Erin Brown
Elementary Special Education Teacher
Master of Arts in Education Coursework
This page is a synthesis of the work I did during my Master of Arts in Education at Michigan State University. On this page you will find a description of each course and examples of the work I completed during that course.
TE 848- Spring 2009
Methods in Writing Instruction
Instructor: Janine Certo
Writing is an important skill to have. Many students lack basic writing skills. As students, we were able to experiment with our own writing as well as look at ways to help our students with theirs. I wrote a memo about the different genres of writing that I experimented with. I also explored how daily journal writing may help students to connect with writing and improve their writing skills. I conducted a case study with a few of my students to display some of the research I found.
ED 800- Summer 2009
Concepts in Educational Inquiry
Instructor: Steven Weiland
Inquiry is an important part of education. We explored the multiple facets of studying education. We looked at the ideas and philosophies of Vivian Paley, Mary Catherine Bateson, Howard Gardner, and many others. This foundational course helped me to gain a better understanding of the career field I was delving further in to. This was a difficult course because all of the information was new to me and some of it was hard to understand. I was very impressed with my final exam in the course after my struggles early on.
TE 836- Fall 2009
Awards and Classics of Children's Literature
Instructor: Laura Apol
For a semester, we explored some children's literature that won awards and others that are considered classics. We discussed The Great Gilly Hopkins, Anne of Green Gables, and Little Women. We learned about the Caldecott Award, Newberry Medal, and Coretta Scott King Award. I had the opportunity to read books from each category, some I had never heard of. I wrote a paper discussing the themes I found in Little Women. As a final exam, I explored awards versus classics in children's literature.
TE 831- Spring 2010
Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology
Instructor: Erik Byker
Technology is advancing every day. In this course, we explored ways to use those advances in our classrooms. The course was conducted mainly on Wikispaces which was my first experience with using and posting on a wiki. I created a digital story using Photostory 3 and wrote a lesson plan with the idea of using a blog as an alternative to journal writing.
Re-purposing Technology Lesson Plan
TE 846- Summer 2010
Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Instructor: Nicole Martin
This course was meant to meet the state reading requirement for maintaining teacher certification. As a special educator, I found it to be an especially important class. Reading is difficult; for some more than others. I took this course in the summer semester, so I was not teaching. I did a literacy case study on the daughter of a friend who is a struggling reader.
CEP 818- Fall 2010
Creativity in Teaching and Learning
Instructor: Punya Mishra and Kristen Kereluik
Creativity is an important part of teaching. During this course, we explored different ways of thinking and discussed how every one thinks, but not in the same way. All of our work was submitted using a website that we designed. I chose to use Weebly as my platform and all the word I did is on the different pages of the site. We also created a multimedia version of the book we used during the course. We were in teams and my team was responsible for the section on modeling.
Sparks of Creativity Wiki- Modeling
TE 861A- Spring 2011
Teaching Science for Understanding
Instructor: Dawnmarie Ezzo
We spent this semester discussing what it means to understand science and ways we can gauge if our students are understanding what we teach them. Our goal is to always teach for understanding, but scientific concepts also prove to be difficult. I wrote a lesson plan and then used it when I conducted a tutoring session with a single student.
TE 855- Fall 2011
Teaching School Mathematics
Instructor: Kevin Simpson
In this course, we considered how best to teach mathematics for understanding. Simply memorizing facts and formulas is not the sought after method any more. I wrote a paper that explored to use of manipulatives when teaching math.
CEP 832- Spring 2012
Educating Students with Challenging Behavior
Instructor: Evelyn Oka
This course looked at the ways we can reach "tough to teach" students. Some students are hyperactive, oppositional, socially withdrawn, and face other difficulties in the classroom setting. I explored the case of a student I had recently and what could have been causing some of his behaviors.
ED 870- Fall 2012
Capstone Seminar
Instructor: Mathew Koehler
My final challenge to finish my Master of Arts in Education was to create an online portfolio that displayed samples of the work I did during my program. This website in the culmination of that effort. I wrote essays that helped me to reflect on the past, consider the future, and understand everything that this program has taught me.
