Jessica Francis
Teacher. Student. Awakener. Empowerer.
Synthesis Essay
"Never Stop Learning Because Life Never Stops Teaching"
I had always known that I wanted to attend Michigan State University again, even if I could not physically be in class on campus. I knew that this university constantly offered wonderful learning opportunities that were applicable and necessary for me to take my education to the next level. So I whole-heartedly signed up for the online program. I had taken some online classes before but never have attained an entire degree online. However, I knew that I would be self-directed enough and have enough time management in order to complete all tasks in my own time. Looking back at this point, I feel a sense of awe of the products I have made, the new technologies I have explored, and, above all else, the amount of information I now have in order to best service my students.
After feeling compelled to return to school, I began my journey in the summer of 2013. When deciding on a focus, I evaluated my own strengths and weaknesses. Being an early elementary teacher, I spend a majority of my literacy time teaching students how to read. While going through this, I realized that I needed more information on teaching young students these pivotal skills in an efficient way (because the more I have been teaching, the more I realize that time is precious!). This drove me to select to focus on literacy. I desired to have more strategies in my repertoire in order to aid students who struggle and extend for those students who catch on quickly. However, I received much more than I bargained for. Even though I went into obtaining my Master’s in order to understand specific skills that target struggling readers, I am leaving with so much more.
his speed, prosody, and expression. I also work on writing a topic of interest while working on strategies to help him identify more spelling patterns. This project showed me the process of how to look at my students as individuals and find out what they really need from me to help them succeed as a literacy learner. I believe that the process is not only applicable to reading but to all subject areas and I have begun to implement this thinking in my current practice!
When reflecting back and thinking about the courses that stood out to me, I must include TE 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology. I decided to take this course because I realized that more and more of my students were learning through technology. Through this course I was able to uncover and “play with” many technologies that teachers can use with their classrooms. However, what I did not bargain for was that I learned the framework for learning through technology. Teaching through technology is not supplementing lesson with technology, nor is it simply including a web-based program into teaching. Using technology must be purposeful and thought out. I learned how to select appropriate technologies and how they couple with content and sought of products of lessons. For example, if I am devising a lesson on having students discuss what they have learned so far, I am not going to show a digital story. Instead, I would have students participate in an online discussion board like Edmodo. Taking this course truly reaffirmed my belief that students are learning differently now that our culture is so infused with technology. I have even begun to think of ways to integrate this mindset without having the top of the line technology in my classroom. Giving students a choice, the ability to collaborate, and “play” within a concept are all ways to fulfill this way of teaching. I also appreciate that the class wiki is still available to me if I need to go back and relook at the technologies that were experimented with.
to the original text. This course definitely gave me a lot to think about when I select texts for my students. The main idea I walked away with was a book should never be read just because it is an award-winner. The teacher must analyze the text in order to determine which literature is most appropriate for his or her students: I have done just this after taking this class!
The last course of the MAED program that dramatically impacted my learning was CEP 840: Policies, Practices, and Perspectives in Special Education. It was my goal to get the most out of my schooling so I specifically chose classes that I did not know a lot about so I could become more understanding of these processes in the classroom. This course opened my eyes up to the world of Special Education. During this course, I had the opportunity to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) with a colleague. I have students in my classroom with IEPs but now I truly know what goes into developing one. Additionally, I appreciated that I was in control of my learning in that I chose which disabilities I wanted to learn more about. For example, I was able to create a quick reference guide on visual impairment because I had a current student with this disability and wanted to gain more understanding. I was also able to learn about several different assistive technologies that a teacher can use easily to help modify curriculum and learning for students with disabilities. Knowing about and being able to understand disabilities is extremely important for a classroom teacher because one will always encounter students with disabilities in the general education setting. In order to be prepared, that teacher needs an abundance of information on what characteristics there are of disabilities (to help identify them) and the adaptations and modifications a teacher can do with curriculum (for students with disabilities in the general education classroom). Finally, because of this course and the assignments I have become very familiar with observing and reflecting on other teacher’s lessons and applying this knowledge to my own teaching techniques. We had the opportunity to look at a teacher’s lesson, reflect on what strategies he or she was using, and how this included students with disabilities. I learned to always consider these disabilities in my lesson planning and be reflective with my own teaching as well.
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of teaching. The only reason I have learned from them is because I was receptive and open to gaining more information to better my students. With me now nearing the completion of my Master’s degree, I realize just how important this ability is. When a teacher assumes they have truly become a master of all things, the learning stops. This journey through my Master’s degree has taught me countless things, but above all it has taught me to never stop learning.
It feels so natural to be in school and continuously continue my own learning. Years ago I attended Michigan State University as an undergraduate student and then I went straight into my internship year with Master’s classes and then right into teaching. Every day lent itself to learning opportunities and taught me more about my profession and the students I was teaching. However, when I was spending my day as solely a teacher, there was a sense of longing for more formal education again. I ran into situations where I wanted more information to obtain more answers and to ultimately help my students. That is why, three years later, I went back to Michigan State University to obtain my Master’s of Arts in Education with a focus on Literacy.
One of the first classes in my journey on getting my Master’s degree was TE 846: Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners. Seeing that this was a required class for the Master of Arts in Education (MAED), I knew I would be presented with valuable information. This class taught me about thinking about struggles in reading in a new way. It truly taught me to look at each student as his or her own literacy learner. When a student has difficulty obtaining the skills necessary to read, it could be a plethora of problems (where before I almost thought it was going to be more of a simple fix). I learned to analyze individual students and see if he or she required work with sight words, vision and tracking, fluency, comprehension, spelling, and much more. This course not only taught me how to think as each student as a different learner, it taught me how to respond to it as well. The case study project I did was the main focus of the course. I picked a student, Nate, who was a second grade student that struggled with spelling patterns and fluency. I had the opportunity to gather data about Nate’s home and family life, conducted assessments, and created lesson plans that were individualized to his needs. My work with Nathan revealed that he enjoyed reading poetry and I used this to increase ,
The course TE 836: Awards and Classics of Children's Literature also stands out to me as a class that impacted my thinking and has continued to do so even though the course is over. When I selected this class I was thinking to myself, “this course is going to give me a list of books that are must-reads for my students!” However, as I dove into the course, I got something much, much different. The class began with going over popular children’s awards, why their given, and what it takes to win them. After that, we then went into what quality literature truly is and had to evaluate award-winning texts (and even had to decide if they were worthy of an award of not). This is where my understanding changed the most. I began to make the realization that even though a book was recognized as an award winner, it may not be the quality literature that one is looking for. Also, I spent multiple weeks delving in to Peter Pan and discovered some very vital messages that were interwoven into the text. I uncovered predominant gender roles in the book and my understanding deepened as I realized how movies add their own cultural spin
I sought out this degree because I essentially wanted to be a better help to my students as they learn to read. As I have journeyed through these impactful courses, I am leaving with much more. I am walking away with an understanding of technology, assessment, individualized planning, teaching students with special needs, and analyzing literature. Above all else, I have definitely met my goal of being able to teach students how to read more effectively. I have done this by obtaining best practices in instruction, learning about assessment that give helpful information, and realizing that all struggling students need something different. I feel so much more confident about analyzing a student’s ability and devising a plan of what should come next for him or her. I have been able to not only implement this way of teaching in my own classroom but I have also become a source of information for other teachers at my school. I regularly give advice to my coworkers on how to devise a literacy plan for struggling readers. Considering all of this, I think that I have achieved my short term goal and have fulfilled the desire that set me out to get a Master’s with a focus in Literacy in the first place.
However, I already see that the more I have learned, the more information I realize I do not know. I now understand how important it is to constantly desire to seek out new information. I will take the lessons I have learned and my newly filled bag of tricks with me into every school, but I will also take the mindset of constantly being open to new information to better my students. Being consistently open to endless learning is the real way a teacher can continue his or her education. Continuing on with higher education is wonderful and has taught me so much, but there is also a wealth of information in a teacher’s place of employment. There are so many people that I have learned from in my five short years
