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MY STORY OF LEARNING EDE6205 Curriculum Design for Childhood Education

Dr. Foerch Spring 2015

In the beginning… My life as an educator began in an unconventional way. I originally

studied Fashion Merchandising and was happy with my career as an Assistant Buyer. In 2006 I became part of an overseas mission’s team called Hands of God. Little did I know that my career goals and desires would soon change…

I was appointed to the development and planning of all lessons and activities for the children at the orphanage we were assigned to work with. During that trip a passion in me for teaching was awakened. I realized what I really wanted to do with my life; I wanted to make a difference, to change the lives of children. Upon my return to the U.S. I began taking steps in order to make this new dream into a reality…

The adventure begins…

I began my journey as a teacher seven years ago when I started teaching third grade at a charter school. Coming from a business mentality was not the easiest transition because I was used to a very rigid, no nonsense atmosphere with little to no flexibility; in addition to my own personal, self-diagnosed OCD tendencies this made being flexible with children a challenge.

I quickly realized that in order to connect with children you have to listen to them and observe the way they do things. I tried very hard to do both of those things. In reality I just wanted them to do what I told them to and listen to me, not the other way around. As simple as it may seem, it wasn’t. At that point in my career I decided that I would stick to the rules, follow the pacing guides, and let the pieces fall where they may. I was the teacher that always did what I was told, made sure to not make any waves, and kept the students in line- I thought that would be enough.

The shift…

As the years went by and I felt more confident with myself as an educator, my thought process began to shift. I was no longer a timid wallflower that was afraid to make waves. I began to take the approach of an advocate for my students. I realized that some children did not retain information the same way. In turn, I delved deeper into the curriculum to see if there were other, more-efficient ways to teach the same concepts. Without even realizing at the time that I was using the HOM- thinking flexibly. As a result of staying in the same grade for six years, I was able to compare lessons with those of the previous years to decipher what worked and what didn’t. I also became very good at pinpointing the learning styles of my students.

Taking a leap…

This brings me to my leap of faith. I was approached by my principal at the end of the school year last year and asked to restructure the Intensive Reading program for the middle and high schools. She encouraged me to consider acquiring a master’s degree to better equip me for my future career track. Did I mention I had been teaching third grade for six years? Needless to say I was very comfortable and felt as though I was pretty good at it. On another note, I don’t love change.

I decided to venture off into high school life and this master’s program. To say that I have learned a lot throughout my time as a high school teacher or as a graduate student would be an understatement. I have changed as an educator, as a student, as a mentor- ultimately, as a person.

A new perspective… During my first semester as a graduate student I was exposed to the Habits

of the Mind and immediately was intrigued by how easily I was able to identify them within myself and in my class. I quickly realized as I began to teach at the high school level that I would constantly have to be listening with understanding and empathy. In addition to identifying the learning styles of my students, I often found myself asking them about themselves and what peaked their interests. I did this in order to find material that would pull them in and ignite in them a desire to learn. Again, I was using the HOM- remaining open to continuous learning. I decided early in the school year that I would find a way to change my students’ thinking towards learning. Keep in mind that for the most part, Intensive Reading students are those that come with a stigma of “being dumb” and are known as students that “don’t like learning,” so for me I was prepared for a battle.

The process… As a high school teacher I have learned so much about myself and the type of

educator I want to be. This age group is not concerned with “hurting your feelings” or the teacher “not liking them.” It was very different from the elementary students that so often lived to “make me happy.” I recognized that I had to find a way to connect with them and help them understand that they needed to learn and could be successful if they put the effort. I had no clue how to do this, so I just decided to be real and be their partner in education- not just their teacher. I communicated with them constantly about the potential I saw in them, I shared how capable they were, that I was “on their side” and they didn’t have to struggle alone. This changed the dynamic in my class dramatically. I often spoke to them about what I was learning in my graduate classes and how I planned to apply it in our classroom. I was able to see the HOM- responding with wonderment and awe come alive before my eyes. They were excited to see if all that I was learning would actually work.

Step by step…

I shared the Habits of the Mind with my students and decided to have them try to identify which ones we were using weekly. This was amazing. I also shared with them about learning styles and how something as simple as a change of scenery could change the outcome of their learning experience. This helped me use the HOM- gathering data from all senses. I watched the children and listened to what they had to say. We tried finding humor when lesson or ideas didn’t work. We used questioning and posing problems with almost anything and everything. We were constantly thinking about our thinking. We grew together. I become conscious of the fact that honesty and transparency on my part went a long way. I developed connections with my students and my classroom became a safe haven for their opinions without judgment. We respected each others thoughts, even if we didn’t necessarily agree. I had done it, I had sparked something within them.

The tools that made the difference…

The onset of the new FSA assessment had brought on a myriad of feelings from students as well as teachers. In order to ease their anxieties I taught them how to use the ACE strategy when answering short response questions or writing argumentative essays. ACE stands for Answer the question, Cite evidence, and Explain/Elaborate. I didn’t even realize at the time that I was using a thinking routine. It was one of the most important strategies we mastered this year. Once they felt comfortable using this thinking routine, their anxieties and hesitations disappeared. They felt confident in their ability. Another thinking routine that is prevalent in my classroom is the acknowledgement of the essential question. Throughout our daily lessons we would stop and ask “does this help me answer the essential question?” They were very aware of the purpose of the essential question.

More tools to their success…

We often used peer evaluations to help with the ongoing assessment process in correlation to their writing. Of course accompanied by feedback from me, but I truly feel that peer evaluation helped them build the foundation of respect that is evident in my class.

An tool that has changed my planning as a teacher is the use of unit-long understanding goals and identifying these goals early on. The Teaching for Understanding Guide has been a game-changer for me and I have learned so much from it. Differentiating understanding goals and performance goals was one thing I struggled with and now feel more confident in how I use them in my planning. Investing more time in planning engaging lessons and finding material that will appeal to my students has proven to be a key factor in their success.

Who will they be?

One of the most important goals I set for myself this year is to help my students become well-rounded individuals who will be able to function successfully in our society, people who will stand up for what they believe with integrity. I often try to remember how I learned to have integrity and morals. How did I learn what ethical behavior was? I cannot pinpoint it, but have decided to make myself a piece of the puzzle in the lives of my students. I have made it a point to do my best in helping learn “life lessons” as they like to refer to it. I have a number of quotes on my board and we often add more as we see fit. The students often joke that my entire board will be full of quotes by the end of the year. I realized within weeks as a high school teacher that I have just a short time with my students before they are in the “real world” and I have to take the time I’ve been given to make an impact in their lives.

Helping them make a difference…

In sharing about myself and encouraging them to be more than just students, I found myself constantly reminding them that they have the power to be world-changers, to be people of impact, to be people that don’t sit back and let things happen to them-but instead, make things happen. I shared about my own life and the moments of impact that helped form who I am. In doing this, they too began to indentify what they cared about, issues that they felt a passion to fight for. As a class project we decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. The idea came from a project on being a hero. A student shared about the devastating realization she felt about children all around the world living in poverty. This sparked something in my class- empathy. The students shared about how they thought those kids felt and they asked me to help them come up with an idea, something they could do to help change this situation.

So proud of “my kids”…

We decided to sponsor a child through World Vision named Moustapha. He is nine years old and lives in Senegal, Africa. I created the account through my name and used my information but this students write him letters and we send him pictures of our class and he sends us pictures and letters as well. It has been an amazing experience for us. In the words of one of my students, “We not be able to change the whole world, but at least we can change his world.”

In addition to that, my students have begun researching different causes they want to be involved in and we share them openly with the class. Sometimes we vote to see if the whole class wants to get involved, if not the students are obviously encouraged to support the cause independently. One such cause is the End It Movement- to stop slavery around the world. We came together and put a red X on our hands to spread awareness about how real slavery and human trafficking is in this day in age. I had various students in our school approach me wanted to get involved because they had seen the red X on someone’s hand and asked what it was about. What they set out to do they did- the spread awareness and got people involved. I was beyond proud of them. My experience as a high school teacher has been beyond rewarding, I feel like I finally found my niche.

In the end…

To say that I’ve changed, like I mentioned earlier, would be an understatement. Of all the experiences I’ve had as a teacher throughout my career and as a graduate student these last few months, the most important have been to realize that: v It’s ok to not know what you’re doing vBeing “real” goes a long way vStudents value honesty and desire genuine relationships v Learning never ends vYour way may not always be the best way vBe open-minded and listen to other people v Lead by example v There is power in loving others v The time you invest in a child is never wasted