Julie Rollins

EDUW 696
Personal Growth Reflection

I have been teaching for a total of eighteen years. I began my teaching career in a small
town catholic school. I gained a tremendous amount of teaching experience during those years;
however it was a rewarding moment when I was offered and accepted a teaching job in the
Marshfield School District. This was always a career goal of mine. After teaching in the
Marshfield School District for three years, I made the decision to earn my Masters Degree.
August 2013 was the beginning of my journey through the Masters Program at Saint Marys
University of Minnesota. This journey was one of a great deal of reflection, learning, and
making improvements. I learned a great deal from each and every one of the courses of the
program, and I truly feel that I am a more effective educator after completing this program.
EDUW 691, Professional Skills, introduced the 10-step research action process; this
process was a skill that I used for each and every one of my other courses. Being that I am the
Communication Arts teacher, the online grammar exercises were a great review of the rules and
practices of grammar. I chose to research the concept of Workshop, and I was able to
implement this teaching strategy in my classroom. Workshop is now a routine part of my daily
Communication Arts classes, and it has been a great improvement for student learning. Students
look forward to the creative assignments and activities that they work on during this part of their
class time. They enjoy being able to work cooperatively with their peers, use technology with
some of the assignments, the connection to concepts of their other core classes, and having a
choice in which activities to complete each week.
EDUW 692, Technology and Communication, showed me many technological tools of
communication that I can use to engage the students and promote learning in my classroom. It is
essential that I implement technology as an instructional tool in my classroom. I believe that in
this day and age, technology plays an important and powerful role in the lives of our students,
Julie Rollins
EDUW 696
Personal Growth Reflection

and it is part of my job, as a teacher, to ensure that students have exposure to many experiences
with technology. Some of the web tools that I found to be most interesting and that I plan to use
in my classroom are animoto, flipquiz, wordle, studyjams, classtools, quizlet, dogonews, and
webspiration. Using these web tools will boost student engagement and improve the student
learning in my classroom. Students naturally become more involved in their learning with the
use of technology when learning a new concept as well as reviewing for an assessment.
EDUW 693, Instructional Design and Assessment, was a very informative course. I
became much more informed of the Charlotte Danielson teaching model. I feel that I have a
deeper understanding of the Educator Effectiveness Evaluation System. This knowledge will
become crucial as we move into the next school year when Educator Effectiveness will be in
effect in the state of Wisconsin. I learned to more effectively use the grade level standards for
the subjects that I teach and to evaluate student proficiency levels of the standard skills. I
became much more aware of looking at the learning standards before and after the grade that I
teach to better understand the expectations and the connection from one grade to the next. This
skill then allows me to plan my instruction to best meet the students needs of the curriculums
learning targets.
EDUW 694, Classroom Environment, was very helpful in teaching me to reflect on my
classroom space, procedures of the everyday routines, the sense of belonging and community in
my classroom, and the learning environment conditions. I better understand how each of these
aspects plays an important role in positive student learning experiences. I must do what it takes
to ensure that all of these aspects are the best that they can be. I learned the importance of taking
brain breaks. One of my goals is to gather and organize a resource of brain break ideas. I plan to
create a bank of ideas written on Popsicle sticks and then store them in a decorated
Julie Rollins
EDUW 696
Personal Growth Reflection

cup/container. The brain breaks will be readily available, and students will be able to pick a
stick to randomly choose our activity. This bank of ideas will prompt me to use brain breaks
more regularly. I am more aware of the different learning styles. Some students learn best by
cooperative peer group activities, others learn best by demonstrations, and yet others learn best
by discussions. I need to ensure that my lesson plans always include a variety of teaching
strategies to best meet the needs of my students.
EDUW 695, Ethics and Issues in Education, impacted the way I approach an issue in my
classroom or school. I am much more aware of how important it is to carefully consider all the
facts, look at both sides of a situation, and then make the best decision possible. I learned about
the consequentialist and non-consequentialist perspectives and their role in the decision-making
process. I now also recognize the importance of considering filters when looking at a situation.
I must remember that not everyone views a situation the same. Students, parents, and colleagues
view things differently based on filters such as age, gender, life experiences, family
backgrounds, economic situation, work ethic, etc. After completing this course, I do feel that I
take more time to carefully and completely consider a situation before making a decision.
EDUW 699, Independent Studies, allowed me the opportunity to choose the topics that I
needed to research and develop in my classroom. The topics that I chose also connected to the
professional development workshops that I attended in the Marshfield School District. I chose
the topics of Educator Effectiveness, focusing on Domains 2 and 3; Workshop and Choice
Boards; and Writing Summative Assessments. These were all very practical learning
experiences. I became much more informed on these topics and was able to bring into my
classroom many improved teaching strategies that promoted positive student learning
experiences.
Julie Rollins
EDUW 696
Personal Growth Reflection

EDUW 696, Portfolio Production and Presentation, brings me to the end of my journey
with the Masters Program at Saint Marys University of Minnesota. This course gave me the
opportunity to truly reflect on my learning, the Wisconsin Teacher Standards, my experiences
with each of the courses, and the improvements of my classroom and instruction. The reflections
and learning throughout the entire program allowed me to make improvements and become a
more effective educator.
This program has helped me to become a better classroom teacher, a better colleague, and
a better person. The knowledge and experience that I gained from the Masters Program will
certainly keep me reflecting and making improvements to my classroom. I want students to walk
into my classroom knowing that they belong, feeling safe, and excited to gain knowledge.
Positive learning experience is the basis of my teaching philosophy. I have been able to take
back many teaching suggestions and ideas and share them with my colleagues in the Marshfield
School District. I have shared ideas with my sixth grade team at Grant Elementary as well as my
district sixth grade team. I have learned so many skills and strategies that help me to simply be a
better person. Learning to consider all the facts and looking at both sides of a situation before
making a decision is an essential skill to use beyond the classroom. Considering all different
learning styles is another skill that becomes important outside of the classroom as well. Finally,
being able to self-evaluate and reflect on progress and results is yet another skill that goes
beyond the classroom environment.
As I look to the future, one of my goals is to pursue a reading certification. This is
something that I considered to focus on for my Masters Degree, but decided to take these one
step at a time. I know that this certification is one that provides great knowledge and teaching
strategies that will be of great benefit for my current teaching situation.