Courtney Eichhorn

A Changed Mind

Synthesis Essay

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I firmly believe that nothing is ever wasted on education.  Regardless of the fact that I applied to the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program at Michigan State University with only a broad idea of my desired outcomes, I knew that I, for lack of better words, had nothing to lose, but only opportunity for improvement.  Reflecting now, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the MAED curriculum proved even more valuable and insightful than I initially anticipated.  As a result, my experiences in the program were instrumental, changing both my thinking and practice as well as my overall identity as an educator.  Although my personal and professional growth span significant lengths, my greatest gains revolve around inquiry and reflective practice, classroom and behavior management, and literacy instruction.

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As a naturally curious individual and one who has always loved learning, I often find myself researching small topics and questions that I have in search of answers.  After completing my undergraduate degree and being detached from the formal “student” label, I was not surprised to discover that just one and half years later, I possessed the urge to pursue graduate-level credentials.  Originally I was apprehensive about finding a program that would fit my necessity for flexibility with both a full-time job and a family to attend to.  Despite my hesitancy to veer from my traditional classroom schooling (even in college), I knew that the online format would best fit my needs.  I am thankful I accepted the mission as the outcomes far outweighed the challenges.  The online delivery of the MAED program provided autonomy, something I felt I had lacked earlier in my formal schooling, and taught a particularly focused level of self-discipline, while encouraging interaction in academic discourse unlike any other experience I had had before.  For once I realized that I could choose my own path in study and inquire about whatever topics I wished.  Consequently, I decided to focus upon two concentrations in which I was interested and desired to know more about in order to enhance my teaching skill and advance toward future career goals.  This ideal quickly became more evident and supported during one of my first courses, ED 800: Concepts of Educational Inquiry.  

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Dr. Steven Weiland’s self-paced class allowed me to explore the purpose of education, ask questions about reform and current systems, evaluate the impact of society and globalization on education, and understand the peril associated with viewing learning as only a prescribed and social activity and not considering its real nature.  Through the content, I became aware of “learning” as more of an all-encompassing term that can be acquired through formal means as well as observation, reading, experience, reflection, life-long and workplace growth, and technology.  The design of the course itself echoed the content in how it modeled the act of inquiry as a personal accomplishment that can be achieved through non-traditional methods via several different ways.  Similarly, Dr. Weiland’s course EAD 860: The Concept of the Learning Society exposed the requirement of learning at all levels of society in the combined effort for individuals to work toward a greater good/common goal.  This message holds true for developing quality learning communities amongst teachers and students alike.  The idea of inquiry now influences how I continue to learn and how I approached novel information throughout the remainder of the MAED program.  Understanding that inquiry even includes activities such as reflective practice, I utilize the technique to continuously evaluate lesson delivery as well as weighing problems and solutions for intervention.  Essentially, I am able to progress monitor myself instead of simply my students.

 

Morphing into a reflective practitioner meant not only assessing my own instruction, but also recognizing that my own personal biases, even those that are unconsciously done as a result of socialization, influence the way I interact with students and their families.  Throughout Dr. Khalifa’s course EAD 822: Diverse Students and Families, I came to realize that subtle, yet significant actions such as calling on more boys in the classroom or having preconceived notions about a particular group of kids, negatively influence student achievement; therefore, changing perception became vital for increasing student participation, improving academic achievement, meeting diverse needs, and promoting social justice in one of the most pivotal societal institutions (schools).  EAD 822 engulfed me in the idea of education as a discovery opportunity (and celebration) for all individuals no matter their economic, social, linguistic, or cultural background.  Although I was “aware” of the concerns, I was unsure of “how” to address them or in some instances “why” certain patterns existed.  The exposure to multiculturalism and culturally-responsive instruction outlined the necessity of building strong relationships with all students and their families to provide essential learning and understanding in the modern classroom that serves an increasing number of diverse populations.  Through the coursework, it became evident that I frequently remained “blind”, so to speak, to privileges that I had experienced versus others.  Consequently, reflection indicated that culturally responsive education is a must in my urban classroom setting - not a brief topic during a particular month, but a regular incorporation of activities and events throughout the entire year in all types of content.

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Like most young teachers fresh out of college, I began my education career concerned about facilitating the classroom in such a way that it was safe, comfortable, and conducive to learning.  As a new teacher, individuals tend to be ill-equipped with strategies to utilize or with prior knowledge on which to base decisions.  Therefore, another area of development includes classroom and behavior management.  The MAED curriculum transformed knowledge into practice by offering courses specifically in the components of classroom management that allowed for not only management of behavior, but also ideas for inclusion and differentiation.  Because I had finished two years in the classroom, I was able to immediately apply the information; thus, receiving multiple hands-on opportunities for professional growth in the management realm.  Although several courses in the MAED program improved my actual classroom management skills, the most critical piece involved a modification in my conceptualization of discipline and the true definition of “management.”  Dr. Mariage’s class CEP 841: Classroom Management in the Inclusive Classroom challenged educators to interpret discipline with a positive connotation in the sense that control should not be the primary goal of management, but instead “self-control” on the part of the students.  Discipline is, in fact, a quality to be strived for, rather than a negative response to undesirable behaviors.  The focus became centered upon teaching students “how” to act via positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS).  I quickly realized that management should really be defined as “prevention” of issues as fostering effective management techniques in the classroom depends upon the leadership of the teacher and again, not the demanded authority of the instructor.  The content was not only eye-opening, but highly relatable and applicable, especially in working with diverse populations of students. 

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Prevention and proactive strategy are now key to my classroom and behavior management tactic.  Other courses further contributed to my progression of classroom management, highlighting the requisite of increasing student engagement, consequently diminishing potential for functionality issues.  When working daily with secondary students with special needs, I regularly combat apathy, learned helplessness, and poor attitude toward school as a result of years of struggle and repeated failure.  These manners are typically accompanied by undesired actions and behavior.  Through Dr. Oka’s class CEP802: Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning, I built a toolbox of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation strategies to promote active participation in academic environments.  Via a case study, I was able to develop a plan of action for one of my own students, employ a variety of strategies tailored to the function of his lack of motivation, and progress monitor his performance.  I not only learned how to assess students’ motivational problems, but also how to evaluate my own instruction to understand how factors of my teaching influence students’ motivation to learn.  I specifically gained insight of the TARGET concept (Ames, 1990; Brophy, 1998; Maehr & Midgley, 1991) in which educators can assess various dimensions of learning environments to determine whether or not the task (T), authority (A), recognition (R), grouping (G), evaluation (E), and time (T) components lend themselves to quality levels of student motivation and engagement. 

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Complementing Dr. Oka’s messages was Dr. Diemer’s course CEP 866: Psychoeducational Interventions for Children and Youth which emphasized the role of external variables on pupil accomplishment during school.  Many students face obstacles that impair or inhibit their ability to appropriately “manage/regulate” their physical, mental, and academic behaviors.  Being cognizant of such factors enables teachers to again design learning opportunities that are relevant, interesting, applicable, and targeted to students’ observations of their own competence to decrease poor behavior and improve motivation.  Targeting students’ deficits to enable them to understand expectations and thus, act accordingly is proactive in nature, but also essential to alleviating the existence of negative trajectories .  CEP 866 highlighted educators’ responsibilities to provide intervention and teach the skills that students lack as a result of external variables/home situations.  With a few classmates, I was able to design a program to assist students in managing their risk factors in order to perform well academically, emotionally, and socially.  Overall, these ideas of trajectories also link back to establishing multicultural curriculums.

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Lastly, when I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education and English, I had gained satisfactory knowledge of language arts content in secondary English with exploration of accommodating and modifying for high school students in the general education curriculum.  Little did I suspect at the time that the students I would be servicing would be functioning at beginning, and in some cases, emergent reader levels.  Instead of providing support to bridge abilities to proficient for the purpose of reading to learn, I found myself teaching learning to read and I did not feel adequately prepared.   I anticipated specifically targeting mild fluency and comprehension weaknesses in students with reading performances a couple of grade levels below their numerical grade.  However, the reality suggested that my job demanded me to  teach high school students “how” to read.  The realization overwhelmed me immensely.  I did not know how to teach (or, even remember phonics) as elementary curriculum was not part of my teacher preparation program.   It was clear I needed a refresher, if not an in-depth look at basic reading skills.  The MAED program offered just that plus a wealth of knowledge that has improved my entire outlook on the role of literacy in education.  TE846: Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners and CEP 804A: Literacy Instruction for Students with Mild Disabilities enhanced not only my understanding of early literacy development, but also the assessment portion. 

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The courses offered a vast variety of resources, strategies, and methods for delivering instruction in all components of literacy: fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, writing, phonics, and decoding (phonological awareness).  The material taught me how to develop and implement effective literacy lessons at the low instructional level of my students through data-driven practices and programs and corrected my previous thoughts that most students struggled with comprehension.  The evidence-based truth demonstrated that students often possess weaknesses in the latter stages of reading development because they have not acquired proficiency in the basic skills.  This simple alteration in educational thought changed my approach to literacy instruction.  Additionally, I confirmed my personal belief that literacy is the driving force behind all learning, indicating the Common Core State Standard mandate that teaching literacy skills is a task belonging to all educators.  The MAED program and the literacy instruction classes I enrolled in, allowed me to gain confidence and ability in a pertinent area.  As a result, I transformed into a better English and special education teacher who was capable of enhancing the reading and writing performances of students.  Fellow educators now seek out my advice in regard to literacy.  I am able to provide intervention ideas to my general education counterparts, assist in creating scaffolds to improve students’ abilities to work with complex texts, and provide explanations for why students struggle in a certain capacity.  Finally, the information attained through my MAED literacy courses has afforded the professional opportunity to actively participate in my school’s Response to Intervention initiative for literacy concerns in multiple levels of student achievement.

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The journey to earn a Master of Arts in Education (MAED) degree was truly an invigorating and completely unmatched academic adventure when compared to previous endeavors.  Aside from generally prospering into a better educator, I specifically gained a renewed appreciation for learning and its role; thus, igniting a rejuvenated vision for my teaching and long-term education career.  I additionally altered my perceptions, or perhaps, previous misconceptions on a wide variety of educational topics.  The MAED program left me well-informed to problem solve, perform my job at a much higher and more operative caliber, and proposed a new “call” to education that caused me to envision my responsibilities in a new light.  From here on out, I feel that I can consider myself a competent classroom manager, reflective practitioner, inquirer, and literacy instructor – titles I did not equate to my name prior to my graduate quest at Michigan State University.  I am beyond grateful for the MAED experience.  Although this chapter of my schooling career is about to conclude, the impact of what I have learned will continue to be visible and measured each and every day.  

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