The following are examples of work that I did in the Masters of Education program from 2016 to 2018. During the span of my 18 months in the program, I finished two concentrations: one in literacy and the other in adult education. I also completed a separate certificate in adult education. The below examples of work, all from this program, showcase the following facets of my development as well as the importance of those facets:
Learning: These assignments showcase original learning of skills. Each of them involve methods that were new to me and their successful application. As a life-long learner I feel it is important to continue to learn and to built upon my learning. Life-long learning is key in today's society, which requires continual improvement.
Technology: These assignments showcase the integration on technology into my work and learning. Technology is a such a large part of our lives that it needs to part of the classroom as it gives context to learners who are used to using technology in their daily lives.
Professional Development: The assignments in this section involve assignments that are directly related to my work contexts. Each of the assignments in this section was specifically created to solve a problem at work. All of them are examples of not only my ability to solve problems but also to use project-based learning principles in my work.
Learning: These assignments showcase original learning of skills. Each of them involve methods that were new to me and their successful application. As a life-long learner I feel it is important to continue to learn and to built upon my learning. Life-long learning is key in today's society, which requires continual improvement.
Technology: These assignments showcase the integration on technology into my work and learning. Technology is a such a large part of our lives that it needs to part of the classroom as it gives context to learners who are used to using technology in their daily lives.
Professional Development: The assignments in this section involve assignments that are directly related to my work contexts. Each of the assignments in this section was specifically created to solve a problem at work. All of them are examples of not only my ability to solve problems but also to use project-based learning principles in my work.
Learning
This assignment was designed to help a student improve one of competency that ESL (English as Second Language) learners need. I worked with "Martin" to improve his knowledge of metastrategies (which one?) to improve his vocabulary retention. At the end of our three one hour sessions, “Martin” had retained 95% of the words and was able to identify, explain and use the words in sentences. These strategies have also helped me my university and adult education classes. For example, using repetition strategies has helped the students in my freshman English class retain work-related vocabulary.
|
The above is a culmination of the work that I did to improve my writing. I created a lesson for my students to assess their ability to write. The goal was to create a love of writing in students who typically wrote only five paragraph essays. The assignment showed me how to revise, rewrite and continue work that was gradually more complex in nature. More importantly, it led to a number of changes in student writing. The students created longer pieces of writing, culminating in their own short story collection.
|
I struggled with this paper due to a lack of knowledge coming into the class. However, the information I learned about power dynamics made me a more effective program developer. I have been able to use this in my current practice contexts to empower teachers to make choices that affect their students. Creating a paradigm in which people get to share their opinions but also fit within a system allows for better ideas and better motivated teachers.
|
Technology
Minecraft |
Language Heritage |
Teacher Inquiry Project |
The above project showed me how to integrate technology into my classroom and how simple games could be repurposed to help learners. This project has helped several students practice for the OPIc (Oral Proficency Interview by Computer) test at YC College. The test asks them to describe rooms or other areas in detail. The Minecraft app allows them to design their own rooms and challenge each other. This type of formative assessment gives the students at YC College as much practice as they need and has increased motivation as it gamifies what can be a stressful process. I have challenged students to gamify other types of learning which has led to projects such as playing "Go Fish" to learn some or any.
|
The project that can be accessed below was a difficult assignment for me because it forced me to use research principles in ways I had never used them before- on myself. It allowed me to reflect upon myself and what I thought I knew about my family. In the classroom, this has been helpful as I have asked students to find out more about themselves as well by using the same methods. The research methods that I used have been transferred to my students and allowed them to create their own presentations. As Korean universities diversify this is a good way for me to learn more about my students and also to help give them a voice in the classroom.
|
The goal of the assignment was to put together a presentation with a number of visuals to represent information being conveyed. I had never thought of this as writing before. I later used this idea in my class as well as in professional development to generate more writing in the classroom but in non-traditional ways. It has increased output from students who struggled to create work. This type of assessment allows for cycles of feedback, which allows students to improve while also taking chances. Students enjoy this type of project because it allows them to communicate their ideas in a way that is comfortable for them . Over time, it improves fluency as well as the complexity of ideas.
|
Professional Development
The making of good assessments is one of the most important skills in education. During multi-week project, I learned to create a checklist that can be used to create formative assessments that are responsive to student needs. This assessment format and its antecedent, Design for Understanding by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, are the basis for all formative assessments in my classes as well those in other high level classes at YC College. The practices used in this paper have been used to create formative assessments that challenge students to communicate, assess each other, and create cycles of feedback.
|
The paper below uses active learning principles to facilitate the creation of more dynamic lessons. Educators often struggle to create conversation in the target language. The goal of the workshop discussed in the paper is to showcase small group strategies that teach facilitators about adult learning principles and how to leverage their students experience into a steady conversation that will improve outcomes. This has improved fluency and problem solving skills. The picture above shows students working in jigsaw groups to solve various scenarios which they will then present to the whole group.
|
Over the past two years, YC College has more than doubled the number of students that attend the institute. It has also begun running camps at various universities around Busan. This has been possible because an adherence to the principles of adult learning found in the paper below. Facilitators have learned how to use the principles of andragogy (adult learning). The works of Malcolm Knowles (1980) led instructors to respect learners and focus on skills that were of immediate use to them. By holding workshops about Marilyn Taylor's idea disorientation (1987), we have been able to improve retention of students and, in turn, learning outcomes for those students.
|
All images on this page are owned by the author except cover illustration of Understanding by Design, which is from Amazon.com.