Final Reflection

Amy Sorensen
CIG 697
University of Nevada Las Vegas
November 1, 2022
I came to teaching in a non-traditional way.  My undergraduate degree was in Communications

Studies and I worked as a journalist and publicist for a few years before I became a full-time

mother.  I purposely chose to be a journalist because I like teaching people things, but at that

point in my life I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a teacher in a classroom. Seven years ago I began

the Alternative Route to Licensure program through Great Basin College and taught fourth grade

while taking classes.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, mostly because I had no

idea what I was doing.  I knew how to work with children, but I didn't know how to teach

children.  I worked a lot from a place of intuition.

During a learning activity with a professional development coach my second year, I was asked

why I was doing a particular practice, and I said because it felt like the right thing to do.  While I

now know that it was a researched best practice, she told me that what we do in the classroom

should be research based and not just intuition.  This has led me to read more and more research

as I have worked with students.

When the opportunity presented itself to begin the Master's Program, I was concerned about

taking classes again, but I have found that this experience has deepened my understanding of

how to research best practices and how to actually read research.  My first class was so difficult

because I had never read research articles like we were reading before or responded the way we

were responding to text. Over the last two years I have learned to really enjoy looking for

researched ways to solve the problems I face in my classroom.

I think that one of the most impactful experiences I had was planning and executing my

practicum with students. In some ways it was so challenging. We were just getting back to

normal after COVID and my students were struggling socially as well as academically.  Working

with them and seeing growth through our efforts together was so satisfying.  Both students grew
in their reading, spelling and writing capabilities, and were better prepared to go to Middle

School.

Working on the directed learning experience I was reminded of how important it is to have

students involved in the learning process. It is so easy to “do” school to children. The research I

read was a reminder that including students in the process is essential to seeing them grow into

the learners they need to be and are capable of.

I was also saw firsthand how research can be a contradictory at times. One article I read said we

need to focus mostly on fluency and everything else will work itself out. Another article said

that fluency is great, but we also need to focus on comprehension. Working with intermediate

students, I see that fluency is only one part of the equation for students. My personal

experiences, combined with the research, suggests that while fluency is important, it is also

important to teach students specific strategies on how to comprehend text.

Working through this program has also allowed me to understand myself better as a learner.  I

think that the developmental autobiography that I wrote for my EPY 711 helped me recognize

and understand the struggles that I had as a learner growing up and has allowed me to process

some of the things that I do in learning and educational situations. It has encouraged me to find

better ways to view myself as a learner.

Looking through the artifacts, going through the textbooks and articles that have been impactful

to me through this experience, and researching the directed learning experience have allowed me

to realize how much learning I have actually done over the last two years and how much I have

grown as a learner and teacher.  It has been a great reminder of the theories that have impacted

me and the practices that I have adopted into my classroom. Some have become second nature
and I had forgotten that they were something I had learned at the beginning of this journey. 

Others are units that I have prepared and return to year after year because they were well

prepared for my student’s needs.

Ultimately, I am grateful that I have taken this journey.  It has been an amazing and exhausting

experience, but I'm grateful for the growth and experiences I have had. While I will continue to

use these skills in the classroom to benefit my students each year, it is my hope that I can find a

reading interventionist position and work with more students in one-on-one settings to help them

become better readers and writers.