TE 802 Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice I Instructor: C. Brownell For my internship, I chose to pursue my teaching career in Chicago Public Schools. In TE 802, we studied and learned about the best practices in education and thought about our teaching philosophies. I learned about many different research based methods and was able to test these methods out in my internship classroom. I had first hand experience, trying out new teaching strategies and best practices with my first grade students.
Spring 2016
TE 803 Professional Roles and Teaching Practice II Instructor: T. Shattuck This course focused on building relationships with families, students, and coworkers. We researched different strategies for working with families and communities to improve responsiveness of the school curriculum and student needs. Being my internship year in Chicago, I was able to get first hand experience trying out these strategies. I left this class, feeling very confident in building relationships with students, families, and coworkers.
TE 804 Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice II Instructor: J. Whitcomb In this class, we collected, analyzed, and interpreted data on teaching, learning, and educational policy. We learned about our own teaching beliefs and worked to fine tune our teaching strategies. We studied assessments and lessons from our internship school, and worked hard to make them better. I walked away from this class feeling more knowledgable about educational policies.
Summer 2019
ED 800 Concepts of Educational Inquiry Instructor: Dr. S. Weiland In this self-paced course we learned about the multiple concepts of educational inquiry, by studying and addressing the problems within practice and theory in teaching, leadership, and administration. As students, we were able to think and exchange our ideas and beliefs about educational inquiry. ED 800 set me up with the tools to continue to explore educational purposes and practices. This course is imperative to take early because I was able to think about my own beliefs about education and start to form my own educational philosophy, which sets the stage for the rest of the program.
EAD 864 Adult Career Development Instructor: Dr. S. Weiland The layout and timeline of this course was very similar to ED 800 because they both are self-paced, had similar assignments, and were lead by the same instructor, Dr. S. Weiland. EAD 864 focuses on the various case studies of career development, from Steve Jobs to Michael Bloomberg. We studied, analyzed, and questioned the different case studies, and then compared our own career development pathways to these cases. This course better prepared me to a be a proficient leader by knowing and understanding the common patterns of adult career development.
Fall 2019
TE 822 Issues of Culture in Classroom and Curriculum Instructor: L. Johnson TE 822 studies and addresses the issues of culture within the classroom and curriculum. This course gives educators the tools to analyze equity and social justice within the school setting and address the inequalities. Through case studies and school/community-based experiences, I was able to explore the hidden inequalities and inequities in education, and explore ways to be a culturally responsive educator. This course included self assessments and bias-assessments so I could reflect on myself as an educator and change to be better.
Spring 2020
EAD 801 Leadership and Organizational Development Instructor: Dr. K. Cooper Stein In this class, students were able to learn and reflect on what leadership is and what qualities make a good leader. We studied many different leadership theories and analyzed what we agreed with and disagreed with. We also studied different leadership case studies, and addressed the leadership theories that they aligned with. After this course, I felt like I was able to reflect on myself as a leader and add tools to my leadership tool belt to become a more proficient leader for the future.
Summer 2020
EAD 822 Engaging Diverse Students and Families Instructor: Dr. J. Phelps-Moultrie Building relationships with families and students is one of the most important things educators can do. EAD822 encourages educators to consider new approaches for engaging diverse families and students. Throughout this class, I read many scholarly resources that offer culturally responsive teaching strategies that increase the engagement of students and families. We also worked in teams to create Vlogs that discuss appropriate ways to engage diverse students and families in educational settings.
TE 846 Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners Instructor: J. Baumann Differentiating instruction is a crucial concept that needs to take place in all classrooms. This starts by knowing your students' strengths and areas where they need improvement and providing the appropriate material so they can grow and learn. In this class, I worked one on one with a five year old student that needed support in beginning literacy skills. I was able to learn about the teaching literacy best practices and provided her with appropriate instruction to help her grow. I implemented many pre and post assessments to address the exact concepts that she needed support in.
Fall 2020
ED 870 Capstone Seminar Instructors: Dr. M. Koehler & A. Gaunt To culminate my graduate studies, I took this course to reflect on the resources and knowledge I have gained throughout my master's program. In this course, I created this online portfolio that reflects me as a person, student, educator, and leader. Through the process of revising and editing this website, I have created a professional portfolio that reflects my growth that I can share with others. Additionally, this course helped me clarify my beliefs and goals as an educator.