SHOWCASE
Throughout my time as a student in Michigan State University's Master of Arts of Education, I was given many opportunities to explore education, learning, and leadership through the completion of purposeful essays and projects. Each piece has provided me with the ability to deepen my understanding of what it means to be an educator while sharpening and crystalizing my objectives as an educator. On this page, you will find each showcase piece to fit into one of three categories, designed thematically to represent my educational and professional goals while in the MAED program. Clicking on each button will open each piece.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT LEARNING
Below is a sampling of projects and papers that are representative of a critical examination of what we typically experience as part of education, learning, and development.
Curriculum as a Window & Mirror
Lesson Plan focusing on using The Hate U Give as supplementary diverse material along with a classic, To Kill a Mockingbird
After studying how to make curriculum more impactful and diverse for the classroom, I decided to take a classic--To Kill a Mockingbird--and pair it with a modern text--The Hate U Give--to better teach important diverse themes. In this project, I detail how I would use curriculum as a window for students to see into experiences they have not or may not be able to have in order to develop more empathy and understanding for others. I also explain how this lesson can be used as a mirror: students who feel personally connected to these stories can feel represented.
Critical Analysis
Critical Analysis of the "truths" portrayed in the films Freedom Writers and Waiting for Superman
As part of an exploration into multicultural education, I analyzed two films--Freedom Writers and Waiting for Superman. In this project, I demonstrate the knowledge I gained about multicultural education and apply it to a critique of urban education as viewed through these two films, digging into how both a dramatic interpretation and documentary portray those communities. This project also allowed me to demonstrate my skills in creating a multimedia presentation, using other media to support my overall thesis.
The Self and Careers
Analysis of Adult Career Development as seen through the lens of three different career trajectories and personal development
Part of critically thinking about learning is thinking about how we continue to learn even after our formal schooling ends. In this essay, I critically analyze the career develop of three different successful professionals--Glen Holland, Linda Greenlaw, and Steve Jobs--in concert with Parker Palmer's concept of the self as essential to adult career development. From this analysis, I learned that one's career successes are not defined by outward measurements, but instead through the personal satisfaction gained in closely linking one's self to their career.
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Below is a sampling of graduate work that demonstrates an exploration into leadership roles
This is a plan for a Diversity Workshop delivered to colleagues. The workshop was a "lunch n' learn" and was planned with the help of the Dean of Diversity
Diversity Workshop
Learning Community
The redesign of the Diversity & International Mindedness Professional Learning Cohort through the lens of professional development concepts
Budget Case Study
Budget Plan Spreadsheet and a Narrative Analysis for the Royal Oak Public School district
Part of my goals in furthering my education as a teacher were to be able to make long-lasting change for the better in schools through a leadership position. Co-creating this diversity workshop gave me the opportunity to jump into a leadership role as a member of the diversity committee at Notre Dame Preparatory. This project showcases my development in two areas: first, in creating a plan to help affect change; second, in facilitating a professional learning workshop for colleagues which aimed to provide them with practical tools to effectively address diversity issues in and out of the classroom.
Before I ventured into the MAED program, I was tasked with leading a Professional Learning Community at Notre Dame Preparatory on the topic of diversity, inclusion, & international mindedness. This assignment in a course in training & professional development gave me the opportunity to reflect on and re-design the learning community in light of my studies in order to better showcase my leadership skills. In this plan for this learning community, I demonstrate the necessity of knowing the needs of those you are training better and lay out a plan for a stronger professional development cohort.
Part of my exploration into educational leadership was learning more about how schools are financed, how policy decisions affect those finances, and how effective those decisions are in serving the educational community. In this project, I used the school district I live in--Royal Oak--to create and justify a budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Using the year's previously reported budget, I made decisions as to where those finances would be best distributed, demonstrating a focus on equitably funding various school programs and resources while also providing support to teachers and staff and promoting the involvement of key stakeholders.
REFLECTIVE EDUCATION
Below is a sampling of graduate work in which I reflect on my own practices and use my own experiences to engage with critical learning.
Autoethnography of my professional teaching practices as seen through the lens of diversity and equity
Autoethnography
Reflection on a Lunch & Learn diversity workshop I co-created and co-facilitated through the lens of leadership theories
Workshop Reflection
Autoethnography of my professional teaching practices as seen through the lens of diversity and equity
Organizational Analysis
Much of what I focus on in the classroom is centered around equity and inclusion. Through exploration of my own educational background and my professional teaching experiences in relation to this topic, I was able to examine how my identity shapes my address of equity and inclusion in my classroom. In this autoethnography, that exploration led me to reflect on how I operate as an educator and create a plan for better creating an equitable and inclusive classroom that reaches diverse learners.
Some of my future goals are to be in a leadership position where I work. Through an analysis of the professional organizational context of Notre Dame Preparatory--my former school--I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in being a leader of an organization. In this analysis, I discuss a leadership issue at the school and pose solutions through the lens of leadership theories of Shared leadership, Transformational leadership, and Adaptive leadership.
As a part of a leadership course I took, part of our learning was to reflect back on leadership positions we had in the past. I was able to look back on the diversity workshop I led for colleagues through the lens of a few leadership theories. In this reflective essay, I demonstrate a careful analysis and critique of my leadership skills and methods as creator and faciliatory of the workshop; I was able to see what was not effective and how I should develop learning experiences like this in the future to be more effective.