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Creating A Classroom and Curriculum that Fosters a Love of Learning

Heather Ann-Hillman Llerena

Master of Arts in Teaching and Curriculum (MATC)

Dr. Paul Kurf

7/29/2022
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Introduction

In 2019, it had been five years since I graduated from Central Michigan

University with my Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education with a major in Social

Studies, and minors in Language Arts and Middle Level Education. I had been teaching

middle school at Jackson Preparatory and Early College since I graduated, had just

received my first “Highly Effective” teacher rating, and had just gotten engaged to my

now husband. I was completely happy with how everything was going, but with my

teacher recertification application looming, I started to think about going back to school

and pursuing a Master's degree.

Everyone around me encouraged a degree in educational leadership. “You’d

make a great principal” I heard over and over. I was flattered, and agreed to an extent.

The problem is, my heart just doesn’t belong in a principal's office. My passions lie with

students, with “ah-ha!” moments, with teaching, and with designing meaningful and

impactful curriculum. I wanted to continue my education and expand my professional

career as a teacher, knowing that even if I did leave the classroom one day I would still

want a career closely linked to teaching itself. It was this goal and understanding that

brought me to apply to Michigan State University’s Master of Arts in Teaching and

Curriculum (MATC) program. I decided a concentration in Educational Psychology

would give me the most broad reaching understanding of how to successfully teach and

design curriculum.

Since my acceptance to the program in 2019, I feel that I have met my goal of

becoming more masterful in teaching and curriculum design. Over the last three years,
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the courses I took through the MATC program have broadened my understanding of

21st century learning, designing and implementing a diverse and relevant curriculum,

and establishing a professional learning network. Overall, MATC has taught me how to

create a classroom and curriculum that fosters a love of learning.

How Do We Learn?

The classes I took towards my concentration in Educational Psychology (CEP

800, CEP 802, and CEP 810) solidified my understanding of how people learn.

Teachers around the country are handed a list of standards, or a scripted curriculum, or

a book, and are told “teach this”. While knowing what to teach is important, knowing

how to teach it in a way that students will learn is also significantly important to the

profession, and requires an entirely different set of knowledge. My CEP courses

provided me with just this.

CEP 800 - Learning in Schools and Other Settings - emphasized the importance

of creating an environment that allows for optimal learning to occur. “How a person

learns a particular set of knowledge and skills, and the situation in which a person

learns, become a fundamental part of what is learned” (Putnam & Borko, 2000, p. 4). As

teachers establish their curriculum and classroom norms, there are learning strategies

that can be implemented that allow for a deeper understanding. As my Final Theory of

Learning explains, a curriculum that connects to prior knowledge, allows for low-risk

practice through formative assessment, and fosters metacognition will create an

environment where deeper learning can occur.

Establishing a curriculum embedded with strategies to improve learning is

important, but even the best curriculum could be ineffective if students aren’t willing to
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engage with it. Therefore, teachers must also create a classroom culture that motivates

students to learn. This was the focus of CEP 802 - Developing Positive Attitudes

Towards Learning. There are numerous ways to motivate students to participate. There

are extrinsic motivators such as rewards and grades, and intrinsic motivators, such as

the pride of accomplishing a new skill or the feeling of success. However, as I learned

through my Motivational Case Study, student motivation begins with a caring

relationship. “...if students believe their teachers are emotionally supportive, they will

feel less stressed and anxious, and be more motivated to learn” (Wentzel & Brophy,

2014, p.193).

My Motivational Case Study revealed that positive teacher-student relationships

allow teachers to build a student's self-efficacy (a belief in yourself) and

self-determination (a belief that what you are doing is valuable). When these things are

high then, typically, so is one's motivation to learn. The impact a trusting and caring

relationship has on students' motivation to learn became even more clear to me during

the pandemic. As students learned from home and my ability to personally connect with

them became harder, I saw almost immediate disengagement from students whose

overall motivation to learn was already low. As I continue to discuss in my Design

Project Video, true motivation to learn begins with meaningful and positive relationships.

My final educational psychology course was CEP 810 - Teaching for

Understanding with Technology - which addressed another very important aspect of

modern curriculum planning: 21st century learning. Most of my students have grown up

with technology and the internet as a prominent part of their life, and it is imperative that

curriculum continue to grow and evolve with this in mind. Modern curriculum can’t only
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focus on route memorization of facts, but must include 21st century skills like the 4Cs:

collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication. “These four skills are

essential for modern students to succeed in school and the workplace” (Stauffer, 2020).

As I explore through my CEP 810 Blog “Middle School Life with Mrs. Llerena”

technology will continue to impact how our students learn, and it is our job to adapt.

In addition, CEP 810 helped me develop a Professional Learning Network using

technology. In my blog post I reflect on how I had many professional development

connections through Central Michigan, Michigan State, my school district, and various

conferences and educational organizations. What I strongly lacked was an online or

social media based network. CEP 810 helped me establish a better online presence,

and utilize more of the resources and professional development opportunities only a

click away. Being able to utilize technology to strengthen my professionalism and

expand my professional network is an important new skill I have developed.

The MATC educational psychology courses have given me a strong

understanding of how people learn. Knowing the science behind learning, how to

motivate students to learn, and how to incorporate technology and 21st Century skills

into curriculum has benefited me tremendously. However, this is only part of what it

takes to create a curriculum and classroom that will foster a love of learning. While CEP

prepared me well for how to teach, my teacher education courses have prepared me for

what to teach.

What Do We Teach?

The curriculum that students engage with in the classroom is another essential

component to fostering a love for learning. Curriculum can either engage, or discourage;
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inspire, or bore; enlighten, or confuse. What we present to students in the classroom is

incredibly important, and the teacher education classes I took throughout my time in the

program gave me a solid foundation of how to plan and implement effective curriculum.

Curriculum is Diverse

The first thing my teacher education classes taught me is the importance of

having diverse representation and perspectives within every subject's curriculum. In the

article Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors, author Rudine Sims Bishop writes

“When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the

images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson

about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part” (p. 1). Curriculum

can’t only include one perspective, which would typically be that of the majority. Rather,

throughout the curriculum all students (regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sex,

religion, or sexual orientation) need to see themselves reflected in a mirror, look through

the window into another person’s experiences, and walk through the door a more

understanding, compassionate, and empathic person.

This message was repeated in almost every class, but especially stood out in TE

849 and TE 865. In TE 849: Methods and Materials for Teaching Children’s and

Adolescent Literature, the importance of choosing books featuring characters with

diverse experiences and perspectives was heavily focused on. In this class, we read

and analyzed over 15 books that showcased the experiences of people from different

races, religions, genders, ethnicities, abilities, and sexual orientations. These books

ranged from picture books, to graphic novels, to chapter books which showed that

choosing inclusive material for a curriculum is possible at any grade level. In my Letter
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to Families, I give my rationale for how I choose books for my library and curriculum.

Being able to communicate to my students and their families why a curriculum with

diverse material is important is a crucial skill. If families trust and support your

curriculum, then you have a green light to dive in without the fear of pushback.

When choosing the materials you want to use in your curriculum, it is also

important to critically analyze everything for potential bias or misinformation. This was

the focus of TE 865: Teaching and Learning K-12 Social Studies. Before a material is

used in the classroom with students, we should analyze who made this material, why

they made it, and if any misinformation or bias exists. For example, Tara J. Yosso has

researched the depiction of people of color in films about urban high schools, and

found, “With unrelenting repetition, each film contributes to the myth that increasing

populations of Latinas/os and Blacks in public schools lead to a rise of violence and

crime, demonizing students and their communities for dramatic effect” (2020, p. 6). To

practice this skill of critical analysis, I reviewed and created an introductory lesson for A

Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, a book I use in my 6th grade class. This Book

Review demonstrates my understanding of not only how to connect a book to standards

and to my students prior knowledge, but also how to analyze it for curricular strengths

and weaknesses.

Creating an inclusive and equitable curriculum where all students feel seen and

can build empathy is a fundamental part of fostering a love of learning. Centering a

curriculum on diverse experiences, topics, and perspectives will naturally link what is

being learned in school to the real world. This allows the curriculum to feel meaningful

and relevant, which can cultivate both inquiry and curiosity. When curriculum promotes
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this level of engagement, learning no longer feels like a chore, but like a privileged

exploration for the truth.

Curriculum is Collaborative

Another important part of developing a curriculum that fosters a love of learning

is collaboration. Even the best teachers need help, which is why collaboration between

educators is so important, especially when it comes to creating and delivering

curriculum. This was highlighted for me in TE 807: Professional Development and

Inquiry. During this course, I was asked to participate in peer coaching where one of my

coworkers observed my teaching to offer feedback. Pam Robbins stated that two of the

major benefits of peer coaching are, “Increased conversation about improving teaching

and learning, (and) Increased collaboration among teams within and across schools”

(Robbins, 2015, p. 7). In my Peer Coaching Reflection I reflect on how collaborating

with another teacher on the best way to teach a learning objective ultimately produced a

better lesson and curriculum.

In a traditional school setting, teachers are unfortunately very isolated. They are

alone in a classroom doing their best to create an effective curriculum which can be a

daunting task, especially for novice teachers. When teachers work collaboratively, they

can set common goals, share resources, and offer new strategies. Therefore, seeking

out opportunities to collaborate with educators and administrators is important as it

leads to a more purposeful curriculum that will better foster a love of learning.

Curriculum is Dynamic

Even if an inclusive and relevant curriculum has been collaboratively developed

and has successfully met learning goals, it doesn’t mean it’s forever perfect. Each year,
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unique students with individual needs enter our classroom, and we have to be able to

adapt the curriculum to fit their needs. What worked for one group, or one student, may

need to be modified for another. Therefore, the final element to creating a curriculum

that fosters a love of learning is to remember that curriculums are dynamic.

This was highlighted for me during TE 846: Accommodating Differences in

Literacy Learners. During the class, I conducted a Literary Case Study in my 9th grade

Humanities class with the goal of improving my students' motivation to read and

attitudes towards reading. During this study, I had to determine my students' prior

knowledge (or in this case prior attitudes), and then use this data to adjust and plan the

most effective literary unit I could under the time constraints and limitations of the

pandemic. This type of ongoing evaluation and reflection is crucial for creating a

curriculum that meets students needs and fosters a love of learning.

These courses prepared me to enter the classroom with a strong curriculum; one

that will embrace diversity, cover relevant topics, avoid biased information, seek out and

welcome collaboration, and be willing to change and adapt to meet the needs of the

current students in the room. I feel confident that I will always enter my classroom

knowing what I should teach to not only meet standards and develop new skills, but to

foster a lifelong love of learning.

How Should It Feel?

A teacher who enters the classroom with the knowledge of how students learn,

and what to teach to inspire and engage students is well poised to foster a love of

learning. However, the final element that my teacher education courses taught me must

be in place is creating a safe and caring learning environment. When students enter the
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room, they should feel understood, connected, cared about, and safe to be themselves.

This type of classroom will allow students to engage more freely and deeply in learning,

and is created by the teacher.

TE 825: Diverse Learners and Learning Subject Matter dove deeply into how a

teacher's actions impact the ability for students to feel safe and seen within the

classroom. This course centered around Liz Kleinrock’s book Start Here, Start Now: A

Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community. Within this book,

Kleinrock discusses the importance of being self-aware of your own biases, language,

fears, and curricular goals as these things immensely impact the classroom culture. The

conversations we are or are not willing to have, the topics we are or are not willing to

cover, and the language we are or are not willing to tolerate will either enhance or

destroy a safe classroom environment. “When it comes to safety and inclusion of

differences in your classroom, it is the teacher’s responsibility to draw boundaries and

set expectations of acceptable behavior and language. Hate speech isn’t something that

is up for debate. It’s non negotiable” (Kleinrock, 2021, p. 54). Using the strategies and

language explored throughout the course and in Kelinrock’s book, I know how to create

a safe and caring learning environment that starts with me and the expectations I have

in place.

Creating a safe and caring classroom culture also depends on connecting with

your students and cultivating meaningful relationships. This was the focus of TE 818:

Curriculum in its Social Context. During this course, we examined how the climate of the

classroom, and students' perception of the teacher, can deeply impact the way the

curriculum is learned. In addition to setting clear expectations, we must relate to our

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students on a personal level in order to establish trusting and caring relationships. In the

Letter to Students I wrote for this course, I penned a letter that weaved class

expectations with personal experiences. I shared some of my experiences as both a

middle schooler and as a middle school teacher in the hopes that students would better

understand who I am and why I expect what I do. “If you're asking your students to be

vulnerable with you and their classmates, it’s important to remember that trust and

respect go both ways. I strongly believe that educators have to work consistently to

humanize themselves to their students…” (Kleinrock, 2021, p. 10).

Fostering a love of learning in students is not possible without personal

relationships, and mutual respect. One of my most impactful undergraduate mentor

teachers at Central Michigan University, Dr. Norma Bailey, used to tell us repeatedly,

“Kids don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” This is true

in the classroom, and this is true in life. These courses gave me the tools to create a

classroom with a culture based on mutual respect, caring, and personal connections.

Conclusion and Implications for the Future

The MATC program has solidified and deepened my knowledge and abilities as a

classroom teacher. The courses I took over the last three years have given me the skills

to create a classroom and curriculum that fosters a love of learning by combining: a

knowledge of how people learn, with an understanding of what makes effective

curriculum and how to develop it, and finally how to create a positive classroom culture.

I graduate from this program a more expert teacher, and I know that I will be able to

foster a love of learning in my future students.

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In addition, I feel prepared to take the next step in my professional career as an

educator. While I do plan to continue working as a classroom teacher for the next few

years, eventually I would love to work as a curriculum director or teacher educator.

When the time comes for me to apply to these positions, I feel confident that the MATC

program has prepared me for such a role, particularly TE 870: Curriculum Design,

Development, and Deliberation in Schools. This course has specifically prepared me to

become a curriculum leader within a school. “This kind of leadership is not about telling,

or deciding, or ordering change…Rather, curriculum leadership is a facilitating process

in which the leader works with others to find common purpose, build collaborative work

teams, structure a way of working, and coordinate many complex activities'' (Wiles,

2009, p. 21). This course has given me the confidence to establish and lead a team,

write goals, implement action plans, measure effectiveness, and be reflective on how

improvement can continue.

Overall, the MATC program has prepared me to be successful in my professional

career. Success as a teacher, in my opinion, should be measured through the success

of the students in which they serve. Yet, success to me doesn’t necessarily look like

high test scores, grades, or other quantitative measures. Although these things are

great, to me true success is the qualitative data of knowing that your actions instilled a

love of learning in students that will transcend the walls of your classroom. Whether my

future entails staying in the classroom long-term or moving onto a leadership position, I

can confidently and happily say that I can achieve my definition of success.
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Work Cited

Kleinrock, L. (2021). Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in

Your School Community. Heinemann.

Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What do new views of knowledge and thinking have

to say about research on teacher learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4–15.

Robbins, P. (2015). Peer coaching: to enrich professional practice, school culture, and

student learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Sims Bishop, R. (2015). Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.

https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-Windows-and-Slidi

ng-Glass-Doors.pdf

Stauffer, B. (2020). What are the 4 C's of 21st century skills? Digital Curriculum for CTE;

Elective Teachers. https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/four-cs-21st-century-skills

Wentzel, K. R. & Brophy, J. E. (2014). Motivating students to learn. New York, NY:

Routledge.

Wiles, J. (2009). Leading Curriculum Development. Corwin Press.

Yosso, Tara J. (2020). Critical Race Media Literacy for These Urgent Times.

International Journal of Multicultural Education, 22(2), 5-11.