Leah Segrin's Professional Portfolio

Critically Thinking and in Pursuit of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness

by Leah Segrin

March 2013



          These past few years, I have learned so much about myself as an individual, and have grown as a teacher, a leader, a worker, a lover, and a citizen. I believe this new self-awareness and professional growth was possible mainly because the critical thinking skills I developed in the online Masters of Arts in Education Degree program at Michigan State University. Along the journey of formal online learning, I was invited to look deep into my values, my priorities, my strengths, needs, and my unique learning process. I was taught to ask questions, seek out truth, and make connections. Although I have so much more to learn and a lifetime of growth ahead of me, I believe I am a stronger person now because of the critical self-reflection I endured.
          It is so suiting that for my final graduate-level paper, I am asked to write a synthesis of all my work throughout the incredible journey. I’ve engaged in synthesis constantly during my education at Michigan State, and have come to realize it is a process which is usually pain staking but extremely fulfilling. Though utilizing different mediums, every course in the MAED program challenged me to synthesize—to take in diverse information (through a variety of genres), reflect upon it, make sense of it while referencing my own inimitable experiences, and then create a connected written response (in a variety of genres). My writing was often published for my peers and professors to analyze, which kept me accountable for my performance. Now, in the Capstone Seminar, I have the wonderful opportunity to look back on my work—to see the evolution of my thinking and to revisit the elements that were part of the whole journey.

How My Journey of Self-Discovery Begins



          In the Fall 2009, while living in Washington D.C., I decided I wanted to pursue a Masters in education. By January 2010 I had begun taking courses in a Masters in Elementary Education (PK-6) Degree Program at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. I completed 12 credits while I held the position of Assistant Director at an Early Childhood Learning Center and High School and Middle School Athletics Coach at a Virginia Independent School. My Master’s coursework at Marymount University was providing me very valuable information about education that I have was able to apply directly to my experiences in teaching. However, when a new Preschool teaching opportunity arose and I moved to another part of the city, commuting to classes became unreasonable. I was forced to reconsider the format of my Master’s study.

The Benefits of Online Learning



          A good friend of mine had begun her Masters degree online so I chose to investigate online programs that were suited to my interests—teaching, learning, and leading. I felt an online format would allow me to continue my study even if my life brought about another geographical change. I began online coursework in the MAED program at Michigan State in Fall 2011. When I reflect back on my journey of online formal education, I am reminded of all that the online format allowed me to do. With the flexibility of a virtual classroom, I was able to continue teaching and coaching while pursuing my Masters degree. Conflicts of time and interests were fewer. And in the past ten months, I was able to travel to places across the United States, as well as change teaching positions, and move multiple times, all while continuing my education. My degree is proof that education does not have to precede professional work but can enhance it as it is unfolding. It also serves as testimony that life does not have to be put on hold just because you are earning a Master’s degree.
          Besides the flexibility it promised, I knew an online program would create opportunities in learning and practicing new technologies. My inclination was right for I was introduced to a great amount of learning technologies, publication venues, and communication networks that I can use in my teaching and beyond. I received “more bang for my buck”, as the saying goes. The MAED concentrations I chose were Literacy in Education and PK-12 and Postsecondary School Leadership, but it always seemed like I had a third concentration—revolved around learning new technologies.
          As I talked to people in my life about the online delivery of the MAED program, I found that a large number of people are skeptical of the benefits of online learning. Many of my friends and acquaintances admitted to taking an online course in their recent study, but had negative experiences. Some people reported that the online class was too much reading and some said they needed a physical space to meet in order to stay motivated, while others devalued a self-paced structure. On the contrary, my experiences in online learning have been enriching and heavy with benefits. I too found that online courses involved more reading than a teacher-directed lecture course. However, I am grateful for the increase in exposure to text for I feel reading is crucial to the learning process. And to those who claimed they need a physical classroom to attend—I can describe the diversity of beautiful, comfortable spaces where I worked towards completing assignments (The Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Central Florida, for example). I simply carried my resources and computer wherever I went, and my “classroom” was where I wanted and needed it to be. When my work required Internet connection, it wasn’t hard to find. Most restaurants, libraries, hotels, and personal homes have wireless capabilities. And as I know well, flexible learning environments make for truly unique experiences.
          The online program also afforded me a variety of ways I could get to know my peers and professors more intimately then I ever have in a traditional classroom. For starters, we typically introduced ourselves at the beginning of the course with a biography or presentation using new technologies—which I found a lot more thorough then something like a superficial “name-game”. Often we were encouraged to read each other’s writing and help with improvements or to read other’s work once we had submitted it. This gave us the ability to learn more about our peer’s individual experiences and inner feelings as well as presented opportunity to receive thoughtful feedback from peers and professors alike. Throughout the MAED program there were many projects that required me to meet with peers for conversation on technologies such as www.skype.com. We were able to share ideas, ask each other thoughtful questions, and increase each other’s cultural understanding of the world through email correspondence and classroom discussion boards. My peers were scattered around the globe and I got to hear about teaching experiences from Germany, Columbia, Korea, Japan, Michigan, and more. Class blogs and chat rooms gave us the platforms to communicate and collaborate synthesized information with one another, which brought insight on the miraculous ways we can interrupt information differently based on our diverse backgrounds. We did not rely on only the Instructor to teach us everything. We learned from ourselves and we learned from the experience of our peers and the models of their hard work.
          The “Capstone Seminar” (ED 870) has given me invaluable guidance in web developing and publishing. I had always felt my BFA in Graphic Design was incomplete because it lacked training in website design. Developing an online portfolio in ED 870 felt like a natural continuation of my Graphic Design training. I have newly restored confidence in my design abilities and hope to design more websites in the near future.

The Courses, the Literature, and the Instructors that Impacted My Learning and the 

Themes That Were Found Throughout



           As I made progress in my degree, I began to notice common themes growing in importance. My personal philosophy of life and education were evolving and I was acting more consciously in my teaching, coaching, and interactions with others. I grew more passionate about guiding people to think critically—to analyze and evaluate information taken from their observations and experience of others, to reflect and communicate, and synthesize. The culmination of readings I was immersed in, the conversations I had with fellow teachers, and the feedback I received on my performance as a student, leader, and teacher, all played a role in my developing critical mind. This all came with an expanding passion for learning and growing. When I looked back on my work in the MAED program, common themes of effective teaching and learning were found both in my Literacy and School Leadership concentrations. The concept of acceptance, love, and trust were highlighted in the content of each course. The importance of self-reflection was confirmed behind every door I opened. Early on in the program, I made the connection that student motivation plays a large role in academic success. After that realization I began to find strategies for increasing motivation to learn, imbedded in the text of every course.
          Although I am tempted to reference all the materials that influenced my growing passion for learning, my thinking, and my current beliefs, it would be an impossible feat. It would be too cumbersome to mention every book, case study, blog post, video, article, statistic, conversation, etc. I was exposed to, which in combination have changed my outlook on life. The journey of my Master’s Degree is a large story to tell. Instead, I will mention the courses that made the greatest impact, the literature that has played the largest roles in my current philosophy, and the instructors who were most effective in changing my priorities as an educator.
         

 

           A course called “Concepts of Educational Inquiry” (ED 800) was a requirement of the MAED program, and boy, am I glad it was. The content of the course was extremely fulfilling—the six units incorporated philosophical, psychological, biological, historical, biographical, methodological, and even ethnographical concepts of education. This inclusion of a number of fields in connection with learning truly exemplified a valuable interdisciplinary educational experience. I feel that interdisciplinary units are extremely effective and I plan to create more of my own interdisciplinary units to implement in my teaching.
          The required and supplemental text in ED 800 also demonstrated wonderfully, multiple ways in which we can learn. This course reconfirmed for me that there is no “right way” or “one way” of learning. We studied the educational philosophies of John Dewey, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to name a few—all with different approaches, but all effective leaders and educators of their era and still influential people today. I began to see that effective education is dependent on relevancy of the time, place, and the individual person. In his book, A Passion for Learning (a reading requirement for ED 800), Philip Cusick speaks of the great value of personalized education by discussing the unique educational lives of  “seven eminent Americans”—Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Adams, W.E.B. Du Bois, Eleanor Roosevelt, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Dorothy Day. The lives of these influential Americans serve as evidence that learning does not have to occur in a school or institution but motivation to learn is essential. This concept has allowed my ideas for learning opportunities to branch out into all aspects of the human life. I have considered new ways of learning that incorporate a variety of modern technologies as well as an alternative—an “off the grid” learning experience that could be equally, if not more beneficial. Wherever I go, and whatever I do, I will always be looking for ways to motivate people to learn.
          Although focused on different methods of inquiry, the course material pointed to cultural relevancy and modeling, as best practices for effective teaching and learning, and critical thinking, as a way of life. There were two books in particular, that have been stuck in my thoughts this past year, swirling around, and dropping messages in my actions and writing ever since reading them. First was, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Twenty-First Century, by Harvard University Professor, Howard Gardner. While reading, I was challenged to look within my own self to question my virtues and ultimately come-to-terms with my purpose in life. I want to “learn and teach for understanding” like Gardner suggested. I examined my own perceptions of truth and beauty and discovered that neither is “set-in-stone”. Truth is ever changing and if based around our senses like Gardner stated, is different for each person. We must be open to all information yet be critical of its validity. In a world that is saturated with words of it’s people (thanks to modern technology) we must be strong in our individual journey towards truth, thinking critically about our own experiences and how they converse with the story of everything we encounter.
          According to Gardner, beauty also is in “the eyes of the beholder”, giving reason to his suggestion that everyone develop their own personal portfolio of things they find beautiful—in order to preserve the individuals definition of beauty—once again, demonstrating the importance of critical thinking. In both realms of truth and beauty, I came to appreciate, rather than discount, alternative ways and conflicting thoughts, as I matured these past few years. Which is why I was relieved to read Gardner’s statement, “those with flexible minds, with open minds, are at a distinct advantage overall” (2011, pg. 183).
          Reading and re-reading Gardner’s discussion of “goodness” is where I believe I made the greatest transformation in my thinking. I was forced to consider what I believe is universally good and asked to admit whether I’ve personally lived up to that model. It was difficult to revisit the instances when I disregarded moral codes. However, instead of dwelling on my past mistakes, I committed myself to always moving forward and staying aware of the consequences of my actions. Every choice we make has a consequence—and it up to us to be conscious of that consequence in order to form increasingly better judgments over time. With the young children I teach now (2-6 year olds), this is especially important.
          I knew Gardner had influenced my personal and professional life, but it wasn’t until I looked back at his words during this reflection, that I saw a specific example of how I was implementing his philosophies. Gardner wrote, “The good worker constantly interrogates herself about what it means to be responsible; seeks to behave in that way; and attempts, as we all should, to admit her failings and thereafter to correct course” (2011, pg. 88). I found that I have incorporated this time-consuming practice into my professional and personal life and I spend a lot of my day considering how I can improve everything I do and say.
         

 

          During my periods of self-reflection, I often revisit the foundations of learning Mary Catherine Bateson laid out in her book, Peripheral Visions: learning along the way—another reading requirement for ED 800 (Concepts of Educational Inquiry). Bateson discussed the value of experiential learning and described how we can and should travel through our lives as participant observers—“looking, listening, and learning” (1994, pg. 11). I employed this strategy in my many travels this past year and by noting my observations and documenting the experiences with photographs, I was better able to show others how they too, could become participant observers. I have demonstrated my eagerness to go into unfamiliar places, for I know there is a learning opportunity waiting. For those who tell me they feel uncomfortable trying something new, I let them know that I too feel vulnerable during times of change, but the learning experience makes it worth the risk. Furthermore, I am hopeful that our society will soon be ready to reconsider the structure of formal schooling, for I believe what Bateson said is true—“a society of many traditions and cultures can be a school of life” (1994, pg. 8). Learning does not need to occur in the institution. We can be “learning from strangers” and “learning from experience” (11) and begin to live in ambiguity—“a life that requires constant learning” (1994, pg. 13).
           Multi-cultural education was a major theme in Bateson’s book and it has engulfed a large sector of my educational philosophy. Bateson believes, as I now do, that children should be exposed to alternative ways of thinking early on, so they are not later trapped in the delusion that there is only “one-way” of doing or thinking. I have seen recently, the ugliness that exists when a man is firmly convinced that his way is the only way. To diffuse this destructive behavior in our society, I am committed to consciously modeling an approach to learning that celebrates differences, that encourages creativity and curiosity, and incorporates self-reflection. If I want my students to continue on their journey of self-discovery with an open-heart and open-mind, I must demonstrate these acts of love myself. If I want my students to grow increasingly more comfortable with change and gain tools to help adapt to evitable change, then I must too model a willingness to change, and a willingness to question what has been “taken for granted”.

 

 

          The instructor of ED 800, Professor Nate Clason, played a large role in the impact the course had on me. He put less emphasize on the grade each essay earned and more priority on the process of thinking that occurred during each unit. He accomplished this by responding to each of my six synthesis essays, with a thoughtful, relevant critique that was almost equal in length to the essays I had written. The time and effort I saw Professor Clason put in to his responses, displayed a dedication to the improvement of my work that was nothing short of inspiring. He was careful to point out my strengths and artfully articulated how and where I could improve. He challenged me to expand my thinking beyond the confines of the course assignments by asking me critical questions. And, he increased my understanding of synthesis by modeling quality reflective writing.
          Learning through modeled behavior was an on-going theme in all of my courses. Within the content of my School Leadership concentration, it was revealed that Leaders who lead by good example were far more respected than leaders who took an authoritative approach. I read thousands of pages of research in my Literacy in Education concentration. And just about every research-based best-practice strategy involved modeling the skill being taught.

 

           My instructor for the course, “Writing Assessment and Instruction” (TE 848) is a great example of modeling put into practice. Professor Kati Macaluso consciously modeled critical thinking and synthesis writing each week in a reflection of the recent collection of student work and conversation. During the unit where we tested the waters of multi-genre writing, Professor Macaluso made sure to supply examples of her own writing, including a narrative essay and a “where I am from” poem she had created. She encouraged us to seek out attractive models of other genres as well, as a way of learning how to become a multi-genre writer. Probably the most admirable modeling she displayed, was her insistence that she was a learner amongst us. It was clear she believed that we are all lifetime learners. What better way to spread that insight, then by modeling the life-style?
           Professor Macaluso wasn’t the only impactful element of TE 848. The course opened my eyes to new possibilities in learning through writing, and it prompted a new motivation to try writing in a variety of genres. During the course, we were asked to examine our own writing process and then write about our revelations. We were expected to reflect upon the new awareness of our unique writing practices and compare them to the research-based theories of what the writing-process should generally look like. By analyzing my own writing process, I learned a lot about my writing habits, my strengths and my fears. I found that I spent the majority of my time in the prewriting stage, leaving little or no time for adequate revision or rewriting. However, through the content of the course, I developed an understanding of the rewriting stage and the integral role it plays in meaningful writing—knowledge I plan to share with my future writing students. I began to manage my schedule to include ample time in the rewriting stage of the writing process. For the first time, TE 848 made me feel like an actual writer.  My motivation to write has increased now that I understand writing as a process rather than a product. I’ve gained confidence as I increased my practice in writing. Even more, the course gave me confidence in my capabilities to guide others to create meaningful writing too.

 

 

          When I imagine breeding critically thinking writers and life-long learners, cultural relevant teaching and differentiated learning come to my mind. My eyes were opened to the damaging effects standardized tests and current accountability demands have on literacy during the MAED course, “Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners” (TE 846). My experience has shown me that people have different interests and unique strengths and needs. I am grateful to have acquired research-based differentiated learning strategies in TE 846 that I can utilize in my teaching. Using the strategies that will best accommodate an individual learner, I can help build the learner’s faith that success is possible with hard work. Along with the differentiated learning strategies that build confidence, I plan to cultivate a general motivation to learn among my students. A culturally relevant pedagogy has been proven to improve student outcomes. In the course, “Diverse Students and Families” (EAD 822), I became aware of the gross inequality that exists in our society. I can’t help but feel sympathy for the minorities and disabled that have to start with “a smaller deck of cards”, so to speak. However, I am hopeful that with culturally relevant pedagogy practices and differentiated learning opportunities, even the marginalized can make academic improvement.

The Universal Tools I Have Acquired Along the Way



          It is hard to believe that three years have past since I began my Masters degree journey. When I applied to Marymount University in Fall 2009, I had no idea that I would actually receive my degree through an online format from Michigan State University. I am proud of my success over the years. And I am honored to receive my Masters degree this Spring 2013 as a Spartan. I credit the MAED online program for instilling in me, a deep passion for learning. The concentrations I chose, Literacy in Education and PK-12 School and Postsecondary Leadership, have been directly applicable to my work in Early Childhood Education and Leadership roles, improving my effectiveness as an Educational Leader. I know, the development of my critical thinking skills, will be useful in a variety of positions. In addition, much of what I learned was not age specific. Instead, universal themes, regarding the nature of human beings in general, were the focus. I gained knowledge and practice in current learning technologies. I learned how to think critically and synthesize. I have grown more accepting of difference, to where I now find beauty in difference. I possess a large tool-belt filled with differentiated learning strategies to use in my literacy teaching. And I have an understanding for what makes an effective leader. All of these tools will help guide me in future teacher/leader opportunities. I feel prepared and able to address the needs of diverse learners. I am dedicated to a life of learning as I see myself as a participant observer, always looking, listening, and learning. I will seek out learning opportunities wherever I go. So bring on those wonderful experiences!
          In Truth, Beauty, Goodness Reframed, Howard Gardner stated, “Few people will explicitly state as their objective the pursuit of truth, beauty and goodness” (2011, pg.165). Well Mr. Gardner, I can honestly say that for the rest of my life, I will be in pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.

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References

Bateson, M. C. (1994) Peripheral Visions: learning along the way. New York, NY: HarperCollins.



Cusick, P.A. (2005) A Passion for Learning: The Education of Seven Eminent Americans. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

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Gardner, H. (2011) Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Twenty-First Century. New York, NY: Basic Books.