Teaching Commentary and Notable Indicators
Teaching was always my dream job. From a very young age, I knew that it was what I wanted to do. The teachers I had over the years demonstrated not only content knowledge and pedagogical skill, but genuine caring for their students. In this section, I hope to show that I have a strong knowledge base of best practices and student-centered learning. I feel that I have both breadth and depth of knowledge as well as the dedication, reflective nature, and care that makes for an effective teacher.
In my time at Appalachian, I have had the opportunity to teach a wide range of courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. For a more comprehensive list, with course descriptions and syllabi, please see the Teaching tab. A summary list of courses I have taught are:
CI 2300 – Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age
CI 3535 – Dominican Republic: A Glimpse of Culture & Issues
CI 3535 – Guatemala: A Glimpse of Culture & Issues
CI 3900 – Middle Level Internship
CI 3920 – Teaching Young Adolescents
CI 4300 – Literacy, Language, & Culture in Middle Grades Education
CI 4450 – Seminar in Middle Grades: Portfolio Exhibition
CI 5040 – Teacher as Researcher
CI 5045 – Advanced Topics in Diversity
CI 5750 – Teaching Diverse Young Adolescents
Courses in the middle grades program follow a cohort model, so students have an automatic “community.” However, I work very hard in my classes to create a true community of practice where students are engaged in work that achieves common goals and where relationships are at the heart of learning. I strive to recreate the experience my students will have when they are teaching in middle schools—one where they are part of a team that works together with students’ needs in mind. I model this in my teaching and explicitly endeavor to create a democratic community where constructive dialogue, differing perspectives, and courageous collaboration are encouraged. Beyond alignment with Appalachian's Conceptual Framework, these practices align with middle grades philosophy as described in the seminal work of the Association of Middle Level Education, This We Believe (2010). That document, developed over time in collaboration with some of the legacy leaders of middle level education, emphasizes advocacy for students as well as a belief that we need to address the needs of the whole student, not just the academic component.
Advancing professional knowledge in my courses is more than simply subject matter knowledge. Students come to my classes with a range of understanding in their two content areas that they have gained throughout general education and concentration courses. What I strive to accomplish is a melding of that content to a knowledge of young adolescent learners and a knowledge of pedagogy. My CI 3900 and CI 3920 courses specifically address knowledge of learners. We work to understand the young adolescent brain, body, and mind. We explore the development of young adolescents in terms of the changes they are experiencing physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, culturally, and within their families and communities. Understanding young adolescent learners is key in the success of my students as middle level educators. In my CI 4300 course, we take that level of understanding a step further and begin to cultivate a knowledge of diverse populations, socially just principles and practices. We address issues of equity and examine the sociopolitical implications of the work we do in schools. We explore issues of gender, sexuality/sexual orientation, race, class, etc. as we work to understand our roles and responsibilities in US public education. One of my specific teaching goals is to help my students feel empowered to change practices they see that are inequitable or that marginalize particular populations. In this relatively conservative state, that is not always the easiest goal to achieve.
Reflection is at the heart of education, in my opinion. My teaching and research revolve around the concept and I included it in every class I teach. I challenge my students to reflect on their own beliefs, assumptions, biases, etc. so they understand the lenses through which they view young adolescents in general and, specifically, diverse young adolescents. Through their continual reflection, they can see growth in themselves in terms of confidence, competence, and knowledge. This important reflective process is something my students engage in both formally and informally, in writing and in discussion. Especially when they are in their field placements, reflection is an opportunity to engage in inquiry and further their understanding of their students, themselves, and the complex institution in which they will soon work. My goal is for them to gain a world view that is more inclusive while also being better able to look inward and self-analyze. Further, I hope my students will see the benefit of collaboration and recognize the important contributions that all stakeholders make in the education of the diverse young adolescents in middle level schools.
Because I believe so strongly in the significance of good teaching, I continually strive to improve my instruction. In that effort, I meet regularly with my middle grades colleagues (typically weekly), during which time we assess our progress and discuss improvements in our own courses and in the program overall. Beyond the university, I attend a wide range of conferences, workshops, and professional development. Each of these conferences informs my teaching in different ways and each provides an opportunity to engage with colleagues and students (who I encourage to attend regularly) in conversations and discussions about the issues that are most relevant to the work we do with young adolescents.
In addition to these conferences, I attended a number of professional development workshops to improve either my teaching or my advising of students. These included topics such as: iPad Quickoffice Pro, Explain Everything (iPad app), AsuLearn V2 (I was part of the pilot for the new format), Suicide Prevention, and the Summer Reading Book & Student/Faculty Exchange. I am continually trying to engage in activities that teach me more about myself, my teaching, my students, and the community in which we all interact and learn.
Much of what I do daily is directly connected to student advising, mentoring, and educational support. In the past two years as Program Director, I have advised and mentored innumerable students at all levels of their education--high school juniors/seniors considering Appalachian’s Middle Grades Program, transfer students coming here for the first time, students considering changing majors, those struggling with general education requirements, students in my current courses, students looking for their first teaching jobs, and students considering graduate study. While time consuming, student advising and mentoring is something I believe makes our program thrive and grow, so it is something that is necessary despite the time commitment. Additionally, it gives me an opportunity to know my students better and earlier on than I normally would. Once they are in my class, the relationship building has already begun and we can deepen that connection and begin to build true communities of practice, which is again a focus of middle level philosophy. Relationships and community, in my view, are at the heart of education and I strive each day to model that with my students as well as teach them how to advocate for and care about the young adolescents they will eventually teach.
In my time at Appalachian, I have had the opportunity to teach a wide range of courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. For a more comprehensive list, with course descriptions and syllabi, please see the Teaching tab. A summary list of courses I have taught are:
CI 2300 – Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age
CI 3535 – Dominican Republic: A Glimpse of Culture & Issues
CI 3535 – Guatemala: A Glimpse of Culture & Issues
CI 3900 – Middle Level Internship
CI 3920 – Teaching Young Adolescents
CI 4300 – Literacy, Language, & Culture in Middle Grades Education
CI 4450 – Seminar in Middle Grades: Portfolio Exhibition
CI 5040 – Teacher as Researcher
CI 5045 – Advanced Topics in Diversity
CI 5750 – Teaching Diverse Young Adolescents
Courses in the middle grades program follow a cohort model, so students have an automatic “community.” However, I work very hard in my classes to create a true community of practice where students are engaged in work that achieves common goals and where relationships are at the heart of learning. I strive to recreate the experience my students will have when they are teaching in middle schools—one where they are part of a team that works together with students’ needs in mind. I model this in my teaching and explicitly endeavor to create a democratic community where constructive dialogue, differing perspectives, and courageous collaboration are encouraged. Beyond alignment with Appalachian's Conceptual Framework, these practices align with middle grades philosophy as described in the seminal work of the Association of Middle Level Education, This We Believe (2010). That document, developed over time in collaboration with some of the legacy leaders of middle level education, emphasizes advocacy for students as well as a belief that we need to address the needs of the whole student, not just the academic component.
Advancing professional knowledge in my courses is more than simply subject matter knowledge. Students come to my classes with a range of understanding in their two content areas that they have gained throughout general education and concentration courses. What I strive to accomplish is a melding of that content to a knowledge of young adolescent learners and a knowledge of pedagogy. My CI 3900 and CI 3920 courses specifically address knowledge of learners. We work to understand the young adolescent brain, body, and mind. We explore the development of young adolescents in terms of the changes they are experiencing physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, culturally, and within their families and communities. Understanding young adolescent learners is key in the success of my students as middle level educators. In my CI 4300 course, we take that level of understanding a step further and begin to cultivate a knowledge of diverse populations, socially just principles and practices. We address issues of equity and examine the sociopolitical implications of the work we do in schools. We explore issues of gender, sexuality/sexual orientation, race, class, etc. as we work to understand our roles and responsibilities in US public education. One of my specific teaching goals is to help my students feel empowered to change practices they see that are inequitable or that marginalize particular populations. In this relatively conservative state, that is not always the easiest goal to achieve.
Reflection is at the heart of education, in my opinion. My teaching and research revolve around the concept and I included it in every class I teach. I challenge my students to reflect on their own beliefs, assumptions, biases, etc. so they understand the lenses through which they view young adolescents in general and, specifically, diverse young adolescents. Through their continual reflection, they can see growth in themselves in terms of confidence, competence, and knowledge. This important reflective process is something my students engage in both formally and informally, in writing and in discussion. Especially when they are in their field placements, reflection is an opportunity to engage in inquiry and further their understanding of their students, themselves, and the complex institution in which they will soon work. My goal is for them to gain a world view that is more inclusive while also being better able to look inward and self-analyze. Further, I hope my students will see the benefit of collaboration and recognize the important contributions that all stakeholders make in the education of the diverse young adolescents in middle level schools.
Because I believe so strongly in the significance of good teaching, I continually strive to improve my instruction. In that effort, I meet regularly with my middle grades colleagues (typically weekly), during which time we assess our progress and discuss improvements in our own courses and in the program overall. Beyond the university, I attend a wide range of conferences, workshops, and professional development. Each of these conferences informs my teaching in different ways and each provides an opportunity to engage with colleagues and students (who I encourage to attend regularly) in conversations and discussions about the issues that are most relevant to the work we do with young adolescents.
In addition to these conferences, I attended a number of professional development workshops to improve either my teaching or my advising of students. These included topics such as: iPad Quickoffice Pro, Explain Everything (iPad app), AsuLearn V2 (I was part of the pilot for the new format), Suicide Prevention, and the Summer Reading Book & Student/Faculty Exchange. I am continually trying to engage in activities that teach me more about myself, my teaching, my students, and the community in which we all interact and learn.
Much of what I do daily is directly connected to student advising, mentoring, and educational support. In the past two years as Program Director, I have advised and mentored innumerable students at all levels of their education--high school juniors/seniors considering Appalachian’s Middle Grades Program, transfer students coming here for the first time, students considering changing majors, those struggling with general education requirements, students in my current courses, students looking for their first teaching jobs, and students considering graduate study. While time consuming, student advising and mentoring is something I believe makes our program thrive and grow, so it is something that is necessary despite the time commitment. Additionally, it gives me an opportunity to know my students better and earlier on than I normally would. Once they are in my class, the relationship building has already begun and we can deepen that connection and begin to build true communities of practice, which is again a focus of middle level philosophy. Relationships and community, in my view, are at the heart of education and I strive each day to model that with my students as well as teach them how to advocate for and care about the young adolescents they will eventually teach.
Notable Indicator One: Evidence of Teaching Excellence
During my career at Appalachian, I have had the opportunity to teach a variety of courses, most notably in the Middle Grades Program. These courses have taught me so much about the importance of a specialized teacher education for those who teach young adolescents. I feel it is a special honor to help prepare the next generation of teachers for increasingly diverse classrooms of 10-15 yr. olds. That job, at times, is not the easiest. I have encountered some resistance, particularly in my 'diversity' courses, and yet my evaluations have been consistently high. I engage students in curriculum and practices that are highly relevant, immediate, and engaging, using research-based practices from middle level research, teacher education research, self-study research, and more general research such as that on educational leadership, brain development, etc. Because I have had the freedom to develop and alter courses such as CI 3920, CI 4300, and CI 5045, I have been able to integrate technology and pull from a rich range of resources. I often use current events, podcasts, infographics, TedEd lessons, and other modern sources to supplement the trusted print resources. I find that lends some credence to the issues for otherwise reluctant students.
I will choose now to focus specifically on two of the courses mentioned above--CI 3920 and CI 5045. CI 3920, Teaching Young Adolescents, is a course for middle grades undergraduate majors in their first "Block." This course is one that I have altered since I began teaching it because it had begun to feel dated and no longer relevant. As part of the requirements, the students participate in a book group using a non-fiction text that focuses on young adolescents with diverse needs, e.g., Reviving Ophelia (Pipher, 2005), or Raising Cain (Kindlon, 2000). By the time I began teaching this course in 2010, the students felt the books were not going to be relevant to the issues their future students would face. Therefore, I did research with the help of the Education Librarian at Appalachian and found a set of books that were fiction but that addressed some of the issues (i.e., adolescent obesity, bullying, substance abuse, sexual orientation) in a more accessible and engaging format. One student the following Spring (2011) semester, after the change, commented: "I felt engaged from the beginning of the semester. This is a very relevant class." Another felt that, "In all honesty - all class meetings have been incredibly engaging. I think this is due to the teacher and the subject matter covered." Interestingly, one student initially thought the course would not be relevant. Final evaluations indicated otherwise when the student noted, "The activities and assignments given appeared to not be relevant to the classroom; however, I was so wrong! Everything we did related to the classroom!" Unfortunately, for that semester, the university had not yet moved to a standardized evaluation tool, so I do not have my means. I have continued to further adapt that course to the needs of students, and my Spring 2013 showed an overall mean of 4.4/5.0 for me as the instructor and 4.26/5.0 for the course. Student comments continued to be positive; for example, one student stated, "Dr. Ramirez made everything we learned relatable and relevant to us as future teachers. She contributed valuable information to our discussions and I enjoyed hearing about her experiences and advice." Another valued "How she always showed clearly how the topics we discussed would come into play in the lives of our students."
CI 5045 is a graduate course for a wide range of majors, including middle grades majors. I have taught this class to middle grades students, elementary education, music, foreign language, secondary history, and library science. The diversity of experiences of students, mostly non-traditional and off-campus, contributed greatly to the course, but required me to make substantive changes to a course that, in my opinion, was somewhat generic at its inception. I worked to align the course more closely to the middle grades graduate program standards and I developed a new assessment/project that required students to build on what they were learning in readings and class discussion and take that knowledge into the community to experience "minority" status. Overwhelmingly, my students were resistant and did not see the value in it, even though they had a lot of freedom to choose their setting and experience. I allowed a lot of choice because I did not want to alienate anyone or have them do something where they did not feel "safe" (in every sense of the word). One student in Fall 2010 most valued "Dr. Ramirez's pushing to make us step out of the box and see from other's eyes [sic]." Others from that cohort recognized in their final evaluations, "How much I learned about myself," or "How far from where I should be I am." These revelations, both personal and professional, made all the initial resistance worthwhile. Milner (2012), whose research deals with preparing preservice and inservice teachers for racially diverse populations, reminds us to "start where you are, but don't stay there." That is what I strive to help my students do in courses such as this. We examine our biases, preferences, preconceptions, and then make a move forward. For some, that move is immense, but I believe all are changed in some way by the shared experience and collaborative reflection that is such an integral part of the course. One student from Spring 2011, summed it up nicely with her final comment about what surprised her the most: "Realizing just how much I don't know about diversity and hadn't even thought much about. I learned that I was not a well diverse person as I eroneously thought [sic]. The variety of backgrounds and the different programs everyone was involved with made me think about the value the diversity class could offer. I guess I was surprised at how much baggage I carried coming into the class that I didn't know about. Biases and feelings about past experiences came to light that I hadn't really dealt with, but I am glad I did. So I guess I am surprised at how cathartic the class was for me."
The student evaluation evidence noted here and further explained on the Teaching tab, I believe, demonstrate my ability to teaching meaningful, engaging, and relevant courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The true ruler by which I measure excellence in teaching is the comments from students. Those chosen above emphasize my strengths as a teacher and my willingness to change content, delivery, and assessment to best prepare my students as teachers. Of course, as we all know, not every student evaluation is this positive and this complimentary, but I always student comments seriously and strive to improve daily.
I will choose now to focus specifically on two of the courses mentioned above--CI 3920 and CI 5045. CI 3920, Teaching Young Adolescents, is a course for middle grades undergraduate majors in their first "Block." This course is one that I have altered since I began teaching it because it had begun to feel dated and no longer relevant. As part of the requirements, the students participate in a book group using a non-fiction text that focuses on young adolescents with diverse needs, e.g., Reviving Ophelia (Pipher, 2005), or Raising Cain (Kindlon, 2000). By the time I began teaching this course in 2010, the students felt the books were not going to be relevant to the issues their future students would face. Therefore, I did research with the help of the Education Librarian at Appalachian and found a set of books that were fiction but that addressed some of the issues (i.e., adolescent obesity, bullying, substance abuse, sexual orientation) in a more accessible and engaging format. One student the following Spring (2011) semester, after the change, commented: "I felt engaged from the beginning of the semester. This is a very relevant class." Another felt that, "In all honesty - all class meetings have been incredibly engaging. I think this is due to the teacher and the subject matter covered." Interestingly, one student initially thought the course would not be relevant. Final evaluations indicated otherwise when the student noted, "The activities and assignments given appeared to not be relevant to the classroom; however, I was so wrong! Everything we did related to the classroom!" Unfortunately, for that semester, the university had not yet moved to a standardized evaluation tool, so I do not have my means. I have continued to further adapt that course to the needs of students, and my Spring 2013 showed an overall mean of 4.4/5.0 for me as the instructor and 4.26/5.0 for the course. Student comments continued to be positive; for example, one student stated, "Dr. Ramirez made everything we learned relatable and relevant to us as future teachers. She contributed valuable information to our discussions and I enjoyed hearing about her experiences and advice." Another valued "How she always showed clearly how the topics we discussed would come into play in the lives of our students."
CI 5045 is a graduate course for a wide range of majors, including middle grades majors. I have taught this class to middle grades students, elementary education, music, foreign language, secondary history, and library science. The diversity of experiences of students, mostly non-traditional and off-campus, contributed greatly to the course, but required me to make substantive changes to a course that, in my opinion, was somewhat generic at its inception. I worked to align the course more closely to the middle grades graduate program standards and I developed a new assessment/project that required students to build on what they were learning in readings and class discussion and take that knowledge into the community to experience "minority" status. Overwhelmingly, my students were resistant and did not see the value in it, even though they had a lot of freedom to choose their setting and experience. I allowed a lot of choice because I did not want to alienate anyone or have them do something where they did not feel "safe" (in every sense of the word). One student in Fall 2010 most valued "Dr. Ramirez's pushing to make us step out of the box and see from other's eyes [sic]." Others from that cohort recognized in their final evaluations, "How much I learned about myself," or "How far from where I should be I am." These revelations, both personal and professional, made all the initial resistance worthwhile. Milner (2012), whose research deals with preparing preservice and inservice teachers for racially diverse populations, reminds us to "start where you are, but don't stay there." That is what I strive to help my students do in courses such as this. We examine our biases, preferences, preconceptions, and then make a move forward. For some, that move is immense, but I believe all are changed in some way by the shared experience and collaborative reflection that is such an integral part of the course. One student from Spring 2011, summed it up nicely with her final comment about what surprised her the most: "Realizing just how much I don't know about diversity and hadn't even thought much about. I learned that I was not a well diverse person as I eroneously thought [sic]. The variety of backgrounds and the different programs everyone was involved with made me think about the value the diversity class could offer. I guess I was surprised at how much baggage I carried coming into the class that I didn't know about. Biases and feelings about past experiences came to light that I hadn't really dealt with, but I am glad I did. So I guess I am surprised at how cathartic the class was for me."
The student evaluation evidence noted here and further explained on the Teaching tab, I believe, demonstrate my ability to teaching meaningful, engaging, and relevant courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The true ruler by which I measure excellence in teaching is the comments from students. Those chosen above emphasize my strengths as a teacher and my willingness to change content, delivery, and assessment to best prepare my students as teachers. Of course, as we all know, not every student evaluation is this positive and this complimentary, but I always student comments seriously and strive to improve daily.
Notable Indicator Two: Peer Evaluations
Over the course of my five years at Appalachian, I have had the opportunity to engage in collaboration with a variety of individuals on campus and in the College of Education. Our department's policy requires that we observe one another teach each semester. I often co-teach or collaborate on different projects with those in the middle grades program, so that happens somewhat naturally. I have also had the opportunity to work with individuals outside of my program and observe them in the classroom. My fellow instructors have provided me with very positive reviews. For example, Dr. Shanan Fitts, a trusted and respected colleague who understands the courses I teach, noted, "Two strengths of
this class include the emphasis on reflection in teaching and learning, and
involving students in the development and progression of course content.
Because the course is focused on developing students’ knowledge, attitudes and
competence with diverse learners, self-reflection is absolutely essential and
as noted above that is a clear emphasis in the course. Secondly, it is clear
that Dr. Ramirez seeks and values the input of students in terms of the content
explored throughout the class." The link to her evaluation is below for further explanation.
Another trusted colleague, Dr. Holly Thornton, provided a letter of support for me earlier on in my promotion and tenure process. Her words really exemplified my philosophy and made me realize that it likely emanates in my teaching. She stated,"She seeks to engage students and develop higher level thinking and critical analysis of current issues and trends both in middle level education and areas centering on diverse perspectives and cultures. She exhibits a positive rapport with students, building an atmosphere of trust and openness that cultivates community and intellectual risk taking."
A third letter is from Kate Johnson, who works in the Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) office. The fourth is from her colleague, Heather Jo Mashburn, who also works in the ACT office. Both work with the Office of International Education to train student leaders in service learning and community partnerships. Those student leaders then work with non-profit or charitable organizations to plan a service trip for a group of students. Kate has extensive knowledge of the community of Boone and the campus of ASU. She works with many organizations and individuals as part of her job. While relatively new, Heather Jo has also quickly become a part of the Appalachian community and works with organizations across campus and around Boone. Kate provided this letter of support for the first of two International Alternative Spring Break trips on which I served as the faculty "Peer Leader." Heather's letter is from my most recent student service trip to Guatemala. Part letters of support, part reports on student evaluations, the letters highlights my unique ability to successfully serve our Appalachian students as well as the non-profits they partner with and the communities in which we worked.
Letters from Damiana Gibbons and Robert Heath add another element. Both Dr. Gibbons and Dr. Heath work in Curriculum and Instruction and know me on a more personal level, so it was interesting to read their assessments. Visiting Dr. Gibbons' class, in turn, was a wonderful experience. Dr. Heath and I have co-taught for years, so a more formal observation was enlightening to read. Both letters speak to my relationship with students and how I am able to build rapport and care for them as well as provide instruction that is engaging and relevant. Dr. Gibbons letter also speaks to the ways I have been striving to integrate available technologies into my classroom. On the day she observed, I used a set of iPads and the AirPort system to have students share their portfolios while learning the technology.
Another trusted colleague, Dr. Holly Thornton, provided a letter of support for me earlier on in my promotion and tenure process. Her words really exemplified my philosophy and made me realize that it likely emanates in my teaching. She stated,"She seeks to engage students and develop higher level thinking and critical analysis of current issues and trends both in middle level education and areas centering on diverse perspectives and cultures. She exhibits a positive rapport with students, building an atmosphere of trust and openness that cultivates community and intellectual risk taking."
A third letter is from Kate Johnson, who works in the Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) office. The fourth is from her colleague, Heather Jo Mashburn, who also works in the ACT office. Both work with the Office of International Education to train student leaders in service learning and community partnerships. Those student leaders then work with non-profit or charitable organizations to plan a service trip for a group of students. Kate has extensive knowledge of the community of Boone and the campus of ASU. She works with many organizations and individuals as part of her job. While relatively new, Heather Jo has also quickly become a part of the Appalachian community and works with organizations across campus and around Boone. Kate provided this letter of support for the first of two International Alternative Spring Break trips on which I served as the faculty "Peer Leader." Heather's letter is from my most recent student service trip to Guatemala. Part letters of support, part reports on student evaluations, the letters highlights my unique ability to successfully serve our Appalachian students as well as the non-profits they partner with and the communities in which we worked.
Letters from Damiana Gibbons and Robert Heath add another element. Both Dr. Gibbons and Dr. Heath work in Curriculum and Instruction and know me on a more personal level, so it was interesting to read their assessments. Visiting Dr. Gibbons' class, in turn, was a wonderful experience. Dr. Heath and I have co-taught for years, so a more formal observation was enlightening to read. Both letters speak to my relationship with students and how I am able to build rapport and care for them as well as provide instruction that is engaging and relevant. Dr. Gibbons letter also speaks to the ways I have been striving to integrate available technologies into my classroom. On the day she observed, I used a set of iPads and the AirPort system to have students share their portfolios while learning the technology.
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Notable Indicator Three: Course Development
As mentioned above, I have had the opportunity to develop and alter courses for the Middle Grades Program, specifically CI 4300 and CI 5750. CI 4300, Literacy, Language, and Culture in the Middle Grades, is a course I began to teach in my first semester at Appalachian. After having taken the position, I worked closely with Dr. Tracy Smith while I was still in Utah and finishing my dissertation. She laid the majority of the groundwork for this course with an emphasis on the foundational and current issues and methods of instruction regarding literacy education in middle schools. As we worked to develop that course, I gained a greater understanding of the process, as I had not fully developed a course from the ground up previously. Together, we developed a course that included a major assessment for NCDPI as well as content and activities that were based in the research on literacy education and middle level education. In my first semester teaching the course, I chose a current textbook that was not highly valued by the students. It was more likely appropriate for a graduate course and it was dense, extremely scholarly, and, honestly, hated by the students. With their needs in mind, I had to alter the course in the middle of the semester to take into account their background knowledge and its gaps. Fortunately, the students were not afraid to express themselves, as the middle grades program is known to be very open and honest. Changing that course and further developing its emphases mid-semester was difficult, particularly in my own first semester! But I made changes, using mid-semester formative assessments as well as the end of course evaluation. Using that feedback, I further developed the course, working with other faculty who teach in "Block II" so that we covered the things the students needed most. Based on my students, that has changed every year. I ask my students at the beginning of the course what they feel they have not fully understood or where they think their gaps are. Their answers are often different, so the course has changed each year. In the spring, they needed more in classroom management; in the fall, they felt a gap in their understanding of rural classrooms; this semester, they wanted more strategies for gifted students. In all instances, I made the necessary changes, often only after doing research to further my own understanding and knowledge.
Recently, I have had the opportunity to develop a hybrid course as well, CI 5750, Teaching Diverse Young Adolescents. The development of this course was heavily aided by the development of CI 4300, but it was still a steep learning curve for me. Because the course is centered on topics that can be highly sensitive to students exploring their stereotypes and preconceptions for the first time, I felt it was not the best "fit" for an online environment. Working with Media Literacy faculty, Middle Grades faculty, and Learning Technology Systems faculty, our program each developed a new hybrid course. The syllabus is below for further explanation. Developing that course made me realize some of my own philosophies and misconceptions about online teaching and learning and my own fears in fully developing a course. I came to realize that sometimes online or hybrid are the only formats accessible to students and, if that is the case, my own misgivings would need to be examined. Our research/development group was extremely helpful in my own development as well as that of the course; our conversations and debates about what constitutes effective and quality online teaching were eye opening and supportive. The course I developed is an example of active collaboration among faculty from a range of backgrounds to best meet the needs of the students and still stay true to what we know is good teaching. Unfortunately, I have only had the opportunity to teach this course one time. I look forward to its future in the program and the chance to develop it more fully with student and colleague feedback.
Recently, I have had the opportunity to develop a hybrid course as well, CI 5750, Teaching Diverse Young Adolescents. The development of this course was heavily aided by the development of CI 4300, but it was still a steep learning curve for me. Because the course is centered on topics that can be highly sensitive to students exploring their stereotypes and preconceptions for the first time, I felt it was not the best "fit" for an online environment. Working with Media Literacy faculty, Middle Grades faculty, and Learning Technology Systems faculty, our program each developed a new hybrid course. The syllabus is below for further explanation. Developing that course made me realize some of my own philosophies and misconceptions about online teaching and learning and my own fears in fully developing a course. I came to realize that sometimes online or hybrid are the only formats accessible to students and, if that is the case, my own misgivings would need to be examined. Our research/development group was extremely helpful in my own development as well as that of the course; our conversations and debates about what constitutes effective and quality online teaching were eye opening and supportive. The course I developed is an example of active collaboration among faculty from a range of backgrounds to best meet the needs of the students and still stay true to what we know is good teaching. Unfortunately, I have only had the opportunity to teach this course one time. I look forward to its future in the program and the chance to develop it more fully with student and colleague feedback.
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