Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 1 My experience at the University of New England has taught me a lot about what enhances

student performance and learning. Throughout my coursework, I have encountered multiple theories that aligned with my own best practices and also, those that inspired me to improve my teaching. The practical application of these theories has influenced my ability to get my students closer to gaining important 21st century skills that will help them in their education and their future. In order for students to succeed as lifelong learners, especially in the 21st Century, they must be motivated to learn new skills that will help them navigate through the wealth of information that our modern world has to offer. Teachers play an important role in helping students become motivated, yet it is up to the students themselves to truly feel this motivation. The Self-Determination Theory of Motivation aids teachers in reaching the most challenging students in terms of motivation, the amotivated student, whom is described as having little motivation, belief in oneself, and belief in the imperativeness of getting an education. (Anderman, Eric M., 2010). This theory coincides with my personal feelings that empowering and encouraging students to feel confident in themselves is a factor in helping improve performance. When a student feels unable to be successful with a lesson, it is easy for he or she to lose motivation. The way that teachers can combat this is by creating lessons that pique the interests and utilize the talents of different types of learners. As stated by Anderman (2010), Care must be taken to ensure that all students can maintain a focus on engagement and improvement and can avoid becoming selfconscious and focusing on their performance relative to others. If students are assigned

Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 2 different types of tasks in a way that reflects your assumptions about different students abilities, the differentiated tasks might actually reinforce students perceptions of ability differences. This means that differentiation must be used with care and specific analysis. Overall, in my practice, I have found it best to allow students to choose when using differentiation rather than assign based on ability. With older students (I teach high school) this is especially true. Also, by giving students choice, it motivates them to take ownership of their learning. Another theory of motivation that places emphasis on encouragement and empowerment is the Attribution Theory of Motivation. This theory is helpful when students lack confidence in their abilities; those students who have tragic misconceptions about their own intelligence. It is detrimental to help these students get over these misconceptions so that they may be able to succeed in future endeavors. I personally believe that if teachers fail to help these students, it is as if we are losing possible brilliant minds that could move and change the future for the better. The job of the teacher is to find ways to show that student that he or she is capable, thus improving his or her performance and giving him or her the confidence necessary to succeed the next time they encounter a similar situation. As stated by Jaime Bempechant (1999), when students have a conviction that they lack ability, it is necessary to take steps to circumvent or overcome this conviction.It is difficult to alter this conviction. Changing this conviction is tantamount to altering the learner's self-concept, and this cannot be accomplished in a short time. Bempechant suggests some ways to begin accomplishing this goal, including: find areas in which the learner perceives himself or

Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 3 herself as successful, and show connections between that areaFocus heavily on effort as the factor critical to success. This is why I provide multiple choices for many of my lessons, allowing students to see that their own talents are valuable and can be applied to more learning experiences than they may initially think. This is another reason why I also believe in encouraging students, noticing their talents, and discussing their success with them. Reflecting on successful moments with students helps them to recognize their own strengths and develop their confidence in them. In my experience, keeping students achieving success engages them in learning. This theory of motivation in practical application has greatly improved my classroom management. I have had multiple experiences where students who are capable, but who face these misconceptions about their own abilities, act out and behave inappropriately as a mechanism to avoid participating in learning. To deal with this, I have created activities where those students would find success. Not only does it help that student gain the confidence necessary to stay motivated, it helps the entire classroom community, because he or she is focused on learning and not acting out. Even within the context of a lesson, when I explain or help them find connections between their own talents and what they are being asked to do, this has helped in the same manner. It has been proven to me time and again in my own practice and confirmed in the research I have done in the UNE program that interactivity keeps students engaged in learning and provides them with a deeper learning experience. I continue to be inspired by what I see in my own classroom when I integrate the arts into my lessons. My research has shown me an abundance of evidence that proves this is true of many

Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 4 different classrooms. Moreover, by integrating the arts into lessons, students are given visual and audio components of their reading, which helps them delve further into details, figurative language, and meaning in the texts. The use of the arts in lessons and especially acting out a text helps struggling and reluctant readers to fully engage in improving their literacy skills. (Jane Certo and Wayne Brinda, 2011). Furthermore, all students gain a deeper understanding of the text. The use of theatre and visual aids in the classroom makes logical sense and applies to 21st Century best practices. Students of todays world are consistently looking at screens to find information, to socialize, to keep up with current events, etc. In todays world, students are more comfortable and familiar with visual representations. This is where theatre comes in, providing students with a window into the emotions, descriptions, and action of the plot of a text. The characters are right there in front of them, experiencing the conflicts of the text before their very eyes. The combination of reading and theatrical representations gives students a multi-sensory experience to help them engage in relating to the text. Additionally, it helps students to see the many facets that go into making a good story. Finally, my strong beliefs in Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences has continued to be strengthened through my graduate school experience. This is because Garnders theory must be recognized in orer to achieve the underlying goals of education. As Carol Ann Tomlinson puts it, Developing academically responsive classrooms is important for a country built on the twin values of equity and excellence. (1999). Gardners theory is intricate and has multiple dimensions. He put enormous efforts into

Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 5 formulating it. However, it does not necessarily take much time to understand it. The MI theory is really quite simple and logical. Everyone learns in different ways and possesses different strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, to be equitable and most effective, teachers should give students opportunities to exercise various thinking skills through authentic tasks and collaboration wherein students can help one another exercise these thinking skills. This all makes perfect sense, because these skills are the ones that students absolutely must have in order to be productive, thoughtful members of society. Its hard to imagine trying to reach these goals without considering MI. Simply put, its just good teaching. There is a myriad of evidence to support Gardners theory, yet the most important evidence I have is my own experience in my own classroom. As Tomlinson (2009) notes, The nature of teaching requires doing. There's not much time to sit and ponder the imponderables. To a point, that's fineand, in any case, inevitable. A reflective teacher can test many principles from everyday interactions in the classroom. In other words, philosophy can derive from action. This considered, it is especially hard to imagine a teacher who doesnt use differentiation or regard the importance of MI. All one must do is try it to see how effective it is. I am an advocate of differentiation in everyday classroom use. Differentiation is implemented effectively when students are engaged in learning experiences that guide them to make developments in areas of weakness and enrich their existing strengths. This aligns perfectly with the use of MI. The theory of MI is also present and impacting in the work of the teacher outside of the classroom. My students and I reflect on their learning often, because it is valuable for them to recognize

Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 6 their own strengths and weaknesses. I also reflect on myself as both a teacher and a learner. By being aware of my own intelligence strengths and weaknesses, I am able to be most effective in teaching with the MI theory. For example, I have a strong sense of musical intelligence and I love integrating music into my English lessons. However, being aware of this helps me to remind myself that not everyone shares this intelligence strength. I can be sure to include a variety of teaching methods that reach the understanding of all my students. I also recognize my weaknesses and I make efforts to strengthen them. I do so to continue my progress as a lifelong learner and to serve as a model for my students. I truly believe in implementing Gardners theory, because it helps foster a learning community in the classroom. In addition, it helps teachers to provide students with learning opportunities that will be useful in their futures. My experience at UNE has given me many new skills to improve my teaching and help all students gain 21st century skills. My classroom management has great improved from my use of differentiation and my knowledge of motivation. I realize that the more I learn about teaching, the more opportunities I have to try new practices and evaluate their effectiveness. This experience has motivated me to become a lifelong learner even more than I already am. I now see the importance of continuing to learn new theories of education and apply them to help students learn more effectively into the future.

References

Caitlyn Squires Final Reflection 7 Anderman, Eric M. and Anderman, Lynley Hicks (2010.) Classroom motivation (1st edition). Pearson Merrill Prentice-Hall. Bempechat, Janine. (1999) Learning from poor and minority students who succeed in school: childrens views on success and failure have a big impact on their learning. Harvard Education Letter. 15(3) Certo, Janine & Brinda, Wayne. (2011) Bringing literature to life for urban adolescents: artistic, dramatic instruction and live theatre. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 45(3). Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (1999) Mapping a route toward differentiated instruction. Educational Leadership, 57(1).