EDCI 6158: Final Reflective Essay
Project overview, template, rubric, and examples
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Project overview: You will reflect upon the various trends and issues explored in our class and synthesize your knowledge of these trends and issues by writing a brief reflective report.
Project learning goals:
· To gain understanding of a wide range of educational trend/issues.
· To reflect upon the trends and issues which directly impact you as an educator.
· To address trends and issues within your teaching beliefs and/or classroom practices.
Project requirements:
· Report will focus on 2-3 trends/issues (other than your own) explored on the wikipages created for EDCI 6158 Summer 2017 course (or wiki pages from other years).
· Report will be 3-5 pages, single-spaced.
· A report template will be provided to you.
· Report examples will be provided to you.
· Report should be written in first-person, include information from the wikipages (or sources posted on wikipages), and include your personal experience/reflections on issues.
Project due date: Please email to Erinn () your final draft of this report no later than 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. May-mester final course grades are due on June 7th, so no late work will be accepted for this project.
Grading: Please see page 4 for a grading rubric. This assignment is worth 20% of your final course grade.
Examples: Please see pages 5-6 for samples of report sections.
Project Template:
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Reflection Report Title (bold, 16 point font, centered)
Your Name
Introduction (bold, 14 point font)
This section should include an introduction to the reader stating the purpose of this report. This section should be brief (1-2 paragraphs, 12 point font).
Trend/Issue #1 (bold, 14 point font)
Name of Issue. (bold, 12 point font)
What is the “top” educational trend/issue from our class wikipages (excluding your own trend/issue)? Provide 1-2 sentences summarizing this issue.
Significance of Issue. (bold, 12 point font)
This section gives further information regarding the trend/issue’s signficance in your life as a teacher, student, parent, community member, etc. You may present more than one view point in this section (i.e., explore the issue as a teacher and as a parent).
This section should include at least two references to materials posted on the wikipage (e.g., quote and/or paraphrase from wiki author and/or sources linked in bibliography). All citations should be in APA.
You may also include examples from your own experiences. For example, how do you see this issue impacting your decisions as a classroom teacher? Or, how does this issue impact school policy, student behaviors, etc.?
In this section, you might also compare this issue to the one you rearched…In what ways do these issues overlap? How are they connected or not connected?
Finally, you may (in this section) choose to “address” the issue. That is, you may offer an idea (or two) on ways schools, communities, etc. might try to resolve the issue.
This section should be at least 3 paragraphs in length. You are welcome to use additional headings, subheadings, and lists/bullet points to organize your information.
Trend/Issue #2. (bold, 14 point font)
Use the same organization as the Trend/Issue #1 section.
Conclusion (bold, 14 point font)
Write 2-4 paragraphs summarzing what you have learned about “trends and issues” in education. Based on what you have learned, what “next steps” will you take in your career as an educator?
Final Draft: Reflective report Grading Rubric
Writing Component / 3 / 2 / 1Introduction / Issues are clearly and concisely articulated in opening section. / Issues clearly and/or not concisely articlated in introduction. / Issues neither clearly nor concisely articlated in introduction.
Issues: description / Issues are each described clearly. / Not all issues are described clearly. / No clear description of any issue.
Issues: personal significance
X2 / Personal significance of all issues clearly articulated. / Personal significance to some issues articulated. / Author provides no personal significance to issues.
Issues: support
X2 / Author’s claims are supported with wiki references. / Some claims are supported with wiki references. / Claims are unsupported.
Conclusion
X2 / Author provides clear, reflective ideas concerning his/her “next steps” as an educator. / Conclusion lacks clarity or reflection regarding author’s next steps. / Conclusion lacks both clarity and reflection regarding author’s next steps.
Organization
X2 / Ideas flow logically; transitions are used between ideas. / Ideas do not flow logically or few transitions are used. / Ideas do not flow logically; no transitions are used.
Formatting / Correct APA citation used for sourcs; headings formatted. / Formatting used correctly throughout some of text. / Correct formatting not consistently used.
Language/tone / Words and phrases are professional in tone; 1st person used throughout. / Some words and phrases are professional and in tone. / Words and phrases are casual and convey a tone that is not professional
Mechanics / Grammar, spelling, and mechanics consistent with SAE throughout. / A few grammatical, spelling, and/or mechanical issues inconsistent with SAE. / Grammatical, spelling, mechanical issues are numerous and distracting.
Examples of Reflective Report Sections
Examples of Introduction Section
Exhibit 1: Introduction
This memo is a report of information analyzed for EDCI 6158: Trends and Issues in Middle/Secondary Education. To prepare this report, I investigated wikipages detailing 17 trends in issues in education. From the 17 issues, I narrowed my scope to three issues, which I believe impact my life as a secondary-level teacher in an urban school district.
Specifically, I chose three issues directly related to student achievement: Common Core Standards, the influence of technology on reading comprehension skills, and global literacy. As an English teacher, I feel all three issues are significant to my content area. In the following sections, I will describe each issue’s impact on my teaching beliefs in further detail.
Exhibit 2: Introduction
The following is a report two issues I believe are highly relevant to all teachers. I am interested in these issues, student poverty and cyberbullying. Both issues impact students from all grade-levels and content-areas. Further, these issues affect students’ relationships with their peers. As a teacher, I feel I can address both issues within my classroom and promote positive relationships among my students. In this report, I will detail the significance of each issue as well as my specific plans for addressing these issues in my classroom.
Exhibit 3: Introduction
The following is the report you requested on my “top three education issues.” This report describes three issues, why these issues concern me as a parent, and some possible ways teachers and parents might collaborate to address these issues. As I am both a teacher and a parent, I am interested in making connections between the two roles I play. Many issues students face affect their home lives and their academic achievement. In this report, I will present three school events, which I believe foster better communication and cooperation among teachers, students, and parents.
Example of Trend/Issue Section
Issue: Bullying
As a parent, I believe the safety of my children is crucial. As a teacher, I also strive to protect my students from behavior that is harmful. Considering both of these roles I play, I belive the “top” educational trend/issue from our class wikipages is bullying.
Significance of Bullying Issue
It seems almost daily, the media describes an incident of bullying on a school playground, bus, or within a classroom. According to Micheals (2012), a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, bullying occurs every five minutes in schools nationwide (p.5). Such a statistic may seem hard to believe; however, as a teacher, I have often seen bullying behavior among students in the hallways of my school. For example…
Currently, my school does address the issue of bullying through a once-yearly school assembly. As the issue of bullying still prevails, I feel this may not be the most effective method for deterring bullying behaviors. Perhaps a better way for the administrators and teachers at my school to address this issue would be to…
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