Maressa C. Alsher
Michigan State University's (MSU) Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program has allowed me to grow professionally as I was challenged to think critically about education and my role within the classroom. Throughout the program, my experiences have allowed me to evolve into a more informed and thoughtful educator. The knowledge and skills I have gained have positively impacted my classroom environment.
​
I have organized my work into three categories: Research, Reflection, and Take Action. I chose these three categories because the MAED program has helped me to refine these skills, thus improving my approach to teaching and learning. In order to grow professionally, you must stay up to date with current research, reflect on how to implement this research to fit the needs of learners, and take action necessary to integrate these skills into the classroom.
​
The artifacts below demonstrate some of the skills I have fine-tuned throughout my MAED program.
​
​
​
​
​
Research
Sex-Related Implications in the Teaching & Learning of Mathematics
A passion of mine is mathematics education, and I strive to make mathematics accessible for all students in my classroom. This artifact showcases a research paper I wrote that discusses stereotypes within society that create inequities within the mathematics classroom. The research I conducted shows how I am able to use different data and viewpoints to formulate a stance on important topics.
Action Research Proposal
This action research proposal allowed me to develop a comprehensive plan for how to solve a problem within my classroom. Through research and data collection, I was able to develop a plan to better support all learners through the use of blended learning. This shows my ability to differentiate instruction through the use of technology to promote 21st century learning skills.
Reflection
Philosophy of Training and
Professional Development
This assignment is my culminating view of how I professional learning should look within education. This assignment allowed me to reflect on how I have used knowledge and collaborative opportunities to strengthen instruction. This also shows my commitment to professional life-long learning opportunities.
'Curious Minds: How a Child Becomes a Scientist' Reflection
I chose this artifact because this assignment allowed me to reflect not only on the text but also on the feedback I received in previous units. I used this feedback to refine my thoughts and improve my ability to write in a concise way. This artifact also demonstrates my ability to reflect classroom practices to continue to evolve and improve to promote growth.
Math Breakfast of Champions
This project is inspired by a monthly column in the publication Teaching Children Mathematics. Throughout TE855, this assignment received instructor and peer feedback. I chose this artifact because this collaboration and support allowed me to reflect on what I wanted my final assignment to display, and I made deliberate changes to strengthen the overall project. Some of my final reflections are added to the end of the assignment. This shows how important collaboration is to me and how I use feedback to strengthen my instructional practices.
Take Action
Literacy Case Study + Artifacts
In this case study, I combined current research, data, and my literacy experience to develop a series of lessons to support reading fluency. This final case study includes the detailed plan I used and the results of the specialized instruction provided. This shows I am able to create and implement effective plans to support the literacy needs of individual students.
Behavior Design Project
Over the course of the semester, I created this behavior design project by combining current research on behavior and data collected within my classroom to support his learning needs. This project outlines how the interventions put into place helped one student successfully access content. This also shows my commitment to building strong relationships with all students to support growth and development.
Images on this page provided by Media from Wix