Education Specialist Program Outcome Reflection Log
PURPOSE
The goal of the Education Specialist Program in Curriculum and Instruction is to develop distinguished teacher leaders who effect positive change for schools and for students.The ASCD (2015) describes teacher leadership as the process by which teachers, individually or collectively, influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of increased student learning and achievement.An effective teacher leader must acquire specialized knowledge and skills as well as sophisticated habits of mind. One of the central habits of mind necessary for teacher leaders is honest and ongoing self-reflection.To support the development of this skill, candidates will reflect on two Program Outcomes at the end of each course and compile these in a log.Instructors will provide feedback that guides the candidate in making meaningful connections between experiences in courses and the important outcomes that will become the foundation of a transformative skill set. The written reflection will be recorded as a grade in each course, and it will comprise 5% of the overall course grade.Candidates must successfully complete the Outcome Log for a course before a final grade is assigned.Grades of Incomplete will be assigned if the Outcome Log is not complete satisfactorally.
This skill set is represented in the Education Specialist Program Outcomes.These six outcomes are essential to the role of the teacher leader, but they are not an exhaustive list.Candidates must understand and reflect upon these six during the program, but they must also work to identify other skills and competencies that are relevant to their unique professional contexts and areas of content specialization.
EDUCATION SPECIALIST PROGRAM OUTCOMES.
Upon completion of the Education Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction, candidates will be able to do the following at an advanced level, reflecting understandings and skills that are beyond the typically qualified teacher and reflecting those of an expert teacher leader.
- Demonstrate advanced knowledge of students as influenced by cognitive, physical, emotional, social, cultural, environmental, and economic factors.
- Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of content specialization through applications of curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional practice, and uses of technology.
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
You will maintain the Program Outcome Reflection Log which will consist of NINE Program Outcome Reflections, each in response to a specific course (EDS 8880 will not apply).You will compose each reflection based on the instructions and template provided.At the end of each course, you will submit the reflection to your course instructor for evaluation.As necessary, your instructor will provide feedback regarding your reflection, and she/he may ask that you revise the reflection until it demonstrates the level of depth, specificity, and clarity that is expected.Please keep printed copies of ALL Program Outcome Reflections, and add them to your Program Portfolio in CANVAS.In your final course, EDS 8880, you will use the completed reflections for a culminating assignment.The responsibility for maintaining a log is yours.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR REFLECTIONS:
Following each course, you will start this process by considering the sum of your experiences in the classroom, in discussion with peers, readings, and field experiences.Based on those, you will choose a minimum of two of the six PROGRAM OUTCOMES, and compose structured reflections that connect your experiences in the course to your gradual mastery of those outcomes.You may reflect on more than two of the five outcomes, but two is a minimum for each course.
At some point in the program, you must reflect on each Program Outcome at least once. The Program Outcome Reflection Matrix will help you to monitor your progress.Its likely that some courses will connect to more than two outcomes (maybe even all five).Other courses, while essential, may connect to only a few of the outcomes.
The content of the reflection is described in the Reflection Template.For each of the two outcomes you choose for a course, you will have 15 sentences MAXIMUM.We are not looking for quantity but rather for quality.Compose reflections that are specific, relevant, and logical.Include ideas that that demonstrate your ability to connect new insights to past experiences and to future goals related to the outcome.Within that 15 sentence limit, you will describe the experiences (what?) from the class that influenced your progress toward the outcome; you will explain how and why it is significant (so what?); finally, you will express how this insight will influence what you do as you move forward (now what?).
