/Katie Thill's Synthesis Essay
Thinking back to my third year of undergrad at the University of Michigan, I can still remember applying to the Teacher Education program and coming to the realization that I was truly picking the best career path for myself. Since “playing school” in early elementary school and being determined to help my brother skip a grade, I have always had the passion for learning and teaching. I have also always enjoyed reading. I was and am the person who becomes lost in a book and envisions myself as the characters in the story. Being an early reader and developing a passion for books allowed me to be very successful in school. I truly believe those who are highly educated in literacy become the most successful students. Therefore, upon finishing my undergraduate degree I knew I would continue to pursue a Master’s and would look for a higher degree in literacy.
When choosing a master’s program I knew I wanted one of the best. It had to be somewhere close to my residence and a program that best suited my needs as a learner. I am a self-driven, independent worker, with a short attention span; therefore I felt an online program was the perfect fit. Also, being a Wolverine graduate (University of Michigan), I don’t know that I could justify taking classes on a Spartan campus :) Online seemed safe enough. From the beginning, I trusted MSU with the power to help me learn the best practice strategies that will make children become successful learners of literacy.
Each of the courses I have taken since the winter of 2012 have been essential in formulating my theories and strategies of literacy and special education (my second concentration). From each of my literacy courses I took away an overwhelming number of techniques and modifications/accommodations on reading and writing instruction. I was given the opportunity to analyze and study how to choose classic and “best books” for students. Further, I have grown into an educator who understands how to accommodate and differentiate instruction for literacy learners. However, only a few classes changed my perspective; meaning these courses truly changed my style of teaching and made an impact on the teacher I wanted to become.
Another class that drastically altered my perspectives on education and specific types of students in general was CEP 843: Autism Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics and Educational Implications by Professor Laura Flis. Before taking this class my knowledge was limited and I had various misconceptions about Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This course provided a wealth of knowledge of the impact of ASD on learning, families, and communities. I had the opportunity to read one of the best books on autism and education, Let me Hear Your Voice, A Family’s Triumph Over Autism, which followed the first-hand accounts of a highly-educated family and their journey from the diagnosis of their children to their current life as parents of children with autism. In this course I was able to perform a case study on one of my student's with autism and create a transition plan for this student into a general education classroom the following year. Additionally, I read and reviewed three peer-reviewed research articles about a particular aspect of language development and/or interventions for children with an ASD. From these projects I developed a presentation related to “Technology Interventions” for students with an ASD and have used the research from this presentation in my classroom instructional practices with my students with autism. From these experiences I feel more prepared teaching students with an ASD, have learned to be sympathetic towards students, and acquired empathy for those families who have children with autism.
Reflecting back on my entire master’s program, there are a few key themes or elements that shaped my experience and played a huge role in changes to my teaching pedagogy. At least half of my classes had sections focused solely on classroom management, and this continued to be a key theme throughout the entire program, regardless of the topic of the course. Another take away point is how a teacher accommodates and differentiates for various types of literacy learners ranging from if they have a learning disability to an English Language Learner. Most of my literacy concentration focused on the best-practice strategies for creating successful readers and writers. As stated in my Goal Reflection Essay, I knew going into this program I wanted to create a Spanish and English Literacy curriculum, and over the course of the past two years, both of my concentrations have enabled me to not only create this curriculum but incorporate it in my daily teaching practice. Overall, creating an inviting atmosphere with a solid classroom management plan, as well as incorporating effective literacy strategies, are the most powerful lessons I have learned throughout my Master’s program.
The second key element focuses on how to include and practice evidence-based teaching strategies catered to improving the literacy of various types of learners. I was presented countless principles of instruction and remediation in reading and writing, and learned classroom assessment techniques and various adaptations (accommodations/modifications) for reading and writing instruction. As a student I learned how to critically evaluate writing materials of my students and my peers. Additionally, I had the opportunity to select, modify, and design literacy materials for a designated student of mine and teach specific techniques to meet the needs of this English language learner (ELL). In a special education class I was also given the ability to perform a case study and transition plan on one of my student’s with autism. One of the most effective techniques learned in my literacy courses included strategies for helping students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As a Elementary Spanish teacher, I work with select students who are native in Spanish and learning English, therefore strategies relating to struggling writers and readers was imperative in helping these students. From each of these experiences I have become more knowledgeable in identifying and discussing advanced literacy instructional practices.
Despite choosing literacy as my main concentration for my Master’s, my second concentration choice of special education was truly where I learned the most about myself as a person, myself as an educator, and the teacher I want to be in the future. Three of the classes I previously highlighted were all a part of my special education concentration and contributed immensely to how I am able to conduct and implement literacy best-practices in my classroom. To finally reflect on my entire Master’s program I have to compare what I knew in the beginning to what I know now. Even though I knew this would be a fulfilling Master’s program at MSU, I was initially reserved about taking classes online and not receiving the entire package that comes with a program including face-to-face interactions. Now, upon completion of the program, I feel I did not miss out on anything. Throughout all of my courses my professors were punctual, givers of advice and in frequent contact at all times. Further, my peers were as responsive as if I were on campus speaking directly to them. I have capitalized as a teacher and a person from their feedback, personal opinions and perspectives, sharing of projects and ideas, and commitment to the world of education. I truly could not have expected more out of a Master’s degree. In the end, the relationships from professors and peers as well as both of these concentrations have been instrumental in my teaching style and will continue to have lasting effects in my future as learner.
What I Knew Then,
To What I Know Now:
One Student's Journey through a
Master's Program
Katie Thill
One class in particular was CEP 841, titled Classroom and Behavior in the Inclusive Classroom, taught by Dr. Troy Mariage. Since I am an elementary Spanish teacher, I have the unique opportunity of teaching everyone in the school. My school in-particular houses multiple special education classrooms for the entire county, therefore we have Cognitive and Emotional Impairment rooms as well classrooms for students with autism. Further, each of the students from these classrooms attends my Spanish classes, making my room an inclusive classroom. Right from the
start CEP 841 broadened my knowledge of interventions and strategies for classroom management, and behavioral interventions and supports in an inclusive environment. To me it became apparent that in order to actually use my recently gained knowledge of literacy strategies, it would first be imperative to develop a classroom atmosphere where I incorporate interventions and supports that meet the behavior and social needs of various students. From this class I developed one of the most important projects of my short career. I created a PowerPoint presentation for my staff focusing on implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports and Interventions at our school, which in turn promoted the implementation of this system at our school this year.
The third class to make the most impact on my Master’s experience was CEP 840: Policies, Practices, and Perspectives in Special Education by Dr. Carol Sue Englert. This was the most recent course before the Capstone Seminar and at the time seemed like an unusual course to take so late in my master’s program. However, it ended up being a wonderful refresher on topics that I briefly touched upon in my undergraduate teaching program, but went much farther in depth and gave me a new appreciation for what Special Education teachers do every day. Throughout the course I created an interactive website showcasing many of the literacy strategies as well as special education interventions and supports I had learned thus far in my Master’s program. This website includes multiple assistive technologies for students with special needs and resources for specific literacy topics and disabilities. I designed several pages based on knowledge I had gained from previous Master's coursework including topics related to struggling writers, English Language Learners, PBIS, and ASD. It was a meaningful project that I was able to incorporate with my current school website and encourage
parents to explore as a way of getting to know me and understanding my practices as a teacher. It also became a great prelude into the website I designed for my Master’s Capstone Portfolio course.
In regards to classroom management, many of my courses focused on specific areas of classroom discipline. To me, it was especially helpful that professors felt classroom management was a necessary skill to teach, because during my undergraduate teaching program I did not feel classroom management was explicitly taught and was something you just knew how to do. While I have found Classroom Management to be something you continually build upon; I now feel as though I have a solid foundation and can pull from specific strategies to enhance my management. In some classes we looked at models of evidence-based strategies to increase children's intrinsic motivation and analyzed the classroom
climate including teacher, peer, and home-school relationships. I also learned how to create a proactive classroom management system incorporating extrinsic motivation and positive behavior supports. I compiled my knowledge into a final project PowerPoint presentation, which encompassed the various classroom management strategies I learned throughout courses and was a reflection of my own analysis of classroom management. I reflect on this project often and use the guidelines in my classroom. What I know now about classroom management is vastly different from where I started as a student in undergrad, and with the guidance of multiple courses I have become someone who feels confident managing her classroom and creates a nurturing and safe learning environment for all learners.