DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 1

Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

Andrea Duncan

698 Master’s Portfolio: MAT Elementary

Fall 2023

University of Alaska Southeast

DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 2

Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning
and uses evidence to continually elevate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her
choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and
adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.

The sample artifact of practice is the research project I conducted during my ED626

research course. The purpose of this project was to observe the classroom and determine what

area was needing some extra help and/or intervention. The reason I have chosen this project to

represent my professionalism is due to the amount of collaboration and work I conducted with

my host teacher and my fellow coworkers. What became apparent to my coworkers and I, was

that we had two kindergarten students who were falling behind in their literacy skills compared

to their peers. It was through observations, working with these students, and the results of their

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP®) and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

(DIBELS®) scores conducted in the fall and winter term of that school year which showcased

where the students were performing. The test results were helpful in knowing where they placed

in relation to the national average, but we didn’t necessarily need these results to know that these

two students were struggling with their literacy skills.

It was important for me to collaborate with my coworkers to make sure we were all on

the same page as to where we thought the greatest need for an intervention was within the

kindergarten class. I spent many hours observing my students, taking assessments, tracking their

progress in reading and math, and then discussed with my coworkers what were some of their

concerns with the students. I approached my host teacher with my observations and notes, and

together we came to the consensus that it was imperative that I work with these two students. She

had just received the scores from the winter standardized tests from both the MAP® and

DIBELS® assessments, and both students fell “well below benchmark”. I then shifted my

observations to the needs of my two students and what choices and actions I needed to make in
DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 3

order to help them with their literacy needs. I came up with my project, informed my coworkers,

made any adjustments they suggested, and then executed my plan. One aspect of our Montessori

classroom is that all the educators in the room, the teacher and the paraeducators, work with the

students throughout the day. Each one builds relationships with the children and has the

opportunity to observe and assess each child. With the collaboration of the teachers, we all

provided information from our observations of the students, providing many different

perspectives and knowledge to help create the intervention plan.

I decided to focus my intervention on helping the students learn to read high frequency

sight words. Along with improving their literacy needs, I needed to figure out what may be

affecting their learning and plan my instruction to meet those needs. I found that my two students

lacked confidence in their literacy skills, needed more focused instruction, and lacked the desire

to do the work in the classroom. I conducted a teacher interview to see what my coworker

observed with these two students (See Appendix A for questionnaire). As reported in my

research project, my coworker believed Jill (student 1) had confidence in herself regarding

school, but the issue lied in the lack of desire to do the work. She suggested that Jill be paired

with a peer who was doing the same work as her, work in a private space, and keep the lessons

interesting. In regard to Jack (student 2), she believed Jack had confidence issues and would

benefit from working privately with me, making sure there was no competition in the games, and

be given shorter lessons. She believed his work needed to be done with an adult. From this

information she provided and through my own data, I decided to have my students set their own

goals for learning high frequency sight words and self-monitor their own work, in order to give

them more agency in their learning. I taught my students how to set their goals, and then I

created daily goal setting and self-monitoring journals for them to fill out each day (see Figure 1
DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 4

for an example). I created a few new games for them to play using the high frequency sight

words, which turned out to be a huge hit with not only these two students, but all the

kindergarten students in the class.

Figure 1

Students Reflection from Daily Goal and Self-Monitoring Journal

My professional development does not stop with just the collaboration with my

coworkers, but also with my professors and instructors through the University of Alaska

Southeast master’s program and the Montessori teacher training. Dr. Lillard (2017) notes, “the

preparation of the Montessori teacher involves personal change, learning to be an astute

observer, and learning to identify in oneself qualities that might be an impediment to fair

observation and understanding of children” (p. 331). Using the skills I developed from the

programs and trainings I’ve made changes in myself in order to be a better observer, improved

my own qualities to make more professional decisions to elevate my practice, and helped meet

the needs of my individual students. I created an integration that helped my students improve

both their literacy skills in known sight words, and building their confidence in themselves as

readers.
DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 5

It is not just professionalism that I work on with my coworkers, but in the school

community as a whole. For Montessori Borealis, we as a community of teachers are working on

a program called Positive Discipline. Nelsen & DeLorenzo (2021) created this program and

wrote the book Positive Discipline in the Montessori Classroom, with the goal and focus of the

book “to help teachers and administrators develop a more systematic and consistent methodology

for addressing behavior in the Montessori classroom, and to do so in a manner that is consistent

with our core beliefs regarding respect for the child” (p. xxi). We break up the program chapter

by chapter, discuss the information, go over how we can improve our own plans in the

classroom, find ways to better improve how we work with our students, while maintaining

respect and dignity for the child. In many of our meetings/in-services we have been able to

discuss issues that arise in the classroom, what we found helpful, and what better ways we can

handle the situations in the future. I have seen many positive changes from the teachers and

better behaviors in the children after implementing some of the suggestions from the book.

In addition to this book, along with the required trainings we have for the school district,

this year the teachers in my classroom will be heading to Dallas, Texas for a Montessori

continuing education refresher course. These courses are offered for all Montessori educators to

come together, reconnect, build on our professionalism, and refresh information on different

aspects of the Montessori method. This aligns with some suggestions Slavin (2018) discusses as

ways to be an intentional teacher that goes beyond the teaching certification. He suggests that

teachers should take advantage of opportunities to develop our skills through seeking mentors in

experienced teachers, seek professional development especially with our coworkers, to talk

teaching with others in the field, and keep up with professional publications and associations (p.

18). We will be seeking professional development with coworkers, talking to others in the field,
DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 6

and learning from the professionals through the Association of Montessori International (AMI). I

am continuously working to improve my teaching practice, deepening my skill sets, and building

on my professional development. This helps me be a better educator for my students, a stronger

collaborator with my peers, and a better professional in the field of teaching.

Wiggins & McTighe (2005), from Understanding by Design, also “stress that reforming

professional development for teachers is the only guaranteed way to improve standard practice

and professionalism among all teachers” (p. 317). They encourage self-critique, collaboration

with peers, participating in workshops, and applying standards to our own professional work.

Collaboration with my peers was such a vital aspect of my research project and I took a lot of

their suggestions and feedback and put it into place when I chose my students and my

intervention. I applied what I had learned in the Montessori training and all the new information

I had been using in the masters course. The research project also paid off this year as the two

students started in their new classroom with a new teacher. I was able to collaborate with her to

help with concerns she had with both students. My feedback allowed for her to start to build her

own relationship with the students and they were able to continue to learn in a way to build their

confidence. I will continue to follow these students to see how their literacy develops in both the

classroom and on the standardized tests. I will also continue participating in future professional

development opportunities so I can continue elevating my skills and practice.

DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 7

References

Lillard, A.S. (2017). Montessori: The science behind the genius (3rd ed.). Oxford University

Press.

Nelsen, J., & DeLorenzo, C. (2021). Positive discipline in the Montessori classroom. Parent

Child Press.

Slavin, R.E. (2018). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Pearson Education

Inc.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd. ed.). Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development.

DUNCAN MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 8

Appendix A

Teacher Questionnaire

1. How do you feel about my case study project, do you think I have chosen a project that is
a real problem in the classroom with these students?

2. I want to help these students increase their self-confidence in reading, what do you think
would help each student?

3. What are some learning styles you have observed with these two students that you think I
should consider when I design my project?

4. What do you think would help support each of the students in learning their sight words?

5. What is your perception of these students and their confidence in their learning? In their
reading skills?

6. How can I/we better support them to build their self-confidence?

7. How can I/we better support the students desire to engage in their work?