CEP 818
Creativity in Teaching
Professor: Erin Wibbens
We examined interactive ways to promote student literacy within classrooms, including, book clubs, literature groups, and literature circles. These methods encourage student group and partner work, and allow learners to use meaningful conversation in their learning. We often took of the role of students to explore the usefulness of each literacy activity, and to practice explaining and implementing the activities successfully. A two-week literacy unit was created to encourage literacy tools and techniques during our internship experience.
Professor: Dr. Laura Apol
In this course, we explored what it takes for a book to be "award winning." We began by researching the different awards for children's literacy and examples of books that have won each of the awards. As a class, we were able to sample a variety of books that have won awards, and analyzed whether we would also consider them worthy of the award. We identified what it takes for a book to be considered a "classic" of children's literature and examined how the film interpretations of a "classic" can help the story to take on a new meaning.
Professor: Dr. Steven Weiland
ED 800 focuses on the different aspects of education that have shaped its past, and will form its future. The history of education, influential leaders, and types of reform set the tone for the course. We emphasized this research with exploring classroom and teacher based research, curriculum theories, and the importance of autobiographies. The course ultimately lead us into current educational reform and the influence of technology on education.
Professor: Dr. Jeff Bale
TE 831 helps educators to develop strategies and methods for teaching school subject matter with technology. Tools and concent explored in this course included: the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Theory (TPACK), and digital literacies. We explored the varying types of digital literacy learners (immigrants vs. natives) and various online tools that can be used daily in the classroom. An emphasis on integrating technology into school subject matter allowed us to explore how we can further stregnthen our teaching through use of digital storytelling and student created blogs.
Professor: Dr. Punya Mishra
Teaching Assistant: Rohit Mehta
In the course Creativity in Teaching, we learned about the six cognitive tools presented in the book "Sparks of Creativity" by Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein. These cognitive tools are: perceiving, patterning, abstracting, embodied thinking, modeling, play, and synthesizing. We were asked to select a content area to explore and formulate bi-weekly online presentations focusing on each of the seven cognitive tools. We also explored how creativty can be influenced by outside resources through personal interviews, music, and architecture of a space.
Professor: Dr. Matthew Koehler
Teaching Assistants: Brittany Dillman, Spencer Greenhalgh, Sarah Keenan, and Joshua Rosenberg
The final course for my degree presents me with the challenge of creating an online Capstone Portfolio that appropriately reflects on my learning and experiences from all my Masters of Arts in Education courses. The portfolio will contain my professional resume, past examples of my course work, an annotated transcript, and essays that reflect on my past, present, and future as a learner. Weekly assignments are posted for peer review and feedback. Various forms of technology are integrated into the course, including coffee house chats, Piazza messaging forums, and experimentation with different website hosting platforms.
TE 803
Professional Roles and
Teaching Practice II
TE 804
Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice II
Professor: Dr. Laura Apol
This course asked us to read several well-known novels and books, then watch the Hollywood theatrical productions of the books. We investigated how Hollywood and film directors influence cinema and how their interpretations are the ones being presented on the big screen. Observations were made to analyze how the different interpretations impact student learning, understanding, and the messages portrayed in the novels and movies. An independent film study was conducted at the end of the course, which allowed us to put our new analytical skills to use.
TE 846
Accomdating Differences in Literacy Learners
TE 831
Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology
TE 836
Awards & Classics of Children's Literature
ED 800
Concepts of Educational Inquiry
Professor: Timothy Bennett
The focus of this class was to develop our standards-based practices in planning, teaching, and assessing a Science curriculum unit that was created for use during the Lead Teaching period of our year-long internship. We also prepared a classroom learning community inquiry project. Our task of identifying and creating goals that support science learning was excellent practice for my current job, where we are continously developing action plans and assessments to track student growth and learning.
TE 838
Chilren's Literature in Film
Professor: Laura Andresen
This class encompassed the concept of differentiating instruction and meeting children at their varying learning levels and abilities. Research projects were completed in respect to different learning disabilities. Also, a month long Social Studies integrated curriculum unit was created for use during the Lead Teaching period of our year-long internship. Goals teaching and personal reflection was emphasized to help us determine our strengths as a teacher and revising where needed.
Lisa Hansen's Masters of Education Annotated Transcript
ED 870
Capstone Seminar
Professor: Dr. Erin Jurand
TE 846 explored cultural and linguistic differences as well as individual motivation differences that we find within our student population. Psychological differences and characteristics of learning disabilities was also explored. We then identified ways to help students be successful, no matter what their ability level. Additionally, components of effective literacy instruction and their meanings were reviewed. A course-long child study was used to support a struggling literacy learning. The study included pre-assessing the student, a lesson presentation, and post-assessing the student. We also analyzed the focus student's skills to interpret results, and reflected on teaching practices for differentiating instruction.
TE 802
Reflection & Inquiry in
Teaching Practice I
TE 801
Professional Roles and
Teaching Practice 1
Professor: Corvell Cranfield
TE 801 was an introductory course that was held in conjunction with our year long teaching internship. We established ourselves in our internship placement community by creating a presentation that emphasized the culture, points of interest, and background of our school and its town. We not only acquainted ourselves with the town, but also with our students, families, and other teaching professionals. There was also a focus on creating math units and how to effectively use discussion to facilitate learning in the classroom.