Courtney+Samuelson+-+Design+Space

= **I. Design space to develop your 250-300 word** // abstract // **that summarizes your question, rationale, and your findings.** = How can I effectively build student engagement in reading, writing, and speaking in my middle school ELA class?
 * What is your question?

When I began my Masters Program in the New Literacies and Global Learning program, I had been teaching middle school ELA for four years. This was just when I was beginning to start feeling comfortable as an ELA teacher but at the same time knew I still had a lot more to learn and room to grow. During my time teaching before I began this program, I had developed my three-part vision for middle school ELA: that students master the skills of reading, writing, and speaking. My class needs to be a place where: 1) students are learning to critically analyze texts, but also enjoy reading texts and appreciate reading skills as valuable to their everyday lives; 2) see writing as a tool that when artfully mastered, can give them power and autonomy to express themselves in a number of ways; and 3) be able to speak professionally and scholarly about any number of topics.
 * What is your rationale?

Yet the tough reality is that there are many challenges to reaching this vision. Many of my students are still in the late stages of "learning to read" rather than fully "reading to learn"; many are in that phase of life when reading is no longer enjoyable or as fun as it was in elementary school; and most have not received robust writing or speaking instruction in years because these skills are not assessed on state tests and therefore deprioritized by their previous teachers. Basically, I was beginning to realize that getting students //engaged// in these three pillars of English Language Arts was going to be a challenge.

I enrolled in this program with the goal of determining how I could successfully achieve this three-part vision for my middle English Language Arts classes.

I have learned that if teachers thoughtfully and carefully put //structures and systems// in place to //intentionally engage// students in these three areas, that vision -- creating students who are critical readers and who enjoy reading, who can write powerfully and sophisticatedly, and who can engage in provocative and scholarly discussions--- can certainly be met.
 * What are your findings?

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

==Compelling Question:== > 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? > How can I effectively build student engagement in reading, writing, and speaking in my middle school ELA class?

==Gather & Analyze Information:== > 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.

==Creatively Synthesize 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.

==Critically Evaluate and Revise:== > 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.

==**Share, Publish, Act:**== > 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.

My creative synthesis is located here on this website: http://nlglsamuelson.weebly.com/