LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

Lessons Learned Along the Way

MATC Synthesis Paper
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Teaching
Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University
James L. McAvoy
April 5, 2016

http://matceportfolio.weebly.com/matc-synthesis-paper.html

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

"Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's soul, for better or worse. As
I teach I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being
together. The entanglements I experience in the classroom are often no more or less than the
convolutions of my inner life. Viewed from this angle, teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am
willing to look in that mirror and not run from what I see, I have a chance to gain selfknowledge--and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my students and my
subject." Parker Palmer from The Courage to Teach, Jossey-Bass 1998, p. 2.

When I think about teaching and curriculum today, the thought of content versus student
understanding emerges. Even with all of the state and federal goals, the MATC standards and
benchmarks, including student learning outcomes, the curriculum may be void unless our
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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

students actually learn and retain something relevant about the subjects we teach. For curriculum
to remain dynamic, it has to be fluid and inclusive, so the content within the lessons can evolve
and change as the students intellect grows, and their learning style dictates.

Through my MATC courses, I have learned that many things can be considered curriculum
from a book, a process, video or an actual event. Throughout my time as an MATC student, and
as an instructor and administrator, I have learned that sharing actual experiences and relevant
curriculum with students can make much more of an impact than if they read it out of a book
or saw it on the Internet. Ive learned to use the subject content as the curriculum testing
points, while using my experience on these matters as the actually learning process. This is very
challenging, as you may well know, if youve ever had to substitute for a class that you have no
real subject or curriculum experience in.

This point relates specifically to the idea of implicit curriculum, when the subject matter
and student learning outcomes are integrated not only into the institution, but the overall program
of study and instructional background experience. Can an educational institution be considered
curriculum? I believe it can, if the mission, research and history of that institution can be used as
a lesson or educational content in a particular program of study. With the explosion of social
networking, our communications and conversations can also be considered curricula. This is
especially true for the study of sociology, psychology, cultural diversity and many other subjects
in K-12 and higher learning education. One way that curricula are alike is in their goals,
benchmarks, assessment and evaluation processes. As evidenced in the online learning
environment, the way the implicit curriculum is presented and interacted upon, we are actually

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

including many kinds of explicit curriculum into our processes (TE 807).

Sometimes I think the word curriculum acts as a wedge meant to separate the educated
from the uneducated and the teachers from the students. The use of different descriptors of
curriculum, such as subject matter, content, material, course goals or learning outcomes seem to
have a less abrasive quality as an outreached hand to a peer or collaborator would. It has been
such a great learning experience to see how the online environment has acted like a buffer in
my MATC program, and has changed my perception and definition of curriculum.

I realize that education as an institution needs the word curriculum in its vocabulary to
describe what is to be taught and how. But personally, I want learning and education to always be
inclusive instead of exclusive. Our individual views of curriculum, either as a descriptor, or as
the vehicle by which we transfer knowledge to our students, are slowly morphing towards a new
vision of what education and content/curriculum delivery will look like as we move into the
twenty first century. Will it be a book? Presentation? Communication? Action? Process? I believe
all of these and more if we choose to focus on what we have in common as students and learners,
rather than what we differ in.

In TE 807 I was able to refine my teaching philosophy, as indicated in artifact 1 , to

include many methods and experiences I have learned by the example of others, and content
covered, throughout my MATC experience. My teaching style incorporates a mix of professional
experience examples, interactive content delivery and standards based curriculum with specific

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

student learning outcomes. I have always been an engaged learner when my instructor has
interacted with me as a student. The more engaged I am, the easier it is for me to retain
knowledge. That has become the teaching style I have adopted in the classroom over the last 5
years. I now know, that as instructors, we must be adaptable in our delivery methods to
effectively teach in this new era of high speed communications and information overload. To
reach students of every learning style, we can use creative models like Universal Design
Learning (UDL TE 831) to accomplish this.
I have also learned, as a result of the readings and content from my MATC courses, to
conscientiously tag the times when a students answer or input during a lesson or lecture opens
up a new learning opportunity for the class that I had not planned on or even thought of. By
being aware of this part of teaching, I can now design my lessons and lectures to incorporate
these hidden doors of learning opportunities intentionally to promote my student's thought
processes and make them active participants in their education.
The MATC standards and goals are something I've learned should be incorporate into
meaningful and purposeful curriculum and content. The program has shown us the importance of
others views practices and how they can improve our own curriculum. By continuing to learn
how these standards and goals impact us, and most importantly our students, we will continually
improve our teaching styles throughout our careers. While reflecting on the coursework in the
MATC program, I found it interesting how each lesson was created to actually practice
curriculum development in our new and existing lessons. The program has shown me how my
experience in the K-12 environment, and now in a higher education, has taught me how to
navigate beyond some of the politics and focus more on curricular content and delivery. While
working on my capstone project, Ive realized that I have been practicing Standard One for
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decades now, as one of my primary goals has always been to reach all of my students with their
diversified learning styles and cultural backgrounds.

As I look through my projects Ive done for my degree, I can see how much Ive learned
about understanding the subject matter, and what the best ways to teach it are. I love designing
course content and using the Internet as a communication portal for collaboration across the
curriculum. I also see where my information/communication skills and literacy have steadily
improved throughout my coursework. I admit I really have to start thinking about understanding
and using standards 3, 4 & 6 in my teaching and content delivery though. I seem to have a
challenge with the first goal of critical inquiry, as evidenced in artifact 2 my TE 890 research on
online technology PD and ePortfolios. There is clear and consistent, compelling evidence that I
struggle with looking at frames of reference while doing research other than my own and
comparing my results with those. However, I have pursued personal goals to be the best
instructor I can be. This has involved collecting data from my students of what communication
and interaction platforms they are most knowledgeable and comfortable using in their learning
environment.

I dont really consider myself a curriculum leader, but Im passionately involved with
student achievement and using technology to make curriculum more meaningful and accessible
for the digital natives of today. Using educational technology, teaching and curriculum to bridge
the gap to students who may not be able to learn in a traditional classroom setting has always
been rewarding for me. I guess I have initiated and supported changes in local policy by
developing and implementing curriculum that involves the use of social networking

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

(Facebook.com), Video communication (youtube.com) and ePortfolios as evidences in artifact 3

which was a teacher leadership project in TE 811.
My main goals for completing this degree were to become a more critical thinker when it
came to the curriculum development process. So often we just teach to the lesson plan, and I
would like my courses to have a real meaning to my students. Even though we have to follow
standards and benchmarks, they are not the curriculum itself. That lesson was hard for me to
learn as I have grown up as a designer where everything was justified by the specifications that
Id written for each project. Through my curriculum in the MATC program, Ive learned that
teaching is very different from designing. In designing, the contractors/students are bound by the
outline weve set forward for them. But, in effective teaching the course content must be
delivered to meet the students learning style to be effective. Ive learned that there is no single
test that can gage all students success or failure in a course. You have to learn to be subjective
and your curriculum must be able to ebb and flow like a river to meet the student at whatever
level they are at any given time.
Another goal I had was to learn what the correct processes are for creating truly
meaningful curriculum and communicate that to my peers and parents. Ive learned that parents
and the community are a critical stake holder in this process. The discussion boards have really
helped me see that one of my greatest strengths is the ability to share my experience and ideas
with my peers in a constructive way. Although Im a realist, as an educator the example I set has
the capacity to affect many lives down the road. When I was younger, I always liked hearing who
the good teachers were when choosing my classes each term. This program has given me the

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

opportunity to see that if I work hard and am willing to be a life-long-learner, I can maintain, and
possibly improve, my reputation as a student preferred instructor.
During my last semester in the program, I really thought that I would just be cleaning
up my degree work. This has proved to be inaccurate as I have really learned so much in my TE
831 and TE 870 courses. The TE 831 course has introduced me to a variety of new technologies I
can use in my classroom to make content delivery more exciting for my students. I recently made
a Python tutorial video on Vimeo for my Introduction to Programming class that was fun to make
with very positive feedback from my students. The course has taught me how to use blogs and
social media to connect with students and use the classroom backwaters channels to get real
time and relevant feedback. Social media seems to get more play time with my students
compared with our college learning management system due to the users familiarity with it.
My TE 870 course has helped me identify characteristics of being an effective curriculum
leader in my organization. Now that these things have been tagged, I can start to incorporate and
recognize them during my curriculum development, especially when working with team
members and peers. The greatest realization to me has been that I can use one of my natural
strengths, engaging with people, as an asset while revising curriculum content. That, along with
the statistical data Ive been introduced to, has really given me a more global perspective on
education in the world. The MATC program has helped me to see how technology can
complement curriculum without having to take it over in the classroom. I also feel that I am a
more informed citizen in the 21st Century Community thanks to the use of many online resources
that have been used throughout the program.

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

As my career has progressed, so has my education and insight into the educational
process. I know that Ive had a great opportunity through the MAET and MATC programs at
MSU, and am extremely grateful for the experience. I will now go forward and share my new
skills and knowledge with my students and peers. By doing this, I hope that in some small way I
may be able to plant a seed and relate how wonderful being a teacher truly is.

Works Cited

Palmer, P. (1998) The Courage to Teach, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass,

p. 2.

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LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

J. MCAVOY

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