Lindsey Gregory

As I came to the end of my master's program journey, I realized that my core beliefs about reading and writing are still very much intact. I still firmly believe that students deserve a safe environment that allows for the free-sharing of ideas and perspectives, and that students should be provided with feedback that addresses both what they do well and what they can improve upon. I also believe that through the study of the human condition, by way of the study of literature, students will become more globally caring citizens within their community. However, the progression through this program has afforded me a deep sense of what it takes for a person to become literate, a collective knowledge of how, and why, some students struggle to get to that point, and the evidence based practices that I can use that will provide students with opportunities to learn how to read and how to read well.

 

It is great to have a baseline of providing a safe space for students to learn in, and to give timely and productive feedback, and to have the goal of ultimately transforming students into caring individuals through reading and writing, but my previous philosophy fails to get at the crux of how to do this. Through my Masters studies, I now know:

• how to read research and how to tell if it is reliable and valid (READ 5301 & EDUC 5301)

• how to utilize strategies that develop students' literacy skills (READ 5305)

• how to utilize the workshop framework to allow students to get acquainted with a skill through teacher modeling, group guided practice, then independent practice (READ 5304)

• the importance of reading assessments and how to review, analyze, and administer assessments for use with students (READ 5306)

• the importance of high interest reading material for students and, likewise, the importance of students' ability to read books with characters that mirror their own lives, cultures, and beliefs (READ 5302)

• how to seamlessly incorporate exposure to, and practice with, literacies outside of traditional print, and how important this is to students' ability to thrive in today's media rich world (READ 5303)

• the paramount position of an instructional coach, how they aide teachers in professional growth, and in turn, how that teacher's professional growth positively impacts student learning (READ 5309)

• the importance of action research, which allows teachers to research a real world issue in their own classroom that affects their students everyday, in turn allowing the teacher an opportunity for professional development that has the potential for immediate impact in the classroom (READ 5308)

• the value of administering a battery of assessments to a student in order to create an individualized learning plan that not only centers on the interests of the student, but that also caters to the student's areas of need for growth (READ 5307).

Through this knowledge, my current philosophy is that all students deserve to have a skilled and competent reading teacher: that gathers data through baseline assessments, gathers data at various check points throughout their time together, and gathers data at the end of their time together to measure growth; that uses the data collected to drive effective instruction; that provides instruction through the use of evidence-based practices and that provides instruction that is responsive to meeting students where they are in the learning process; that attends professional development which is individualized to what the teacher deems important to the challenges she faces with her students, so that the professional development ultimately positively impacts student learning. It is through these practices, the how of teaching students to read and write, that a teacher can come to attending to the details of effectively providing a safe-space for students to learn, to provide timely feedback, and to ultimately develop students in to caring citizens in their community through the skill of teaching reading and writing.

 

Because of this program, I posses the skills to make an impact on students through teaching reading and writing in ways that reach students and enrich their lives.   

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I believe all students have valuable ideas and perspectives to contribute to the English/Language Arts classroom and in order for students to broaden their horizons and gain exposure to various forms of thoughts and opinions, I will host a space that allows for the free-sharing of ideas and perspectives. 

 

I also believe all students are writers, but no one is born a writer; writing comes from deliberate practice of the craft and through reading good writing. I aim to point out what students do well in their writing and to help them grow in the areas they can improve upon. 

 

Finally, I intend to develop students into more globally caring citizens within the community and the world by exploring literature from a variety of cultures which emphasizes various human conditions, so that students can build empathy and understanding for people different from themselves.