Madelyn Maxbauer's Online Portfolio

The Masters of Arts in Education degree (MAED) program has offered me a variety of tools and new perspectives to support my continued learning and development in education. Throughout this program, I have been challenged to think reflectively, practically, and analytically about the content of each course and of the courses as a whole.  Each course offered an individual challenge that pushed me to extend my creativity, my understanding of literacy, and my skill as a learner and educator. Overall, what I have gained from this program is not just a master’s degree, but also an introduction to new prospects and an opportunity to continue along a path of lifelong education. I have become a part of innovative and vital communities, been introduced to dynamic lines of thinking, and been able to find new areas of interest in my own teaching and for my future in education. All of the courses both required and elective, in this program, had a hand in shaping my education and the teacher I am becoming.  However, four courses, in particular, stand out among the rest as having had a significant impact on me. The courses, Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education (CEP) 813, 816, Teacher Education (TE) 848, and our capstone seminar, Education (ED) 870, each served in reminding me what I enjoy most about education and giving me the opportunity to learn more about these areas, and find new outlets for my interest and effort.

 

Innovating 

 

In CEP 813 and 816, the focus was on integrating technology in the classroom and on the new media technologies that are more prevalently impacting our students and modern classrooms. These courses were elective courses that I hoped would offer me information, resources, and new insight on the issues and topics relevant in the 21st-century classroom. In the whole of the program, these courses fit into my plan and focus area, but also taught me to be more open and flexible to uses of technology, application of literacy, and innovations in the field. Two of the elective courses that I selected, CEP 816 and CEP 813, emphasized the use of technology in the classroom. CEP 816, in particular, focused on ways that technology could be integrated into various content areas. Not only did it allow me to think critically about my own content area, and receive helpful feedback and critique regarding the role of technology in the English classroom, but it also shed light on its place in other content areas. This is particularly important because it also opened my eyes to the experiences my students are having in their other classes; allowing me to take a more proactive role in developing engaging lessons that are connected to and supportive of my students’ experiences throughout their school day. This course offered practical tools and methods; including, screencasting, website development, new media reading, Popplet, and integration of various tools in lesson development, but it also pushed my thinking and the perspectives I take in regards to the use of technology in the classroom. CEP 816 presented me with a new mindset regarding technology in the classroom; the integration of technology is not always the best way of developing an innovative and effective lesson in the modern classroom. This course has taught me that the use of technology is only truly effective when it is done thoughtfully and with purpose within a lesson. CEP 816 offered information about and opportunities for practical application of many new and innovative ways that technology can be used to engage learners and enhance their experiences in the classroom. In addition to this understanding of what tools to use and how to use these tools, it has also become very clear that it takes time and thoughtful consideration to clarify why certain tools and technology resources are used and when it is best to use them.

 

Exploring

 

Similar to CEP 816, CEP 813 also offered a comprehensive exploration into the use of technology in the classroom. Specifically, this course highlighted uses of electronic assessment tools. As I had already completed coursework on reading and writing assessment in more traditional forms (as well as with the integration of technology) I felt that this course was particularly significant because it extended what I had already done and built on assessment practices that I had begun developing in previous coursework and in my classroom. Additionally, this course taught me about new tools and resources to use in my classroom to enhance my students’ learning experiences. These experiences included learning about using Minecraft, and other academic games, in the classroom, tools for the creation and use of infographics, screencasting, and content management system tools. Because of this exposure to academic games and new ways of sharing information and creating products in the academic setting, I have been able to develop new methods and means for my students to share their ideas and show their learning. The inclusion of new tools and resources has shifted the makeup of many of my lessons and units. Additionally, it has pushed me to modify my methods in creating and facilitating lessons. Among all of these various tools and resources has been the common thread of assessment and how to practically and effectively use them for student assessment. This direct connection to assessment has allowed me to develop new curricular materials that are more effective and innovative because they are grounded in the common core standards as well as the purposeful and applicable use of technology. CEP 813 offered a significant focus on innovative practices for assessment and motivated me to consider how I could translate these innovations for my students.

 

Creating

 

TE 848 was a unique experience in this program because it pushed me to look more closely at my own writing and, instead of placing the focus on the application of pedagogy in our classrooms, express my creativity in my written creations. The opportunities that this course offered for creative writing, of course, required inventive and imaginative thinking, but this course also provided me with tools to use this inventive thinking in writing assessments and argument writing as well; applying this thinking in support of my understanding of writing theory, research, and methodology in order to positively impact by practice. I enjoy writing and this was a valuable opportunity for me to remind myself about what it means to be the student and the importance of incorporating many different kinds of writing, in both digital and traditional formats. Application of creative thinking is integral in all areas of the writing process including, pre-writing, composition, revision, editing, and publishing. Creativity is such an important but often overlooked or discarded, piece of the classroom experience. Because this class emphasized creativity in our writing and in the creations developed throughout the course, it served in supporting creativity within my other courses and in my classroom as well. As educators, we can get so bogged down with the standards and requirements in our content areas that room for creativity, innovation, and imagination can often be lost or re-allocated. However, one of the most important things that I was able to take away from this class, and apply across the board within the program, was that creativity, innovation, and imagination can be integrated, in big and small ways, in both traditional and digital formats. As long as we push ourselves to be creative thinkers and look for the opportunities for our students to engage in creative, innovative, and imaginative thinking in the classroom, our students will be able to benefit from a classroom that is both standards focused and creative. This course brought many of the most important ideas about assessment to light but did so by allowing me to reflect on assessment of my own writing and on how my own ideas and work as a writer influences my instruction. TE 848 was an early exploration into assessment during the MAED program, but the work I did throughout this course has impacted me as I have progressed through the many program requirements and electives focused on literacy in various contexts.

 

Integrating

 

In the final course of this program, the MAED capstone seminar, I have found many occasions to integrate ideas, resources, tools and perspectives from all of the coursework of the program. This course is uniquely positioned to offer opportunities for reflection but is also focused on an active creation of a very practical piece of our professional lives: our portfolio. This portfolio may come at the end of the program, but it is a foundational piece of this program as a whole. The process of organizing our coursework, materials, and creations is a necessary step in reflecting on the process, on what I have learned about myself as a teacher and learner, and what I have been able to translate into my classroom. The centralized focus on developing a portfolio as the vehicle for reflection has been a comprehensive way of gathering, displaying, and assessing our work. The creation of a streamlined resume, a showcase of highlighted works and products from throughout my coursework, and the development of an annotated course list, all demonstrate a capacity to reflect and the impact that this course has had on my practice and program work overall has been significant. I have created several websites, for a variety of uses and purposes. Many of these were online portfolios that were used for similar purposes: reflection and assessment. However, with the work being done for this portfolio, in our capstone seminar, I have been able to focus solely on developing the pieces that make up the portfolio. The essays and other reflective tasks for this course have had a significant impact on my understanding of the purpose of the program overall as well as the changes I have been able to enact within my practice throughout the program and in the future. Additionally, this has been done with constant and consistent community feedback and advice. The fact that this portfolio is so heavily emphasized in the capstone allows me to spend more time thinking critically about what I create, learn from and gather suggestions from peers and instructors, and develop a piece of my online professional presence that I have every intention of maintaining and using for my future in education.

 

Applying

 

This program has been made up of many significant individual courses that have been challenging, innovative, and practical, but, as a whole, I have been able to use each course to influence others- applying ideas and using tools and resources in my classes in the program as well as my own classroom. This program has taught me strategies to approach my own work in education with a more thoughtful and experienced focus. The instruction and resources, I have been exposed to, have been integral, but just as important, have been the support from classmates. The community developed in each course, and as a whole throughout the program, has been one of the most significant impacts on my perspective and approach towards my job. This kind of community has also had an impact on my practice and how I view my position in education. This program and community has, not only, taught me new methods for integrating tools, strategies, and techniques but has also been a support and sounding board for experimenting with these tools and techniques and creating a space for conversation of strategies. The MAED program has moved me to try new things in my classroom, shift my viewpoint on evaluation and assessment, and share concepts and resources with colleagues. All of this has also offered me a new insight on my role and responsibilities in and out of the classroom and my future goals in education. My thinking and practice have both been influenced- encouraging me to think even more critically about the assessment tools I use, the use of technology in my classroom, how creativity and collaboration manifest in lessons and activities for my students, and, finally, the development of traditional and inventive literacy practices.