Graduate Coursework Projects
The Teacher Leadership, M.Ed. Program was designed for educators who wished to deepen their practice, explore project-based pedagogies, and build their skills as instructional leaders and teacher researchers. Through the HTH GSE coursework, I wanted to pursue personal leadership goals, and by designing and implementing an action research project, I could pursue my own "fierce wonderings" and immediately apply my learning in my own classroom and school. Coursework projects provided me with ample reflective opportunities about my practice,the willingness to take risks, and commit myself to create a learning environment that is equitable, engaging, and inspiring for my students.
Equity, Diversity, & Design Principles
Throughout this course we drew upon our understanding of diversity to make our classrooms, and our classroom practice, more equitable learning environments. The inequitable moment I noticed in my classroom was that the same voices were being heard in the same manner throughout the day. My students and I collaborated with one another to create a listening protocol so that ALL voices may be heard and understood in a variety of ways.
Project: Listening, Sharing, & Being Understood
Project: Listening, Sharing, & Being Understood
Implementing Inclusive Classrooms
During this course we integrated differentiation strategies to provide access, choice and challenge to ALL learners. We engaged in open, honest and reflective conversations with colleagues about meeting the needs of all the learners within our classrooms. I decided to differentiate the reading comprehension, sight words, and word families within our homework assignments according to interest, learning profile (i.e. Sternberg's creative, analytical, and practical intelligences), and learning readiness. I documented this differentiation journey on a Discovery Card labelled Homework Shape-Ups.
Project: Homework Shape-Ups Discovery Card
Project: Homework Shape-Ups Discovery Card
Deeper Learning Through Projects
We deepened our project-based work by exploring issues of design, content, assessment, ownership, and exhibition. We designed projects that incorporated the 6 A elements of academic rigor, authenticity, applied learning, active exploration, adult connections, and assessment practices. I designed an endangered sea life project centered on discovering the causes of endangerment and how we could reverse that process. We used collected marine debris from the Cabrillo National Monument tidepools for our artwork that was displayed in the Cabrillo National Monument visitor's center.
Project: Saving Sea Life
Project: Saving Sea Life
Leadership for School Change
During this course we explored the meaning of change coming from within. This course offered a
brief history of the major trends in American educational reform since the 1800s, explored how change
happens in schools and the informal and formal roles that teacher leaders and school leaders play in school
change efforts. We articulated our dreams for our schools, and working with colleagues and students to enact change in our own school sites that reflects a shared vision. My proposition is to rally reformers from my school and create “The Heart of Audubon” project to help us develop our core values. We will get to the heart of what is good at Audubon through interviewing families, staff, and students on what their dream school is and how Audubon’s history and present time is fulfilling that ideal and where it may fall short. I’d like for us to find the bright spots already present at Audubon and use them to encourage us to connect and learn more from one another. These connections will help us arrive to the core values that will make Audubon our dream school.
Project: Dreaming and Doing: The Heart of Audubon
brief history of the major trends in American educational reform since the 1800s, explored how change
happens in schools and the informal and formal roles that teacher leaders and school leaders play in school
change efforts. We articulated our dreams for our schools, and working with colleagues and students to enact change in our own school sites that reflects a shared vision. My proposition is to rally reformers from my school and create “The Heart of Audubon” project to help us develop our core values. We will get to the heart of what is good at Audubon through interviewing families, staff, and students on what their dream school is and how Audubon’s history and present time is fulfilling that ideal and where it may fall short. I’d like for us to find the bright spots already present at Audubon and use them to encourage us to connect and learn more from one another. These connections will help us arrive to the core values that will make Audubon our dream school.
Project: Dreaming and Doing: The Heart of Audubon
Contact: melissahan411 [@] gmail.com