Vonnahme Master’s Portfolio 1

Professionalism

Samantha Vonnahme

ED 698 Master’s Portfolio Spring 2024

University of Alaska Southeast

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It seems the more I learn about teaching, the more my sense of knowing decreases. It is

common for me to participate in a professional development (PD) training and end up feeling as

though I am the worst teacher in the world. Such an outcome is surely not the intention of any

professional development course, but it has become a common personal expectation. One

might suppose that such a reaction would cause me to hold a deeply negative stance

concerning professional development, but there is a second outcome that shifts my attitude

towards one of begrudging optimism.

Professional learning, whether it comes through district-required trainings, academic

texts, collaboration with coworkers, conversations with mentors, social media educator

influencers, podcasts, etc., always makes me ask questions; they make me curious. The

sampling of notes I have taken during district PD sessions are littered with my questions. For

example: “She started with a 2 min. timer. Do I need this little or could we do more?”, “Mine

[groups] have been the same all year. Do I need to do some switching?”, “Liberty says it has to

be meaningful. Does it?”, “CLAIM rhyming doesn’t make a difference. But what about word

families?”, “I have done this right away—but is it better to wait?”, or “Is this type of classroom

possible when behaviors are present?”

In part, the questions I ask are the instigating factor behind anything positive that

happens in my teaching. I am deeply reflective—perhaps to a fault—but these questions force

me to constantly evaluate what happens in the classroom. Every day brings a fresh example of

how this plays out with my students. A first-grade girl recently showed up at the door of my

classroom after the rest of her classmates were geared up and ready to go outside. Flustered, I

reprimanded her for not being ready like the rest of the class. She explained that she hadn’t
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been able to find any snow pants to borrow at the front office. I snapped that we had some in

the class and that she needed to be out of the room by the end of my bathroom break. Even on

the short walk to the bathroom I began chastening myself for such a reaction. Had I not asked

this same student to take more initiative when she needed to borrow gear and to do so

independently? My rough impatience likely left her bewildered and embarrassed. Later, I was

able to apologize.

This example of my failure to pause and assess before I let my gut reaction get the

better of me can be applied not only to interactions with my students, but those I have with

parents, coworkers, and the community. It can be easy to jump to conclusions and humbling to

admit those conclusions were incorrect. While a miscommunication might be simple to address

and mitigate with kids who often easily forgive, a miscommunication among adults can go

effortlessly awry. In my second year of teaching, I remember observing the newest member of

our kindergarten team and being appalled at his classroom management techniques. I spent

the majority of the year looking disdainfully down my nose at the state of his classroom and the

frequent screams emitted therein—though my own PD notes reveal I was experiencing

behavior issues of my own. At the end of the year, I found out that the students in his class

were performing heads and shoulders above my own group. When I actually took the time to

speak with him in a weekly PLC, he provided excellent ideas and resources for the way he

practiced academics in his classroom. I realized that while he might need significant support

with behavior, he had skills in academic teaching that far exceeded my own; we could have

been sharing, and therefore deepening expertise, as expressed by Hargreaves & O’Connor
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(2018). The road to this conclusion could have been made significantly shorter with a simple

conversation.

In the section of my PD notes with the header, “District Literacy Training”, I was seated

at a table with many of my peers from the K, 1, and 2 grades at our school. We do not often get

the chance to speak with one another, even though doing so can enhance innovation and

change according to Hargreaves & O’Connor (2018). The frequent pauses our facilitator gave us

to share were refreshing. At one point I delved into something I had been reading from

Freeman & Freeman (2004) about the acquisition of reading versus the explicit teaching of

reading. I was surprised to discover that many of them had never heard of the concept. This

was a good reminder that discussion among my professional peers is oft an avenue to positive

changes in teaching, though it is something I regularly assign a low priority. On the other hand,

my training notes had comments like, “Her measure of reps is just silly.” I try to practice critical

thinking; evaluating the reliability of practices and techniques. Do my co-workers do the same?

I worry that education will never quit its repeated habit of falling for every latest fad or

trend claiming to finally be the way children learn most effectively. Hargreaves & O’Connor

(2018) write, “Whenever a new method, practice, or protocol surfaces in education, there is a

common tendency to spread it too far and too fast, with little thought as to what else may be

needed for the particular model or design to be effective” (p. 8). Teachers who have been in the

arena for decades can attest to the transient nature of instructional methods and the research

that lays their foundation. Currently, we are influenced by the precedence of brain science and

the method known as “science of reading”. ELA curriculum materials label themselves as

science of reading friendly and the State of Alaska is now requiring science of reading backed
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courses for retention of teaching credentials. Part of being a professional learner means that I

must utilize my relationships with those I consider mentors as corroborated by Howard et al.

(2021). One such mentor gently warned me against the all-pervading ideas behind this newest

fad, and his words have continued to echo in my teacher mind. He echoed a warning like

Catherine Lewis as cited in Hargreaves & O’Connor (2018), that lesson techniques and practices

can only be properly implemented when the culture and context is understood. While I do not

outright rebel against science of reading, I do think it is important to keep that critical eye and a

balanced perspective as evidenced in the questioning from my PD notes and from educators

like Mem Fox (1993) who remind us that reading utilizes three cueing systems, and not just

one. Is that not what reflective teaching is all about?

In one of my many emails to the aforementioned mentor, I wondered if I was even

making a difference in the lives of my students. He sent me a book. After a couple lonely years

on the shelf, I finally took down “Radical Reflections” by Mem Fox (1993) and found that post-

radical-reflection-Mrs.-Vonnahme would never be the same. The words of another professional

were not only distinctly beautiful—reminding me of the impact we can have on a student’s

heart—but they initiated further wondering and questioning about the deep knowledge we

hope our students acquire. Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011) comes to

mind. How can I make sure each lesson I teach is driven by a meaningful, transferable purpose?

Continuing a practice of reading from other professionals is part of the answer. In fact, the

numerous texts I chose to read for my master’s portfolio inevitably caused some sort of shift in

the way I taught on a daily basis. Kohn’s (1996) work helped me to speak more gently to the

kids and allowed for experimentation with further responsibility. Cofie’s (2021) work about
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teacher and parent relationships provoked further effort to be intentional with families and

consider ideas for next year. Bay-Williams & Kling (2019) work on math facts helped me to

remember the benefits of playing games to practice math skills, so I made sure one of the math

centers was always a game. In my PD notes, it is additionally clear that I took immediate action

based on the content of the session. Comments like, “I need to work on this”, or “teach new

practice at morning meeting to use later” sparked action that may not have been a result of

agreeing with the view of the facilitator, but was an indication of professional learning

regardless.

The unfortunate downside to constant evaluation of one’s practice is that it can be

difficult to maintain continuity in the classroom. A teacher who drifts every which way, never

settling on a routine, is just as misled as a teacher who swallows curriculum hook line and

sinker, and never considers the unique needs of every student. My PD notes remind me that I

am all too often prone to be highly critical and dismiss the ideas of a presenter before I consider

that they may indeed have well-founded and relevant advice. I am often even critical of student

ideas, though classroom change is something we should do together as corroborated by

Hargreaves & O’Connor (2018). The notes I recorded for the district literacy training emanate

frustration at the proliferation of formats we are asked to use to teach literacy, even as the

instructor informed of the potential harm such a practice might cause. My attitude circles

around to the false assumptions I held about my coworker and the way keeping an open mind

allowed me to see things from a different perspective—the practice of an effective teacher

according to Howard et al. (2021).

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In the midst of practicing questioning as a professional learner, listening to those who

hold different opinions, and providing a consistent atmosphere for my student learners, I must

learn to keep my proverbial ship upright. In a rural development class I took in my undergrad,

our professor asked us to consider what our personal values might be. These were values we

would hold even if they did not align with public opinion or the holding of which might threaten

our lives. I think this thought exercise is beneficial for teaching, as well. Knowing my values can

help with deciding how to continue adapting my practice to meet student needs, and also when

to cling to meaningful, consistent practice amongst a variety of voices.

Howard et al. (2021) reminds us that many educators consider themselves to be lifelong

learners. It is a sentiment with which I am familiar and now find myself a part. It is the constant

challenge of teaching that keeps me excited and driven to teach in the best manner possible.

My curiosity enables me to ask if a lesson could have been presented a different way or which

pieces of a curriculum will best fit the current group of students. The influx of information can

be overwhelming at times and confusing at others, but the fulfillment of doing one’s best to

cultivate bright, young minds, is unlike anything I have ever done before. I am willing to keep

knowing more so I can keep knowing less. My PD notes from a Responsive Schools (2020)

training put it aptly: “When we know better we’ll do better.”

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References

Bay-Williams, J., & Kling, G. (2019). Math fact fluency: 60+ games and assessment tools to

support learning and retention. ASCD & National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Cofie, J. (2021). Strengthening the parent-teacher partnership. Center for Responsive Schools.

Freeman, D.E. & Freeman, Y.S. (2004). Essential linguistics: What teachers need to know to

teach ESL, reading, spelling, and grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fox, M. (1993). Radical reflections: Passionate opinions on teaching, learning, and living.

Harcourt Brace & Company.

Hargreaves, A., & O’Connor, M.T. (2018). Collaborative professionalism: When teaching

together means learning for all. Corwin.

Howard, K.L., Wade, A., Wanless, B., & Wells, L.D. (2021). Empowering educators: A

comprehensive guide to teaching grades K, 1, 2. Center for Responsive Schools.

Kohn, A. (1996). Beyond discipline: From compliance to community. ASCD.

Responsive Classroom. (2020). Elementary core course: resource book. Center for Responsive

Schools.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The understanding by design guide to creating high-quality

units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.