Synthesis
Synthesis
While completing work for my capstone course, I have done a lot of reflecting, not just on my master’s program, but on my life as a whole. Throughout my life, I have been working toward professional and personal accomplishments as if it were a long checklist: graduate high school, graduate college, get a teaching job, get a master’s degree, get married, buy a house. The Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program has helped me realize that learning and growth does not simply come from checking off accomplishments, but from a personal desire to be reflective and want to improve. These attributes, more than my specific achievements, are what have made me into the person I am today. Without them, I would not have been able to complete the program, nor become a more caring and dedicated educator. As I look ahead to my future, I realize that I am taking these traits with me in addition to what I learned in my graduate courses.
Throughout the MAED program, I developed a stronger sense of confidence in my teaching abilities. When I first began teaching, I often questioned whether I was making the right decisions for my students. As I progressed through the program, I learned more about education and the best ways to support students. From a content standpoint, I learned how to design lessons to meet all student learning needs, use assessment to inform instruction, and learn about the best teaching practices in different subject areas. On a deeper level, I learned to conduct educational research, inquiry, and analysis. I was able to directly apply learning from my coursework into the classroom and collaborate with like-minded peers. Because of my learning in the MAED program, I am able to think more deeply about specific instructional decisions and how they impact student learning as well as reflect upon those decisions. I find myself making more intentional choices to promote student engagement, peer collaboration, and differentiated instruction. Through my experiences in this program, I have become more confident and analytical in my ability to plan and deliver quality instruction that meets the needs of unique learners.
The MAED program has been a part of my life throughout nearly all of my teaching career. I began it at the end of my first year teaching and I have slowly worked toward completing the degree, taking courses here and there when my life was not too busy. Teaching in general can be hectic. This is something I had always heard, but I did not fully understand until I began my career. My first year, I learned all the intricacies of teaching, something that you cannot fully be prepared for until you go through it. Lesson planning, assessing students, managing a classroom, and collaborating with colleagues are just a few of the things I faced entirely on my own for the first time. That first year was hard, but necessary for me to fully understand what comes with this profession, as well as to understand what works well for me as a teacher and to identify areas I wanted to strengthen. Each year since, I have tried new things to continue improving my practice and become more confident in my abilities to effectively teach students and run a classroom. Starting my program early allowed me to learn things in my courses that I could immediately apply to the classroom. I think this was especially helpful in making me feel more confident and prepared as a new teacher.
Not only has the MAED program been in my life since starting my career, it has been a part of my life throughout my entire relationship with my husband. From when we first started dating, to getting engaged and married, traveling across the country and world, buying a house, and adopting two dogs, the MAED program was a constant presence in my life throughout this time. Because of this, my growth as a person has been mirrored by my growth in this program. I look back to who I was when I first started this program, and recognize how different I am. There is so much that has changed in these past few years. This program is special to me, not just because of what I learned in my courses, but because it has been there with me through all of these changes.
While there are takeaways I have from all my courses in the MAED program, there are three courses that stand out that have made the biggest impact on my development as a teacher. In the sections below, I highlight more of the specific knowledge I have gained in the program from these courses. They not only influenced my personal thinking and educational philosophy, but transformed my instructional decisions to be more meaningful for student learning. These courses are all from the TE (Teacher Education) discipline. Two of the courses (TE 831 and TE 855) were required for my concentration in mathematics and science education. The other one (TE 849) was an elective course. For more in depth descriptions of the courses I took, you can look at my annotated transcript page.
TE 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology
One of the courses that had a major impact on me was the first course I took: TE 831 Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology. This course had a well-balanced blend of content knowledge and application through course assignments. One of the main frameworks focused on in this class was TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge). This framework deepened my understanding of the intersection of these knowledge domains and specifically how technology can be utilized to make student learning more meaningful and relevant in today’s digital world. In this course, I was able to explore different technology tools and apply them to my classroom. Tools such as Seesaw and Classroom Screen have helped make students more engaged in my lessons as well as become more efficient when completing activities. Because of this, I have become more confident in my ability to incorporate technology resources into the classroom to benefit students and myself.
One of the main projects for this course involved me becoming more familiar with design elements. I read a book on design and used what I learned to redesign slides to make them more visually appealing. I learned about design elements such as contrast, alignment, and consistency. Following these principles, I started designing slides and activities that were more organized and polished. This course was especially impactful compared to my other courses because I am able to carry over what I learn to my classroom, but in all other areas in my life where I utilize technology and present information. Looking back, I am glad I took this course first because I was able to apply what I learned directly into my class as well as into the other courses I took in the program later on.
TE 855 Teaching School Mathematics is another course that strongly informed my teaching practice. This course focused on addressing student needs through effective math instruction. I learned the importance of developing students’ conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts before teaching procedures so that students know why something works before knowing how to do it. It also helped me consider how to make math instruction more meaningful for all students. I learned teaching strategies such as using complex instruction, math talks, and presenting real-world contexts that allow students to build their own knowledge in math while valuing all student identities and backgrounds.
My biggest takeaway from this course came from the research project I conducted. I appreciated being able to choose what I wanted to research in the course. My school had just adopted a new math curriculum, Eureka Math Squared, so this course and project came at the perfect time for me to dive deeper into this curriculum. I chose to focus my research around the guiding question “how can complex instruction be used with the Eureka Math Squared curriculum through the use of group-worthy tasks?” This project required considerable attention to detail. I had to create a project design and timeline in order to effectively explore my guiding question with ample time for research, task design, classroom application, reporting, and analysis. I was pleased to identify over two dozen tasks that had potential to be group-worthy. This made me feel more confident in utilizing this curriculum in a way that is most optimal for student learning. Furthermore, I felt more confident in my ability to be critical and adapt all curriculum materials to meet the needs of students in my classroom as well as share that knowledge with colleagues.
TE 849: Methods and Materials for Children's and Adolescent Literature
A final course that had a major impact on my learning was TE 849 Methods and Materials for Children’s and Adolescent Literature. This is a course that I took as an elective, so I was not exactly sure what I was getting myself into when I started it. There was a lot of work in this class, but because of it, there was a lot of reward too. The assignments consisted of reading literature and reflecting on it through writing and discussions. The final paper of the course was writing a literature position statement signifying major takeaways from previous learning throughout the semester.
In the course, we explored many different genres of literature and developed an understanding of what high quality literature entails. The books we read featured diverse perspectives, experiences, and cultures. A big takeaway from this reading was the importance of having literature that provides students with opportunities to see themselves in books as well as learn about and develop an understanding of other perspectives. This course helped me think more intentionally about the texts I have in my classroom and how I use them. The importance of using books more purposefully became more concrete to me. I considered how I could use discussion and reflection activities to ensure students make connections with text, whether that be text to self, world, or other text connections. I especially appreciated this course because it held a lot of personal value. There was a lot I could apply to my students and classroom learning, but it encouraged me to step away from my teaching lens and think more personally about literature. My passion for reading was reignited in this course as well as my understanding of reflecting on literature to develop concrete thought and analysis on a text, whether it be through writing or dialogue.
As I look back to some of my major achievements as well as all I have learned in the MAED program, I feel proud of all I have accomplished. I have worked hard to develop the skills needed to be a successful teacher and adult in general, but that does not mean I have no room for improvement. I will be completing my Master of Arts in Education degree next month, and I am left wondering what my next major accomplishment will be. It seems as if I have always been working toward one of these bigger goals my whole life. As I reflect upon my learning in the MAED program, I realize it helped me develop my content knowledge and teaching practice in significant ways. It is now time for me to continue this development and decide what to accomplish next.
The end of this program is not the end of my learning. Instead, I look forward to the beginning of a new phase. Because of this program as well as the other accomplishments in my life, I feel well equipped with the tools, knowledge, and confidence needed to continue growing and evolving my teaching practice. I have some specific goals for myself that are outlined in my future learning goals essay: “Learning to Support, Serve, and Lead Others.” This reflection was a great way for me to sit down and develop a plan for some of the major things I want to accomplish in my career moving forward. There is much I will continue to learn and improve in the future. At the forefront of my future goals, I have my students in mind. I will aim to provide my students with an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and promotes learning in any way possible. As I say goodbye to this program, I take a myriad of skills and knowledge with me that will continue to influence teaching and professional growth for years to come.