The Icing on the Cake
By Anna Walters
Back to School
Immediately following the completion of my yearlong teaching internship at Michigan State University my family and I moved to Avon, Ohio; my husband was given an opportunity within his company for a new position and since teaching jobs were scarce around the area we thought it would be a great opportunity for our family. Well, once we arrived to our new home I came to the quick realization that Ohio had even fewer teaching jobs than Michigan. I knew it was going to be a challenge to get my foot in the door, competing against younger teachers that grew up in the area and were more familiar with the hiring personnel. Not being one to sit idle for long and knowing that subbing was not going to keep me overwhelmingly busy, I decided to venture back to school to complete my masters. Of course, after learning about the MAED program offered online through Michigan State University, I knew I did not have to look long and hard for a worthy place that I would feel comfortable giving my sweat and tears to. I grew up 20 minutes from Michigan State and it was one of the few places I was going to miss after my move. Might as well keep the ties tied tightly to this wonderful campus and community of educators.
Good Things Come in Threes
The next step I took was deciding on what concentration area I wanted to pursue. I wanted to choose one that would prove to be the most advantageous for me in the teaching market in my area. There were three areas that I went back and forth with: Literacy Education, Technology, and Math. I am a lover of learning and I truly can say I wish I could concentrate on all three. In the end, because of the limits on my Ohio certification, I decided to go the Language Arts route. They were all excellent choices and I feel that no matter what I chose I would come out ahead. I also knew I may be able to add Language Arts onto my teaching certificate because of the additional credits I would be gaining from taking the courses in this concentration. So, after being admitted to the program and choosing my concentration I was ready to begin making my way down the road to my masters.
Throughout the course of the MAED program I took a variety of classes in which I gained a multitude of useful knowledge and skills that have helped me in my own classroom. Even though my main focus was literacy I also took a range of classes that focused on technology and how to implement it in the classroom in ways that would benefit my students the most. It is hard to choose only a few of my favorite classes because each of them had a positive impact on me as both an educator and a student. The different literacy classes each gave me tools and methods that I can use in the classroom as well as brought up interesting theories that were discussed regarding best practices. After taking the literacy courses, I can say that my confidence as a teacher of literacy has grown immensely. Aside from the literacy classes, the technology classes also opened up different ways that I can engage my students in literacy lessons. However, there have been a few classes that made more of an impact on me.
You Got the Write Stuff--Baby
During the Spring of 2010 I took TE 848 Methods of Writing Instruction with Instructor Certo. During this course I learned about the different writing processes and the best strategies to teach writing in the classroom. We would read different genres of writing, such as memoirs, narratives, research papers and talk about what different types of writing processes go into producing that piece of writing. From there, we would be asked to write in a specific genre ourselves so we would get a taste firsthand what it is like to write in that style.
One thing I felt this course did well was giving us a chance to actually explore each genre and then had us write in that genre. As a language arts teacher it is easy to just read up on a certain genre of writing, maybe read what strategies to use and ideas to get the students writing; however, to really understand the writing process of each genre I believe it is important for me to produce a writing sample within the genre I am teaching to share with the class. For example, to teach a math skill the teacher has to actually solve the problems to help them understand the thought process behind getting the answer. The writing teacher should take the same approach. Create a piece of writing and think about what thoughts, skills, and methods were used to finish the writing and that way the teacher is ready to handle most frustrations or road blocks students may have during their writing. One of my most favorite pieces of writing I wrote, was in this course (From Michigan to Utah--A Personal Narrative)and after writing it I really got a feel of how to teach narrative writing in a way that would help my students gain a better understanding of what goes into producing a piece of writing in this genre.
Another reason I really felt this course has helped me in the classroom was it allowed me to really see the importance of teaching writing to students. In the school I work in, I feel that writing takes the back burner and is only squeezed in when it can be fit in. Before taking this course, I did not think anything of it but now I see that writing should be placed at the top of the list of what students need to know. It is even harder now, in my school, because the sixth grade is becoming departmentalized and the language arts teacher only has 50 minutes to fit in both reading and writing. How can a teacher truly be an effective writing teacher when a lot of time is not given to teach writing? To figure out how to make sure writing is being taught in schools, in TE 848 I explored ways writing can be integrated among all subjects to make sure that it is being given the same amount of time as other skill areas; I did a research paper, another important genre in writing, investigating the ways writing can be included in all subject areas (Better You than Me, Kid). Even to this day, I still feel this course has provided me with multiple strategies to take with me in my classroom.
For the Love of Reading
The next course that has really made an impact on the way I teach is the course I took summer 2009. TE 847 Advance Methods of Teaching Language Arts with Instructor Shankland focused more on the reading aspect of language arts and the different methods to teach reading. However, there was some opportunity for writing in this course. Just like in the TE 848, since reading and writing are so closely linked, to really understand a genre of reading we were asked to write in that genre. I love the way this course closely tied in reading and writing because it is another way I could make sure writing is given enough time in the classroom. For example, the majority of the books read were memoirs; therefore, we were asked to write a memoir of our own and get the feeling of what it takes to produce that genre of reading. I feel it is important for students to see how writing and reading is like multiplication and division or addition and subtraction: just the opposite of each other but tied tightly together. You can’t have one without the other.
Even though there was a writing aspect to this course the main focus was reading. The main reading method this course focused on was teaching reading through book clubs and ways to incorporate discussions among the students. I really connect with this method because I am in a book club and love to discuss books that I have read with others that have read the same book. When I finish reading something absolutely mesmerizing I find it depressing to just put the book down and not talk it over with someone else. Just like when I go see a movie, I want to talk about it to another person. I get more enjoyment out of a book when I discuss it with others, which makes me want to keep reading. I want my students to also get more enjoyment out of their books through discussions and really identified with the this method of teaching reading.
Most notably, I really enjoyed creating The Integrated Social Studies Book Club Unit for this course and it is something that I would make sure to implement in my classroom. If I can instill that same passion in my students, the desire to talk about what they have read through book clubs, so many other aspects of language arts is being hit. Students will have to listen, speak, write, and analyze during book clubs; all of these are skills I want my students to leave with on top of leaving with the reading skills they will need to succeed.
Living the Technological Dream
The last course I really felt had a lasting impact on me as a teacher was a technology course I took fall 2008. TE 816 Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum allowed me to explore the latest technologies and showed me how to integrate the technology within the curriculum in the most effective and engaging ways. Students today rely heavily on the new and cool tools that are at their fingertips and to include that in the classroom will help the students not only engage in the lessons more but also get them ready to work outside the classroom. The goal is to produce students that are creative, can think critically, problem solve, work collaboratively with others, and also to have the skills necessary to succeed in today’s ever-changing world. Even though I have always been tech savvy and interested in the latest technologies, I always struggled with the "how" aspect of using the technologies. Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum helped make me a stronger teacher by giving me sources and techniques that have helped me implement the many tools that I have taken for granted everyday in my classroom.
One of the major projects of TE 816 was to create a “Dream Classroom” that had all of the technologies we would want in our classroom. Classroom and school districts vary greatly from what is available to them to use. Some districts have the resources and some are lacking in that department. This project was a “dream classroom” therefore whatever we so desired we could put in our classroom and also determine how we would use it. However, if this dream classroom is really possible how can districts and teachers know how to use them correctly?
One of the problems today, is that some districts have everything teachers would want at their fingertips; however, some teachers do not use the technology or use it in a way that is not even adding anything to the lessons. In TE 816 we discussed and explored ways to make sure the technology is used in a way that would add to what is being taught. This is one reason why this course, out of all of them, really impacted me the most. Like I stated earlier, even though I have the knowledge as to how to use most of today’s high tech classroom toys, I do not always know how to incorporate them into my everyday lessons. Now, I have a strong foundation as to how to integrate technology in the classroom and use it in ways that would be most advantageous for my students and me.
Having My Cake and Eating it Too
Overall the MAED program at Michigan State University has helped me grow as both a student and an educator. Initially, when starting this program, I wanted to just gain extra credits that would help me gain a language arts certification on my educator license. Now, three years later I have taken away so much more than that. I have learned the importance of writing and the best teaching strategies to teach writing in the classroom. I had a lot of experience exploring different ways to teach reading that would captivate and engage my students. More importantly, through the technology classes I took to meet my elective requirement, I gained knowledge, not only on all the cool tools out in the virtual world, but also how to integrate them into my everyday lessons. One of the goals I made to myself before I began my journey to my Literacy Education Masters was to stay knowledgeable on the best teaching practices and to always be willing to learn more in the educational field. I feel this time at MSU, my graduate and my undergraduate time, is just laying the foundation for me to continue on with my goal.