During the learning experiences that I had while earning my Master's in Literacy degree, there were some projects and papers that made a big impact on my teaching philosophy and practice. I have listed them below with a reflection about how each of them have influence me.
of my Learning Experiences
Highlights
Action Research Project
I chose to do my action research project with a group of eight ELL students who were struggling readers. From my own experience as an ELL teacher, I have found that as ELL students read text in English, they struggle with unfamiliar words that they come across in a sentence. Their biggest struggle is that they lack the skills to identify the meaning of words. In my action research project, I taught my eight ELL students five context clue strategies in order to improve their reading comprehension. The results showed that all of the stakeholders gained comprehension skills through the use of context clue strategies learned through this intervention. They also gained confidence in their reading ability. Most of these students gained a year's growth in their reading , as assessed through the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). If I went through this research project again, I would write down more notes about each student and the different statements made from my students to demonstrate growth and learning. I remember some of their "Aha!" moments, and as a teacher, this is the goal of each lesson that is planned. I would also include other grade levels to watch any differences that exist in age levels.
Digital storytelling was a new concept for me. It is a process of writing or telling stories, and adding the elements of voice, imagery, and music to create a visual story for others. This is a great way for students to act out stories that they really enjoy. The project that I looked at as an exemplary example used digital still photographs to tell the story of "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse." As I researched how to use this type of project with my students, I found that there is a lot of free software available for easy use in my classroom. I plan to complete this type of project with my students within this next school year. One thing that I will do differently will be to record the students performing the play in the classroom instead of only using digital photos as they read. Acting out language is a great way for ELL students to develop fluency, comprehension, and a passion for learning.
Email: wagnerdr@mukilteo.wednet.edu
Digital Storytelling
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