Amanda+Turner+-+Design+Space

=**I. Design space to develop your 250-300 word** // abstract // **that summarizes your question, rationale, and your findings.**=  How can teachers encourage their students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to be culturally responsive and respectful to each other? > > > I also discovered the democratic classroom. It instills autonomy in the individual as well as encourages and cultivates a well working community within the classroom. Through my program I learned the value of 21st century skills in today’s world. If tasks are to get done in a timely manner, if meaningful learning is to take place I must demonstrate to my students what good communication skills look like. Through my graduate program I have learned about the students I teach, the classroom I want to create, and the world in which I want to prepare them for. All of which has prepared me to answer my initial question. >
 * What is your question?
 * What is your rationale? When I started my Master's program at N.C. State I was beginning my second year of teaching and very passionate about my career and the group of students that I get to teach. The student body at my school is diverse in ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and academic ability. My students come from such different backgrounds they come with preconceived notions about one another. The stereotypes that they hear discussed at home or in their neighborhoods sometimes strain the relationships among my students and inevitably hinder the education environment. Through my graduate program I wanted to learn, "how teachers could encourage their students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to be culturally responsive and respectful to each other."
 * What are your findings? Early in my graduate program I learned a lot about different cultures and "baggage" that those cultures bring with them. This led me to see that discussing cultural differences in my classroom is much better than ignoring the differences. Helping my students to understand the inter-workings of their cultures will lead to a more profitable and cooperative learning environment rather than one riddled with cliques and tension.

=**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? > -__My Classroom:__ Autonomy and Democratic Classroom (Dr. Beal, Dr. Lee, Dr. Pope) > -__My Students__: Multicultural Education/Development Theory (Dr. Marshall, Dr. Beal) > -__The World:__ 21st century skills (Dr. Lee, Dr. Honeycutt)
 * ==Compelling Question:==
 * How can I successfully teach my diverse (cultural, socioeconomic, academic) group of students to be culturally responsive and respectful citizens?
 * Question revised: How can teachers encourage their students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to be culturally responsive and respectful to eachother?
 * Themes:

> 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. > - __ My Classroom: __ Autonomy and Democratic Classroom (Dr. Beal, Dr. Lee, Dr. Pope) > - __ My Students __ : Multicultural Education/Development Theory (Dr. Marshall, Dr. Beal) > - __ The World: __ 21st century skills (Dr. Lee, Dr. Honeycutt)
 * ==Gather & Analyze Information:==
 * Themes:

Dr. Beal ECI 550-Foundations of the Middle Ages Dr. Lee ECI 525-Contemporary Approaches to Teaching Social Studies/524-Theory and Research for Global Learning Dr. Pope ECI 508-Teachers as Leaders Dr. Marshall ECI 500-Teaching Diverse Populations Dr. Honeycutt ECI 523-Teacher as Researcher

> 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. I am using a Weebly site to present my information. http://nlglahturner.weebly.com/
 * ==**Share, Publish, Act:**==