EDM613 Wk4, post 4: Free Write - And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None...



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 Well... after this post I will officially be able to click on my final "I have completed this assignment" tab for the month 11 - Media Asset Creation class of our Full Sail University master's degree program. I must say that I am starting to feel a bit melancholy about this whole experience being nearly over. Having completed three masters degrees (counting this one) I know I am always so relieved immediately following graduation and ecstatic that I will have all this free time to catch up on my neglected household chores. But, soon after I begin going through withdrawal and I find I am looking through degree programs and course books to get my next fix. I think the yearning comes from my worry that I may end up old and outdated and ineffective in my profession and wind up like all these closed minded, closed doors crabs that speckle the hallways of my school. I never want to lose the passion for this job and always worry about the "burnout" syndrome everyone warns me about when I get here so early and/or leave so late. But, I love my chosen profession and plan to keep my spark alive for as long as I can.

I want to thank everyone that I have had the pleasure of meeting during my time at Full Sail. You are all inspiring teachers and you are all the reasons why we have hope for the future of quality and effective education. Good luck in month 12 and beyond!  

EDM613 Wk4, post 3: Response to Bruchetta Jones

@ Bruchetta Jones EMD Blog - Week 4 Reading: Art of Possibility Ch 9-12 (original post by Bruchetta Jones on April 18, 2011)



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Bruchetta: The Zanders' do such a good job making these practices sound so easy and effortless don't they? I imagine meeting them must be like taking a whole bunch of happy, “lovey” pills. They must be a fantastic to be around. Taking an event like infidelity and spinning it as an optimistic opportunity just seems impossible to me despite any angle I look at it from. I couldn't (and never want to) imagine how life could be better without my wife. But, I understand what they are saying and I completely agree with you that it would be hard and boy would I have a hard time looking at it as an obstacle rather than a betrayal. Guess I need to do some more soul searching I suppose. Thanks for your post.



 

Week 4 Reading: Art of Possibility Ch 9-12 (Posted by Bruchetta Jones on Monday, April 18, 2011)

This was an interesting book to read, seeing that most of the other books we read were geared towards that specific class.  This book, overall was to inspire us as we continue our journey after the EMDT program ends.  I can respect that.


Chapters 9-12 reflect on being optimistic despite our circumstances.  One of the examples of this is in Chapter 10.  A man finds that his wife is having an affair.  Some of us will let the situation consume us and and the Zanders' state "things move ahead, and life passes him by."   They speak of the notion of "being on board", where he would take this situation and be empowered by it and view it differently.  You can use it not as the fault of who betrayed you, but as something that you personally need to overcome.


This concept can easily be put in place in our classrooms.  Instead of blaming the students for their poor test scores, behavior, and other thing we complain about, turn it around to yourself. What could have you done differently?  Did you take in account the different learners in your classroom?  Did you exhaust every possible resource?  I know that we are underworked and underpaid, but that is what we signed up for!  Yes, it may be hard to do, but in the end, it will make you a better, more effective teacher.

EDM613 Wk4, post 2: Response to Mike Coletti

@ Mike Coletti's Musings -Wk 4 Reading: Art of Possibility, Chapters 9–12 (original post by Mike Coletti on April 17, 2011)

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Mike: I absolutely agree with your comment that the most challenging part of lighting a spark in the student is maintaining it throughout the year. I remember during my student teaching days that my coordinating teacher told me that our job as teachers was to leave our lives inside the car when we got out to go into school for the day. If we can be there for the kids who bring so much of their own lives to school, they see that we are there for them and the return on that investment is always incredible. Leaving my life at the car is very difficult to do, but it is a sacrifice that I am willing to take for my students. Thanks for the post and the bringing up of such a valuable memory.

Wk 4 Reading: Art of Possibility, Chapters 9–12 (posted by Mike Coletti on April 17, 2011)

As I have mentioned in my previous posts regarding this book, the insight offered by the Zanders transcends the fields of music and psychology and applies to all human relationships.  The concluding five chapters neatly tie it all together.  Each of these sections builds a case for creating a world that could be free of conflict and full of compassion.

How could Lighting a Spark not speak to all of us in education.  It is our goal to create the spark in the minds and eyes of our students, which in turn will enroll us deeper into the process, and creating a cycle of success.  We attempt this by Being the Board on which our lessons are played out on, being rigid but also flexible based on the needs of our students.

The deepest challenge is sustaining this throughout the school year, day after day.  Face it, we all have off days, but we need to minimize those, or at least the effect those have on the kids.  Finally, if we look at our students and the gifts they bring to the classroom, Telling the WE Story will engage both the children and us so we achieve the most success possible.  It is what the Art of Possibility is all about.

Like Presentation Zen, I have purchased a shelf copy of The Art of Possibility to be a permanent part of my personal library.  I am sure I will revisit parts of this book as I move through the rest of my career. 

EDM613 Wk4, post 1: Reading - Art of Possibility chp 9-12

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Yet again, I was tremendously inspired by The Zanders' Art of Possibility and the last five chapters. Each brought up so many ideas and comments as I read through them, but chapter nine - Lighting a Spark - resonated the most with me. After completing my Action Research Project on motivating students to write I really connected with the idea of sparking interest in something is the first step to convincing those same people to try something new and/or to try harder as well. My ARP introduced a bunch of unmotivated student writers, who had expressed much displeasure in traditional writing instruction, to new forms of writing like blogging, glogging, etc., and they were writing up a storm with little if any acknowledgment of the amount of writing they were actually doing. Here were kids who said at the start that they hated writing, and many of them were now going home and writing at night or writing more than the required length, or asking when they could go down to the computer lab so they could write again. All that it takes is a spark and some encouragement and you'll get a full blown fire!

EDM613 Wk3, post 4: Free Write - ARP Conclusion Pgph

The following is the concluding paragraph for my final paper for the Full Sail EMDT ARP. I welcome any and all comments and critiques:

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Conclusion
There are many poignant opinions about high-stakes testing and whether or not it has done more harm than good for the students who are subjected to these testing situations. But, no matter what the opinions are, for teachers and students in today’s educational system, standardized and quantitative testing are a reality that cannot be ignored, circumvented, or avoided. For this reason the research conducted in this project focused on two areas of concern in assessment of state writing tests. The first area of concern was in the shortcomings of the many students at the Middle School level who are failing to achieve a proficient score on state writing tests. "Why are our students scoring so poorly? Certainly there are a number of factors out of our immediate control (e.g., second language issues, poverty, lack of parental involvement). Dwelling on these issues, however, is counterproductive and a waste of time and energy. We are better served by focusing on what we can control—namely, our teaching" (Gallagher, 2003, p. 26).

Despite a high proficiency rating, one of my biggest problems with these scores is that they are proficient, but not advanced. The original goal of this Action Research Project was to flush out ways to increase motivation and improve writing proficiency, but also to find ways to make students who were already proficient want to achieve advanced. Alber-Morgan, Hessler, and Konrad (2007) wrote that “written expression is difficult to teach because it is the most complex form of communication; however, it is critical because it is a common mode of communication” (p.124). This is what I feel the next step is for this project. Helping the students write proficiently requires motivation and a formula like the formal outline, but obtaining advanced is more trivial as it requires a passion for writing and an evident voice from the writer. 

Works Cited:

Alber-Morgan, S., Hessler, T., & Konrad, M. (2007). Teaching writing for keeps. Education and Treatment of Children, 30(3), 107-128. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. 

Gallagher, K. (2003). Righting our writing wrongs: Ten concerns about writing instruction. California English, 8(5), 26-28. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

 

EDM 613 Wk 4 Publishing Leadership Project

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Introduction:

I have elected to submit applications for publication of my Action Research paper to the following resources:  The National Middle School Association's Middle School Journal (site link) and The National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) Language Arts Journal (site link) I chose these two journals primarily because I am a member of both of these associations, but also because the content of these two journals deals directly with the age group and the context of my action research project. Now, I get to begin the process of applying and submitting requests for publication.

Link to Publishing/Leadership Project part 1 of 2: Paper vs.  Project

Link to Publishing/Leadership Project part 2 of 2: Where to Present & Why

Link to Puplishing/Leadership Project Paper: ARP Google Doc

EDM613 Wk3 Publishing/Leadership project part 2 of 2: Where to Present & Why

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Now that I have decided to write a paper instead of a presentation, for this post, which is the second in a two-part series, I am to consider which publication(s) I would like to submit my research to in order to try to get it published. There are three that I am interested in pursuing due to my membership or just general relationship to my action research project.

NMSA

The National Middle School Association's Middle School Journal (site link)

Website Write-up: Middle School Journal, a refereed journal, is an official publication and membership benefit of National Middle School Association. Published five times per year in September, November, January, March, and May, the journal offers articles that promote quality middle level education and contribute to an understanding of the educational and developmental needs of youth between the ages of 10 and 15.

Guidelines for NMSA's MSJ submissions (site link)

NCTE - LAJ

The National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) Language Arts Journal (site link)

Website Write-up: Language Arts is a professional journal for elementary and middle school teachers and teacher educators. It provides a forum for discussions on all aspects of language arts learning and teaching, primarily as they relate to children in pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade. Issues discuss both theory and classroom practice, highlight current research, and review children's and young adolescent literature, as well as classroom and professional materials of interest to language arts educators. (Published September, November, January, March, May, and July)

Guidelines for NCTE's LAJ submissions (site link)

NCTE - VM

The National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) Voices from the Middle (site link)

Website Write-up: Voices from the Middle (VM) is the peer-reviewed journal of the Middle Level Section of the National Council of Teachers of English. VM publishes original contributions on all facets of language arts learning, teaching, and research focusing on young adolescents. VM offers middle level educators a practical guide to best practices in middle schools.

Guidelines for NCTE's VM submissions (site link)