Fostering a Diverse Learning Community

MATC Synthesis Paper

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Masters of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Teaching
Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University

Amy Olivarez (Dowrick)

PID A35137343
November 18, 2015

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Introduction
I walked into Sycamore Elementary School, in Holt, Michigan, in the fall of 2008,
with a smile on my face. I was ready to start the first day of my internship year in my
second grade placement. I felt as if I was thoroughly prepared. I had already graduated
with my Bachelors of Arts degree from Michigan State University, worked with children
in an after-care setting since high school, and known I had wanted to follow in my
parents footsteps as an educator for as long as I could remember. As I found the
classroom that would basically be my home for the next nine months, I didnt realize how
much knowledge I would gain about myself as both a person and an educator.
I can honestly say that I have grown tremendously as a person and educator
throughout the past seven years. I have successfully completed a yearlong internship
through Michigan State University, taught multiple grades in three different school
districts, and participated in the Masters of Arts in Teaching and Curriculum program at
MSU. Throughout these experiences, I have learned that being an educator means being a
life-long learner. Teaching is ever changing, which makes it crucial for educators to
constantly update and improve on their practice and knowledge. As I continue my
teaching career, I will continue to be reflective in both my teaching practices and
knowledge. I will also focus on designing curriculum, instruction and assessments, to be
able to teach to my full potential, in order for my students to learn to their full potential.

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Program Experience
One area, in which I feel I have grown immensely in the Masters of Arts in
Teaching and Curriculum (MATC) program, is supporting diverse learners. Even though I
have improved in this area greatly, I would like to continue to be reflective upon this
personal goal and resume improving upon it. Supporting differentiation and diversity are
also discussed in the MATC goals and standards, such as Standards 1, 2, and 4 and Goals
1 and 2 (MATC Programs and Goals, 2015).
In my undergraduate courses, it was mentioned on several occasions that we
would have to address and support diverse learners, but it wasnt until I started my
yearlong internship, that I truly understood what this meant. My mentor teacher and I had
our hands full with a wide range of second grade learners during my placement. With
many different classroom management techniques and classroom structures, including
seating arrangements and classroom schedules, we were able to meet the needs of most of
the students in our classroom. I truly began to understand the meaning of fair not always
being equal. There were several students in our classroom that had varying needs both
academically and behaviorally. While some students were advanced learners, other
students needed graphic organizers to help them focus on story elements, number grids
and number lines to help them solve simple addition and subtraction math problems, and
flash cards to assist them in memorizing high frequency and sight words. We had students
that were cognitively impaired and needed modified assignments for the lessons we were
teaching, students that needed to be on behavior plans, and students that needed visual
schedules to guide them throughout the day with our daily schedule.

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During my first teaching position, I was hired at a small charter school that was
transitioning to Montessori. I was hired as a third/fourth grade split teacher, and instantly
became overwhelmed. My mentor teacher and I had had enough trouble supporting
diverse learners when they were all in the same grade, how was I going to support my
students when there was an even larger range of learners, being in both third and fourth
grade? How was I going to teach all of my students reading and math skills, when they
were all at different levels? Why had anyone decided to hire me, when it seemed like I
had absolutely no idea what I was doing? After using strategies I had learned from my
internship year, researching my own ideas, and collaborating with other teachers, I was
on my way to differentiating my instruction to meet the needs of the students in my split
level classroom. I decided to separate my students based on their math needs into small
groups, focusing on specific math concepts. While students were in small groups, I also
had my own teacher directed math group, where I could give direct instruction to my
varied leveled learners. I also incorporated the use of Literacy Passports into my
classroom, where students had a weekly folder of literacy assignments, based on their
abilities and needs they had to complete throughout the week.
Thinking back on my yearlong internship year and my first teaching position, I
notice I have grown in the area of accommodating the differences of diverse learners and
in my ability to try different classroom structures for teaching methods. This is
demonstrated through Artifact 1 (Inquiry Project) that was created while taking TE 808,
Inquiry Classroom Teaching and Learning. I decided to focus my inquiry project on
creating literacy-learning stations for my third grade students. Before creating literacy
learning stations, my literacy block was made up of mainly whole group instruction. I

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was able to give my students an inventory to see how they felt about our whole group
literacy block time, and also interview three individual students with varying opinions,
based on the results from the inventory. The results from the inventory showed that
several of my students felt they were bored during literacy time and the block of time
wasnt fulfilling their literacy needs. This brought me to the decision to start literacy
workstations in my classroom, which would act like centers, in which ability-like
students would be paired together to participate in literacy activities, while also giving me
the ability to meet with small groups of students in guided reading groups. This
classroom structure allowed me to differentiate instruction for my wide variety of
learners, by students working with ability-like pairs and also being able to meet with
small groups of students at their instructional reading levels. After my students
participated in literacy workstations, I gave them the same inventory to fill out regarding
our new literacy block time and also interviewed the same three students. The results of
both the inventory and interviews showed that my students perception of our new
literacy block time was much more fulfilling and enjoyable for them, based on their
literacy needs. Through the use of literacy workstations, I was able to foster a diverse
learning community, where all of my varied student learners were supported through the
use of differentiation and diversity.
My increased understanding of differentiated instruction and my improved ability
to nurture diverse learners can also be demonstrated in Artifact 2 (Literacy Learner
Analysis Project). This project was created while taking TE 846, Accommodating
Differences in Literacy Learners. Through this course and project, I was able to work
with a struggling literacy learner, learn about this particular childs background and

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literacy history, give this child different pre-assessments dealing with reading fluency and
comprehension in order to guide my instruction, plan specific differentiated lesson plans
to tailor to his needs, and give this student post-assessments to gauge his learning. In this
course, I learned about precise reading assessments that could be given to determine the
specific reading level that my focus student was at in both reading fluency and
comprehension, so that I could give the best reading instruction possible for this
particular student. I was able to go to this childs home numerous amounts of time during
the summer to teach literacy lessons that were tailored to this childs instructional level.
This individual also happened to be a fourth grade student that was transitioning out of
elementary school and into a fifth/sixth grade building the next school year. Another skill
we focused on was independence, as this student spent a great deal of time in the resource
room and had a difficult time coming up with different strategies to do his schoolwork on
his own, without asking for help. This also portrays my belief of the importance of
knowing your students as individuals, rather than just as students. I believe it is crucial to
not only focus on academics but also social and emotional aspects that make up a child,
in order to foster a well rounded individual and incorporate a warm and inviting learning
environment. I now take what I learned in this course by participating in the Literacy
Learner Analysis Project and represented in Artifact 2 and incorporate my learning into
my own classroom practices by giving specific reading assessments to my students, in
order to tailor to their needs, and including specific target skills they need to focus on. I
use the data I collect from each student to place students into good fit reading groups that
my students participate in, in my school district. I also use this data to form my own,
guided reading groups in my classroom, while students are involved in literacy

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workstations. The use of supporting diverse learners and differentiation helps to create a
positive learning experience for my students and the lives I touch.
An additional piece I would like to examine further regarding my ability to foster
a diverse learning community by differentiating instruction can be seen in Artifact 3
(Linking Assessment with Instruction Project). This artifact exhibits how I am able to
analyze an assortment of reading assessments, find areas of student needs, create goals
for instruction based on these areas of need, and recognize instructional strategies to help
a student meet these specific learning goals. In TE 842, Elementary Reading Assessment
and Instruction, I was able to dig deeper regarding the reading assessments I could
administer to my students. Before this course, I felt that I was successful at analyzing
student data and understood the areas that students were struggling with, but I didnt
necessary know what to do from there. I had a challenging time creating goals for my
students instruction to help them focus on their areas of need.
By partaking in TE 842, I was able to think critically to determine the why to
what could be causing students to struggle in certain areas, and find goals of instruction
to meet their areas of need. The Modified Cognitive Model was a very useful resource for
me to discover goals for instruction that students needed help in (McKenna, M.C. &
Stahl, K.A.D, 2009). By focusing on students individual needs and finding specific
goals for students to focus on, I am now able to differentiate the instruction I give to my
students on a deeper level and more efficiently. I am now able to promote a more diverse
learning community to my students by treating each student as an individual and giving
them the skills they need to succeed. For example, I found I could use synthetic phonics
to support letter-sound correspondence, (McKenna, M.C. & Stahl, K.A.D. (2009).

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Assessment for reading instruction (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.) and incorporate read
aloud experiences to support vocabulary instruction, (Morrow, L. M., & Gambrell, L.
(2011). Best practices in literacy instruction (4th ed.). New York: Guilford.). I can utilize
these skills while students are working in literacy workstations and I am teaching small
target centered guided reading groups, in order to differentiate instruction and support my
diverse learners.
A final piece of evidence I would like to share to portray my growing obligation
to fostering a diverse classroom community and differentiated instruction is shown in
Artifact 4 (Book Review). This artifact demonstrates how I was able to take the
information I gained from a book I read in TE 842, Elementary Reading and Assessment,
titled, Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary and Spelling Instruction, by
Donald R. Bear, Macia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, and Francine Johnson, and
implement it into my own classroom to support my diverse learners and benefit the needs
of all of my students. In my book review I write, This book is a program for students to
gain instruction based on the literacy levels (emergent, beginner, transitional,
intermediate and advanced), they are currently at, in order to gain knowledge in phonics,
vocabulary and spelling, and to move up to the next developmental level. After reading
this book in TE 842 over the summer, I knew that I wanted to use it somehow to guide
my students in phonics, vocabulary and spelling instruction. This year, as a second grade
team, we decided to assess students on their reading, writing and a spelling inventory, to
determine which developmentally appropriate group students should be placed in for
Good Fit Reading Groups. All students in second grade are separated into different
groups based on their reading needs and meet three times per week for thirty minutes.

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Although different groups have different focuses, I decided to focus my Good Fit
Reading Group on phonics, vocabulary and spelling instruction. All of my students are
at about the same developmental level. I am able to teach them first about words using
words sorts with explicit, direct instruction before students then participate in games and
activities that move towards guided practice and independent work. I have seen a positive
change in my students phonics, vocabulary and spelling skills through the use of this
program since I have started using it as an intervention. I am looking forward to seeing
how my students skills progress further throughout the school year. The skills I have
learned in TE 842 and the knowledge I gained from this book have helped me meet the
needs of my students more efficiently in order to give my students the best instruction I
can, so they can be the most successful they can be.
Throughout the courses I have taken in the MATC program and my own
classroom experiences, I have recognized that by accommodating to the differences of
my diverse learners I have been able to foster a warm and nurturing classroom
community, full of learners at all levels. By incorporating different classroom structures,
such as literacy workstations, guided reading groups, and targeted interventions, while
also integrating coursework knowledge into my own classroom, I have seen my
confidence boost. This allows me to be a more successful educator. When I am a more
successful educator, my students also become more successful, as they are receiving the
best instruction I am able to give them. I will continue to learn new strategies and gain
knowledge regarding differentiated instruction to better the needs of my students.
A secondary goal I am focusing on in order to foster a diverse learning
community for my students is collaborating with others. My personal goal focuses on

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collaborating with colleagues in my school district, classmates from my courses in the
MATC program to reflect on my own practices and learn from others, and my students
parents so that I can form a strong relationship with them. I can also collaborate in order
to analyze different issues in current policies and practices in curriculum, teaching and
learning. This personal goal correlates with MATC Standards 3, 5, and 6 and Goal 3
(MATC Program Goals and Standards, 2015).
Although I have been teaching for the past seven years, I have also taught in three
different school districts. All of these school districts have been very different; as the first
school I taught in was converting to Montessori, the second school was located in a
primarily white, rural, low socioeconomic area, and my current school district is in a
diverse, middle-class, suburban town. Throughout this time I also taught a different grade
level each year or the same grade but at a different school, including third/fourth split,
first/second split, third grade, second grade, second grade in a different school district,
third grade, and currently back to second grade. It has been difficult for me to completely
feel like a teacher leader when I have been adjusting to different school districts, their
policies and practices, and different grade levels. Throughout this process, I have learned
how incredibly important it is to collaborate with colleagues to discuss best teaching
practices, while also reflecting upon your own. Even though I have been a part of many
districts, I have gained so much knowledge from all of the different places I have taught
in and all of the different educators I have met. I believe that has allowed me to become a
stronger educator. Throughout my MATC experience, I have also found how important
collaborating with classmates truly is. I have learned tremendously through discussing
policies and practices, teaching techniques, personal experiences, etc. with my colleagues

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and working on projects and assignments together. This has truthfully shaped me into the
educator I am today. As I move forward, I believe I am finally at a spot in my career
where I will be staying in the same school district and the same grade. I hope to continue
to collaborate with my colleagues and also participate even more as a teacher leader
outside of my own classroom to enhance both my students learning and mine.
My first example of how collaboration has helped me to foster a diverse learning
community is through Artifact 5 (Controversial Issues Project). This was an assignment
that was completed in my TE 818 course, Curriculum in its Social Context. One of the
aspects of this course I especially enjoyed was collaborating with classmates. We were
assigned a partner for each theme and had the choice of working with our selected
partner, or not. For this assignment, I chose to collaborate with my assigned colleague.
One of our themes was to discuss controversial issues and how we might teach how to
discuss controversial issues in our own classroom. For this particular assignment, we
were required to come up with a made-up course that would discuss controversial issues,
including a course overview and schedule, syllabus, and course objectives. My colleague
and I decided to make-up a ninth grade civics course, where students would learn about
the introduction to government, while also discussing controversial topics that relate to
law making. The students in our made-up course also had to learn how to approach
controversial issue topics, research current controversial issues, present in front of the
class, and participate in a final presentation. My partner and I spent a great deal of time
collaborating with one another to decide how to best teach a ninth grade civics course
relating to controversial issues, which deals with current practices and policies. We had to
take the information we had read about controversial issues in our readings and

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incorporate them into our made-up classroom design to teach this topic to the best of our
abilities. This assignment not only taught me about collaborating with colleagues, but
also how I would approach teaching controversial issues in my own elementary level
classroom, while also fostering a diverse learning community.
Artifact 6 (Classroom Website) depicts an assignment in my TE 848 course,
Writing Assessment and Instruction, in which we were required to write for different
audiences. I chose to create a classroom website, and focus on the audience being my
students parents, in order to communicate and collaborate with them on a deeper level.
My classroom website consists of a classroom calendar, helpful links, specials schedule,
information regarding our reading curriculum Reading Street and math curriculum
Everyday Mathematics, our daily schedule, newsletters and information, information
about our Star of the Week program, a picture album, and a link to e-mail me, the teacher.
This assignment not only allowed me to practice writing about our curriculum and other
topics that my students parents would understand, but it also allowed me to be able to
collaborate and communicate on a deeper level with my students parents because they
now have a place to come to for resources that their child may need throughout the school
year, and a reference to go to when dealing with second grade curriculum and
information. Collaborating with my students parents has also allowed me to create a
diverse learning community of both students and parents that can rely on each other,
work together, and act as a partnership with one another.

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Conclusion
As I reflect upon the past seven years of my teaching experiences, I realize I have
grown immensely at fostering a diverse learning community for my students. As shown
in Artifacts 1-6, my growth has been due to my teaching experiences, my courses in the
MATC program, colleagues, course readings and assignments, professors, and
classmates. My ability to support diverse learners and collaborate with colleagues,
classmates, and my students parents has allowed me to foster a diverse learning
community for the students in my classroom. My own personal growth has also allowed
my students to positively grow. I am looking forward to continue to grow throughout my
teaching career and to continue my journey of learning.

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References
MATC Program Goals and Standards. (2015). MATC Portfolio Synthesis Paper Support.
Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://matcadvisor.wordpress.com/3-matcprogram-goals-and-standards/
McKenna, M.C. & Stahl, K.A.D. (2009). Assessment for reading instruction (2nd ed.).
New York: Guilford.
Morrow, L.M. , & Gambrell, L.B. (2011). Best practices in literacy instruction (4th ed.)
New York: Guilford.

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