Running head: REFLECTION POINT 5

Reflection Point 5
Natalie Beals
George Mason University

REFLECTION POINT 5

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Reflection Point 5

As change agents, teachers have the unique role and responsibility to make changes for
the better in their teaching environments. Students enter school with various backgrounds in
education, culture, language, emphasis on education, and abilities. Teachers have the
responsibility to change their practices to best benefit the students and the school. EDUC 615,
Educational Change, is aimed at helping teachers to recognize areas needing improvement in
their schools and to take leadership roles within their school buildings to effect these changes.
The assessments for this coursethe Equity Audit, the Policy Brief, and the Action
Planaddressed specific Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning (ASTL) Learning
Outcomes: that teachers become members of learning communities, that they account for the
needs of culturally, linguistically, and cognitively diverse learners, that they become change
agents, teacher leaders, and partners with their colleagues, and that they use technology to
facilitate student learning and their own professional development (GMU, 2014, p. 3). The
Equity Audit sparked these studies with a closer look at the inner workings of my school and the
environment in which my students learn. The audit required me to explore different aspects of
my school that I previously had not considered, like its consideration of gender identity and
sexual orientation, or that I had never considered closely, like the math performance disparities
between boys and girls. Once differences, tendencies, and inequities had been observed in my
school building, the course provided me with the learning community of my class, with whom I
could share my findings and posit ways of addressing them.
In accounting for the needs of diverse learners and becoming a change agent, the policy
brief and action plan challenged me to look beyond the workings of my own classroom and to
explore inequitable situations in math at my school. Having identified an area of inequity in
gender performance in math, I delved into researching this issue at the state, national, and even
global level. Because I had limited background knowledge of math policies and procedures in
my school, this was a step outside my comfort zone. I was not sure how the math teachers in my
school would react to an English teacher pointing out a potential inequity that I observed in
math. What I realized, however, was that the teachers with whom I spoke were glad I had
pointed out the sharp differences between male and female math performance: they had not
crunched the numbers themselves, but they were grateful that someone had. The accompanying
action plan to the policy brief prompted me to take a stand as a teacher leader in my school.
While the lofty goals of the action plan may not be something that the administration adopts for
next year, the plan itself presents a starting point from which to further explore and reduce (if not
eliminate) these inequities in math performance.
The readings throughout this course, from the discussion of professional capital in
Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) to the explanations of equity from Spring (2012) and Wheatley
(2009), advised on ways in which I can better address the needs in my school of both students
and teachers. Through discussion board posts and communicating with critical friends, I was
able to participate in a learning community that helped me to better reach my own students. I
dont always take advantage of the wealth of experience that is present among my colleagues,

REFLECTION POINT 5

and working with the individuals in this course has helped me to see the benefits of accruing
Hargreaves and Fullans (2012) social capital, or an atmosphere of conversation and a sharing of
ideas about teaching and improving learning within the school. As a result of this course, I hope
that I will continue to seek areas needing improvement in my school, but that I will also share
discuss these areas with my colleagues so that we may work together to create a learning
environment in which all students are reached.

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References

George Mason University (GMU). (2014). ASTL Student Handbook 2014-2015. Retrieved May
7, 2015 from http://gse.gmu.edu/advanced-teaching-studies/
Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every
school. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Spring, J. (2012). American education (15th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Wheatley, M. (2009). Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future
(2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.