Kate Toussaint

Reflective Outline of Masters Coursework

When reflecting on all of the courses that I have taken at Arcadia towards my degree, all of them have
helped me become better prepared for this coming action research project. Each course, being different
from one another, have assisted in triggering a desire to learn more about how I can best use the
information from each and apply it to my own teaching.
Fall 2013
ED503: Foundations of Education in the U.S.
This course for me was one of the most challenging and demanding. Taken during my first semester at
Arcadia, I was nervous and was not sure what to expect from this class. ED503 focused more so on the
cultural aspects of education rather than pin-pointing the roots of contemporary education. I did learn
about the schooling systems of minorities and their struggle for equality and have come to appreciate the
preservation of cultures. This class prepared me best for my up-coming project by making me
comfortable to undertake large readings and to take meaningful notes for research.
ED517: Human Development: The School Years K-12
This course best prepared me for action research. The main assignment for the class was to conduct an
independent study regarding human development. The research was conducted during the semester and a
final 30 page paper was to be submitted for grading. Similar to what is due for this course, I had to come
up with a research question, gather and analyze data, and find additional readings to support my research.
This was an assignment that seemed overwhelming along with my other courses, but I now appreciate my
professor and their decision in making me experience action research first hand.
ED 512: Differentiating Instruction in Inclusive Settings
In this course I learned more about how to better understand students individual needs and how to help
them learn to their full potential. For my culminating project, I will be researching ways to utilize brainbased interventions in my own classroom, and I will need to identify with student IEPs to help me choose
which intervention is best for them during my research.
Spring 2014
AE400: The Uses of Theory in Art Education
This course introduced me to some key players in art educational practices. The theories of Howard
Gardiner (Theory of Multiple Intelligences), Viktor Lowenfeld (studied characteristics of childrens
artworks), Jean Piaget (stages of child development), and others have taught me how to appropriately plan
lessons for all kinds of learners and understand why they create the images/ projects that they do.

ED614: Art Education and Inclusive Practice

The ideas of brain-based interventions were first introduced to me in this course. Utilizing fidgets (such
as stress balls, sketching, kinetic sand, etc) help students who struggle with ADHD and other disabilities

Kate Toussaint
to put forth their energies into another channel. With these aids, students are able to better focus on their
schoolwork. I will be using some ideas and readings from this course to kick-start my research.
ED503: Cultural Foundations of Education in the U.S.
This course was very similar to ED505. I learned many of the same ideas about different cultural beliefs
in education and how many issues still arise today, especially in Philadelphia. Since I work with at-risk
populations, I was able to relate to much of the material in this class and apply it to my own teaching. I
believe that using brain-based interventions in at-risk populations will help the situations happening in
some of Philadelphias school systems. I plan on referring back to the articles that were used for ED503.
Summer 2014
ED622: ESL-Teaching Multilingual Literacies
This is another course that I struggled with. I took ED622 during summer session one, which was a
Saturday course that went from 9am-4pm. In addition, I did not have much experience in working with
ESL students. I think that I did not enjoy this class as much as some others because it was taking up my
Saturdays during summer vacation! Through the bitterness, I did complete an action research project that
required me to create a research question that would apply to my current work. Even though this class
was not my favorite, I will admit that it has helped me better prepare for the coming weeks.
Fall 2014:
AE408: Curriculum Design in Art Education
Brain-based interventions must be taken into account when designing a curriculum. An instructor should
be able to recognize the appropriate times these interventions should occur. In the art classroom, using
brain-based interventions will be slightly different, since painting, drawing, working with clay, etc. can be
considered as a fidget. In the near future, I will be researching what fidgets work best in the art
classroom, and how they can be incorporated when developing a curriculum.
ED606S: Strategic Instruction for Emergent and Content Literacies
This class proved to me how important it is to incorporate brain-based interventions within the classroom.
I, myself, would have benefited with having a fidget or a brain break during a long lecture or reading
during class time. Unfortunately, this course was the least beneficial for me as I struggled to find the
connection with art education. I did learn though what it feels like to be a student who is forced to focus
and struggles, which reiterates my point in the importance of having brain-based theories applied to any
classroom.