Showcase

Through my graduate work, I explored a wide range of learning theories and research.  This artifact demonstrates my new understanding of key learning theories, and reflects on approaches I resonate with most, including behaviorism, information processing, sociocultural theory, constructivism/constructionism, culturally relevant pedagogy, affirmation, inquiry, explicit teaching, and my own trauma-informed approach. I believe students learn best when they are emotionally regulated, affirmed, and actively engaged. Creating this theory helped me understand how to consider both the cognitive and emotional needs of learners and how to design learning experiences that truly help all students access, engage with, and retain knowledge. Through this process, I developed skills in understanding the psychology of learning, connecting theory to practice, informing my future instruction.

This artifact is a research project exploring the misconception that gifted students can succeed on their own in general education classrooms. In this artifact, I demonstrate my ability to analyze research data, challenge misconceptions, and apply findings to instructional practice. Inspired by Heacox and Cash’s framework for differentiation for gifted learners, this research deepened my understanding of how to meet gifted students’ diverse needs effectively. My research focused on two questions: to what degree do teachers hold this misconception, and to what degree are these misconceptions influenced by standardized testing, fixed mindsets, and lack of training. This topic felt especially important to me because many gifted students have needs that often go unmet in classrooms. Through this project, I learned that many participants do not rely on standardized test scores to guide instruction, few recognize that gifted students require additional support, and very few teachers in Michigan have received training in gifted education. Because I had not received any formal skill-building in gifted education in either my undergraduate or graduate coursework, this project was especially valuable in helping me build the knowledge and practical strategies needed to better support gifted learners. 

In designing this activity I demonstrate my ability to integrate computational thinking into science instruction and apply the TPACK framework to lesson design.  This artifact showcases a physical computing activity I designed using the Micro:Bit to explore how the brightness of stars relates to their distance from Earth (5-ESS1-1). Students would tinker with sensors, design experiments, and present their findings using Scratch and Google Sheets, combining data collection with creative computing. In designing this project, I focused on integrating computational thinking into science, supporting problem-solving, data analysis, and creative expression, while ensuring multiple access points so all learners could engage fully with the concepts despite their prior knowledge in coding. 

This artifact highlights how I design authentic learning experiences that connect coding to students’ lives and promote ownership in problem-solving. I designed this project to teach decomposition, a key computational thinking skill, through real-life measurement conversions in 5th grade math. Students could create a Scratch calculator that solves a problem meaningful to them, giving them ownership over their learning and connecting coding to their daily lives. For my exemplar, I built a calculator to adjust recipe measurements for smaller portions, which is especially helpful for me since I often cook ¼ of a recipe for just one or two people. This project highlights how students can break complex problems into manageable steps and translate their thinking into code, using Scratch to turn their ideas into real tools. In designing and implementing this activity in my classroom, I demonstrate skills in teaching computational thinking and creating activities that allow students to utilize their funds of knowledge.

My computational thinking pieces showcase my ability to design learning experiences that make abstract CT concepts relevant and practical for students. The first, Shop Like a Computer Scientist, has students practice decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithm design through grocery shopping. This activity was inspired by my discovery that strengthening my computational thinking skills has made me a more organized and functional adult. The second, Algorithms and Executive Functioning, looks at how CT skills connect to executive functioning, helping students plan, organize, and get things done more effectively. Teaching at a gifted school with many twice-exceptional students inspired this activity, and both projects reflect my passion for helping students build thinking skills they can actually use in school and in life. Developing these activities strengthened my ability to design lessons that integrate computational thinking strategies with real-world problems to support students in applying abstract concepts in practical ways.

For this artifact, I explored Published Writers as Models, a best practice strategy from Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, Seventh Edition (Morrow, Morrell, & Casey, 2023), to help students grow as readers and writers. I compared the Wit and Wisdom curriculum I currently use with the strategies in the book and noticed that while my curriculum included a novel written in verse, it offered few opportunities for students to engage with that writing style. I designed a lesson using free-verse poetry to show how line breaks, sensory details, and repetition convey emotion, helping students connect more deeply to the text while emphasizing author’s craft. Rather than writing a formulaic paragraph, students practice imitating authors’ techniques to express emotion and perspective in their own voice. This project allowed me to reflect on how to adapt existing materials to align with research-based literacy strategies. This exploration reflects my ability to adapt curriculum materials using research-based strategies to strengthen student engagement and voice.

This artifact demonstrates how I can apply data analysis and culturally responsive practices to design literacy instruction grounded in students’ strengths and experiences. During my student teaching, I observed my mentor teacher’s literacy instruction and took detailed notes to connect what I was learning in class to how it actually looks in a classroom. I focused on how he used data from NWEA, running records, and WIDA scores to guide small group instruction. I also created student literacy profiles, paying attention to their interests, funds of knowledge, and literacy strengths and areas for growth. Seeing what students already knew and cared about really highlighted how instruction can connect to their experiences. This project helped me understand that literacy teaching isn’t just about the skills. It is about blending assessment, responsive instruction, and students’ lived experiences to help them grow in literacy. I developed skills in analyzing student data, creating individualized learning profiles, and designing instruction that is both responsive and culturally relevant.