Tara+Cregg+-+Design+Space

=**I. Design space to develop your 250-300 word** // abstract // **that summarizes your question, rationale, and your findings.**=
 * What is your question?

Question: How do I help at-risk learners stay motivated and improve their literacy skills?


 * What is your rationale?

Rationale: My first few years teaching were in low income schools where many of the students were performing below grade level. When learning that many of them would not be receiving outside support and that it was up to me to help bring these students up to standard I felt very overwhelmed. What I also quickly came to realize is that most of my struggling readers were not motivated to learn and improve. I know if I could not keep them engaged the improvement would not take place. I felt it was my responsibility to learn more effective ways to help support these students and knew that further education would be my first step in this process.


 * What are your findings?

Although I am still learning, I have found that students need to support in all areas of literacy such as phonics, comprehension, fluency, accuracy, vocabulary, and decoding. Simply having students read without providing structured support is not enough for struggling readers. Teaching comprehension strategies and phonemic patterns can help these students have a plan of attack when they are facing the unknown during reading. I have also realized that while direct instruction is important, students also need opportunities to apply skills they are taught. Differentiating instruction while in reading groups and as a part of Daily Five has really helped me learn how to reach all levels of learners.

=**II. Design space to plan out your** // creative synthesis // **that will visually represent your findings. Remember to include your abstract in your visual representation.**=

> Develop your compelling question related to student learning by the end of your first semester in the program. Decide on a question that you are passionate about and want to focus on for the duration of your program. Click here to learn more about what we mean by compelling question. Here are a couple of examples: How do I creatively and effectively engage diverse learners in my middle grades classroom? How can I effectively engage elementary students in reading and writing?
 * ==Compelling Question:==

Question: How do I help at-risk learners stay motivated and improve their literacy skills?

> Use coursework (including core courses ECI 546, 524, 523, 508 and your content specialty courses), individual investigations, and outside experts to explore different aspects of your question. Actively analyze information from multiple sources and perspectives as you explore answers to your question. Make a list here of the information you are analyzing. As you proceed with your analysis make some notes here about your initial findings and where you anticipate needing more information. Also, make sure to note if and how your compelling question has changed.
 * ==Gather & Analyze Information:==

> Synthesize the information from and across your sources to create a unique response to your question. You should be able to distill your synthesis into 4-6 bullet points (to be included in your written abstract) as well as provide a creative visual representation of your findings. You may use a variety of media and tools to design your visual representation of your Creative Synthesis. Think carefully about the tools that you will use to represent your findings. The first draft of your Creative Synthesis should be developed no later than Midterm/NCSU Spring Break while you are taking the ECI 508, Teachers as Leaders class. Click here to see sample products from former students.
 * ==Creatively Synthesize Information:==

> Seek out at least two colleagues in the NLGL program in addition to your advisor to provide peer feedback on your abstract and creative synthesis based on the NLGL Creative Synthesis Rubric. Based on the feedback you receive, you may choose to make revisions to more fully meet the rubric criteria.
 * ==Critically Evaluate and Revise:==

> Be prepared to present your Creative Synthesis at the NLGL Design Studio Showcase during your final semester of your degree program, in conjunction with the ECI 508, Teachers as Leaders course.
 * ==**Share, Publish, Act:**==