Master of Arts in Education
On this page you will find information on all of the courses I have taken through Mighigan State Universities Masters program. You will also see samples of work that I have completed along with links to view my work. I began working on my maters in August of 2008 and will be finished in August 2012 with a concentration in Literacy.
TE 802 Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice 1: Literacy
Instructor: Judy Thompson Fall 2008
Having this be one of my first experiences with a Masters level course, I was very nervous and anxious to see what is was going to be all about. However, looking back on this course, I would have to say it was one of my most successful. This class was intended to teach us interns about Literacy and how it applies to every strand of the cirriculum. We were asked to pick one aspect of literacy and fully evaulate our students with pre and post assessments along with individual student analysis. In addition, I planned and taught each of the lessons and gave a "gallery walk" presentation to my fellow interns about what I had gained through doing this and my results.
Click here for: TE 802 Syllabus and Gallery Walk Handout |
TE 803 Professional Role & Teaching Practice II: Integrated Units in Social Studies
Instructor: Judy Thompson Spring 2009
Having a concentration in Social Studies for my teaching major, I was very excited for this course. We were asked to develop a unit encompasing our current internship grade cirriculum. At the time, the third graders were about to being learning about the regions of the United States. Therefore, I again assessed, planned and taught the two week long unit. In addition, the was an emphasis on special needs learners in the classroom. It was the first time I was able to indentify a student in my room with specific needs different than the others.
Click here for: Special Needs Learner Profile |
TE 804 Professional Roles and Teaching Practice: Science
Instructor: Wayne Hewitt Spring 2009
This course was intended to build on our knowlegde of science in the classroom. More importantly, it was meant to teach us the process of how to determine, analyze and reflect on science with our students. The unit I developed focused on natural, renewable and nonrenewable resources. We ended the unit with my students creating a project by turing something that was going to be thrown away into a useful object. I loved seeing their creativity come through while still learning an important scientific concept.
Click here for: TE 804 Syllabus and 3rd Grade Resources Unit Plan |
TE 846 Accomodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Instructor: Nicole Martin Summer 2010
This course taught me a lot about how to work with others in a learning community. It was my first experience with an online course and I enjoyed the disucssions and postings with my fellow classmates. Overall, this course focused on how to accomodate the diverse needs of individual literacy learners. It was divided into five different areas of concentration: cultural and linguistic differences, motivation, psychological differences, arrangements and effective instruction.
Click here for: TE 846 and Checklist of Classroom Comprehension |
TE 800 Concepts of Educational Inquiry
Instructor: Steven Weiland Spring 2011
In this course I closely studied what education is now and where it came from. It focused on the what makes education important and the people who have helped shaped what it is today. I studied the works of educational philosophers such as John Dewey, E.D. Hirsh, and Vivian Paley. Through the weekly modules, I was able to look at Phillip Cusick's book about the educational pillars of learning and how that relates to influential educators in our nation's history.
Click here for: Pillars of Education |
CEP 815 Technology and Leadership
Instructor: L. Wolf, N.Sheltrown Summer 2011
This course I found to be very insightful for many reasons. It looked at technology and its place in the classroom. With all of the new technology at our fingertips, it was nice to be able to narrow it down to how it helps teachers instruct in the classroom. This class also looked at different leadership types and how to be an effective leader. I was able to look more closely and understand how technology, pedagogy, and content interact with each other.
Click here for: Seven Ways of Learning : Prezi |
TE 836 Awards and Classics of Childrens Literature
Instructor: Laura Apol Summer 2011
This course was by far my most tasking. It required a lot of interaction with class memebers, postings and additional readings. It focused on children's literature in a lot of different lenses. We were required to read and respond to childrens books, authors craft, illustrators, and awards. After, I walked away with a lot of knowledge about what makes a novel a "classic" and what criteria needs to be adressed in doing so. I appreciated revisiting these classics and understanding how they have withstood time.
Click here for: Children's Literature Awards Synthesis and Reflection |
CEP 818 Creativity in Teaching and Learning
Instructor: K. Kereluik, P. Mishra Fall 2011
This course was designed to teach creativity through teaching. We were asked to pick a grade level and topic. I chose a fifth grade seasons topic. From there, each module was desgigned to showcase a different way of looking at the topic. It forced us to "think out side of the box" and expand our teaching looking at the seven different lenses in Sparks of Genius: abstract, perceiving, patterning, embodied thinking, playing, modeling and synthesizing. It was meant for us to figure out how to reach all of the different types of learners in our classrooms.
Click here for: Teaching Seasons with Abstract thinking |
TE 848 Writing Assessment and Instruction
Instructor: Ann Heintz Spring 2012
Having had a struggle teaching writing, I was looking forward to examining the craft more closely. This course was an overview of the different genres of writing and what makes them different from onw another. We also had to look more closely at how to teach ELL learners and special education students writing. The course ended with an individual teaching project surrounding one of the genres.
Click here for: Fifth graders and Digital Writing |
ED 870 Capstone Portfolio Course
Instructor: Matthew Koehler Summer 2012
I enjoyed this course more than I thought I would. It meant a lot because I learned how to put everything together that I had been working towards. I was able to reflect on what I had learned as well as look into the future on how I am going to continue my goals. And in the end, I put together a comprehensive portfolio that shows my all of the work I put into to earn this degree.
Click here for: Professional Portfolio |