With so many conflicting views on what is important in regards to teaching early literacy, I joined a book group with colleagues from one of my graduate classes to view this instructional book with a critical lens. Fusing what I knew about decoding and the knowledge of how an early reader can best be supported, I created a book review on Julia Lindsey's book Reading Above the Fray. In this artifact, I demonstrate my ability to look critically at an instructional book.
As I look forward into how I want to best use the information I learned during my MAED program, where I focused on literacy education, I think about how I would love to transition to a role where I help diagnose struggling readers. This artifact demonstrates my ability to look at data collected from 2 struggling readers and make an individualized learning plan for each of them.
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An important aspect of literacy education is also making sure that students see reflections of themselves in the books that they are reading. Books are also powerful enough to serve as a window into a world unknown to them currently. I believe that incorporating diverse books into a classroom is important- no matter the racial, social or cultural backgrounds of your students. This list is a curated bibliography of books that can (and should!) be added to your classroom library. In this artifact, I demonstrate my ability to find and compile a list of diverse books that can be incorporated in a classroom.
Sometimes, readers need a plan for their next step- even if they don't have any significant deficits in their reading. This artifact demonstrates my competency in this area, identifying important deficits in a reader's literacy profile. It is important to look at data and determine what the best next steps are.
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As a leader, I believe that it is important to learn about the population you are serving. Through the difficult times that the pandemic has brought on our students (and ourselves) I have found an increasing need to learn more about trauma and becoming more trauma-informed. By learning about the ways that my school community can better serve our students through the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) they may have gone through, we can all work together to do our job more effectively. This artifact demonstrates how I can serve as a leader and advocate for my students of diverse backgrounds.
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Often times as a leader, you are expected to present on topics that are important for a school community, this artifact helped me demonstrate this. PBIS, or Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, is an important part of what makes a school function. Within this multi-tiered system of supports, students of all needs (behavior, academic) can receive the educational experience that best suits their needs. With a group of new student teaching interns last year, I was asked to present on this important topic.
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In an educational leadership class, one of the big themes that we discussed was that of conceptual maps- or the idea that an individual consumes and interprets visual representations in the world. We can discover our own “conceptual maps” when asking ourselves the following question, “what are the ways in which we classify and organize the world?” By learning more about your own personal conceptual maps, we can each become better leaders. As a leader, you are not always going to serve people that come from the same background as you.This artifact demonstrates my ability to identify my underlying conceptual maps and realizing what they say about me and the way I view the world.
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The act of becoming a reflective practitioner is not an easy journey. This artifact demonstrates my ability to become a reflective practitioner. While some may not view it as important, I believe that reflecting on your interactions. practices and beliefs are an integral part of becoming a leader, especially within the field of education. This exercise asked us to think about what we know about classroom management, what we want to learn, how we will learn it and a reflective question asking how we know we have learned it. Within the context of learning about classroom management and discipline in inclusive classrooms, this act of reflecting has helped me to become a better leader.
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