Shannan Kitchen
North Carolina State University
College of Education
New Literacies and
Global Learning, M.Ed.
Secondary English
Creative Synthesis Showcase
How can I support diverse learners in a high school level English class?
Key Learning
ECI 508
Teachers as Leaders
In Teachers as Leaders, I researched differentiated instruction as a strategy that provides effective instruction to students across the spectrum of interests, backgrounds, and abilities.
For the same course, I drafted a letter advocating for the inclusion of multi-cultural novels in my high school English classroom and for the donation of funds to do so. For this document, I utilized a position statement from National Counsel of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Common Core Standards to support my argument.
Emerging Technology for Teaching and Learning
ECI 512
The video I created for this course illustrates my understanding of how using Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPaCK) elevates the quality of instruction and classroom management in school.
ECI 521
Teaching Literature for Young Adults
In Teaching Literature for Young Adults, I explored ways of incorporating student choice into the selection of traditional and digital classroom literature.
This is a research paper I wrote on different ways of incorporating young adult literature into my ELA curriculum for the purpose of increasing the second language acquisition and fluency of English Language Learners
Teacher as Researcher
In this class, I learned about Action Research, a topic I had no prior knowledge of. What I most took away from it was a way to bring the practice of scholarship and inquiry into my professional life.
From a forum post I wrote for ECI 523:
The articles I’ve read lead me to a basic understanding of teacher research as an inquiry process with a specific question or problem as a focus that takes place in the classroom (virtual and physical), with the cooperative involvement of both teacher and student. It results in the teacher-researcher (and in one article I read the student-researchers) critically engaging with their own first-hand research to modify or improve their educational practice to better serve the needs of their students.
Common characteristics I observed throughout my reading were an emphasis on action which lead to informed critical reflection. Each study began with a question, included teacher and student action as a central tenant of the research, and ended with the teacher critically analyzing and then changing how he or she taught to reflect the new understanding or knowledge gained as a result of the action research.
In absorbing the material from this week’s action research module I have built upon my understanding of action research. My initial understanding of action research was: a process which makes inquiry into a specific question leading to a critical reflection of new knowledge and information which is ultimately implemented into the educator’s teaching practice. What I have gained from the readings is a rich understanding of the underlying purpose of action research. As a professional educator, it is a continuous necessity to grow professional skills. As Koshy, (2010, states, “the ultimate quality of the educational experiences we provide children will depend on the ability of a teacher to stand back, question and reflect on his or her practice, and continually strive to make the necessary changes.” This is a powerful restatement of my professional philosophy. To be an effective educator you need to be highly aware of what works and what doesn’t work as well in your classroom and you have to be actively striving to make improvements to what doesn’t work. It’s a commitment to yourself and your students to provide the best education that you are capable of providing to them. Action research provides a way to address specific aspects of your teaching that you would like to improve. Through a cyclical process of implementing a different teaching strategy, collecting data, reflecting on the results and implementing a refined teaching strategy and repeating the cycle, action research outlines a methodology for teachers to continuously reflect on their own practice and take action to evolve their practice to better meet the needs of their students.
ECI 523
ECI 579
Organization and Behavioral Management of Inclusive Classrooms
In Organization and Behavioral Management of Inclusive Classrooms, I elevated my understanding of key aspects of classroom management. I developed a strong foundation of current research-driven methods of increasing instructional outcomes by increasing positive behavior. I developed a comprehensive plan for classroom management,that you can see by exploring this Prezi presentation.