examine my teaching philosophy and think of my classroom as an educational laboratory where best practices can be developed. Work Example: Learning Along the Way (essay) |
ED 870 - Capstone Seminar
Course taken: Summer 2013 Instructors: Dr. Matthew Koehler (mkoehler@msu.edu), Andrea Zellner (zellnera@msu.edu), Joshua Rosenberg (jrosen@msu.edu), and William Cain (cainwil1@msu.edu) Reflection: ED 870 has helped me to reflect on my journey through the MAED program and consider how I have changed as an educator. By developing an online portfolio, we not only have created a professional presence where others can see examples of our growth and learning, but we are able to document our own artifacts of learning. The metacognitive processes used in this effort are valuable in and of themselves, but also allow us to create a living document that reflects the best we have to share with our students and other educators. Work Example: Synthesis Essay |
Literacy Concentration
TE 838 - Children's Literature in Films
Course taken: Summer 2012 Instructor: Laura Apol (apol@msu.edu) Reflection: When I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the syllabus, I knew this would be a class that I'd love. Before taking this course, I had begun to explore the connection between children's literature and film in my classroom by making a display with movie posters and book covers to encourage reading but I didn't really know how to teach using film. This class taught me to examine the deeper connections between books and films and explore with my students what these reinterpretations owe to us as readers and viewers. I have since implemented a film unit in my 5th grade Language & Literacies class, which has helped me combine media literacy skills with our study of literature. Work Example: Reflections on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (essay) |
TE 846 - Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Course taken: Summer 2013 Instructor: Chad Waldron (chw@msu.edu) Reflection: TE 846 was the final course in my MAED program and one that has helped me think deeply about literacy instruction. The course taught me how to better assess literacy weaknesses among my students and differentiate instruction through formative assessments. By completing a case study of a student, the course provided me hands-on practice in creating responsive lessons to best meet the needs of my students. Work Example: Pending |
TE 848 - Methods of Writing Instruction
Course taken: Fall 2011 Instructor: Anne Heintz (heintza1@msu.edu) Reflection: TE 848 helped me think about how I teach writing and provided me many opportunities to hone my personal skills as a writer. I completed this course during the time my school was considering a 1:1 laptop program and had just become a Google Apps for Education school. This influenced my choice of teaching project and I chose to study the effects of implementing digital reader's notebooks using Google Docs. Through the genre lens of the course, I chose to focus another project on writing fiction. My work example is the first chapter of a middle grade novel that I am continuing to work on and hope to publish. Work Example: A Spinner's Tale (fiction) |
TE 849 - Methods and Materials for Teaching Children's and Adolescent Literature
Course taken: Spring 2013 Instructor: Laura Apol (apol@msu.edu) Reflection: In some ways TE 849 was a broad survey of many genres and formats in children's literature, but it also focused focused narrowly on several key themes and issues. As a middle school teacher, my exposure to picture books was mostly limited to the books I had read as a child and I learned much about what picture books could bring to my curriculum. In particular, I plan to incorporate them as mentor texts in some of our genre exploration units. I also learned about the ideas of authenticity, voice, and power in multicultural literature. The coursework inspired me to apply for a summer grant to revise our 5th grade independent reading curriculum to incorporate authors of diverse backgrounds and experiences. Lastly, our exploration of new formats in children's literature exposed me to the power of verse novels and graphic novels to engage readers through powerful language and imagery. Work Example: Reflection on Contemporary Formats for Children's and Adolescent Lit (essay) |
Technology Concentration
CEP 813 - Electronic Portfolios for Teaching & Learning
Course taken: Spring 2012 Instructor: Patrick Dickson (pdickson@msu.edu) Reflection: CEP 813 had two important foci. The first was for teachers to create an online presence for themselves to share our professional background, teaching philosophies, and examples of our work. The other was to help define a place where we could allow our students' work to be showcased. The importance of having authentic audiences was stressed and the work of creating this portfolio allowed me to have insightful conversations with students about what artifacts of their learning still exist and of which learning activities they are most proud. This site was the culminating project for the course and has changed quite a bit since then. I have enjoyed keeping it up-to-date as a place where people can learn more about me as a teacher and where I can highlight the work my students produce. Work Example: Teaching Philosophy (web page) |
CEP 818 - Creativity in Teaching & Learning
Course taken: Fall 2012 Instructors: Punya Mishra (punya@msu.edu), Kristen Kereluik (kereluik@msu.edu), and Laura Terry(terrylau@msu.edu) Reflection: CEP 818 was a fascinating class and a fun one to take. The idea of play as work and work as play is a perfect model for learning and one that is not taken advantage of enough. What most surprised me about this course is the idea that creativity can be developed. Often creativity is thought of like a talent, something one has or doesn't have. CEP 818 helped me see that it is more like a muscle or skill. It can be exercised and strengthened using the proper tools. One of the projects that I worked on during the semester was NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. I flipped the reading lens of my classroom to instead focus on students seeing themselves as writers of literature. I wrote along with my students and although I did not finish my novel by the end of the month, I have been inspired to continue working on novel writing as a personal creative outlet. Work Example: Modeling - Using Virtual Worlds in Digital Storytelling (blog post) |
CEP 820 - Teaching K -12 Students Online
Course taken: Summer 2011 Instructors: Leigh Graves Wolf (gravesle@msu.edu) & Andrea Zellner (zellnera@msu.edu) Reflection: CEP 820 expanded my thinking about how learning could be delivered in a digital environment. Just before this class, I had begun to explore social learning platforms such as Edmodo and was excited to learn more about developing content and lessons that my students could access online. I began using Schoology as my CMS and have continued to use it in my teaching. The online course I developed for CEP 820, 6th Grade Reading Lab, was implemented for one year and I learned many things about differentiation and independent study using an online platform with middle schoolers. Some of the content I developed for Reading Lab, I have now refined and integrated into a class I designed called Language & Literacies. We are now a 1:1 laptop school and this course prepared me to take full advantage of the technology I now have available. Work Example: 6th Grade Reading Lab (screencast) |
TE 831 - Teaching Subject Matter With Technology
Course taken: Fall 2010 Instructor: Erik Byker (bykereri@msu.edu) Reflection: TE 831 was the perfect course for me to start the MAED program. As a former computer coordinator and a teacher who tries to find new ways to integrate technology, I felt comfortable with the concepts we discussed but also challenged to look for new ways technology could enhance learning. In many ways, it was an introduction to the concepts that would be touched on in CEP 818 (Creativity in Teaching and Learning) and introduced me to several new ideas, including the TPACK model, Universal Design, and the idea of "repurposing" technology to serve educational purposes. This course helped me explore the idea of a book trailer, which is now an important part of my class and has helped me teach digital citizenship, media literacy, respect for copyright, and the concept of remixing. Work Example: Re-purposing Technology Lesson Plan (document) |