MSEd Proficiencies Refelections

As a graduate of Masters in Education in Information and Technology program at Western Oregon University, graduate students are to met the vision of a MSEd graduate in seven areas of proficiency. 1) be professionals and leaders in their field, 2) be able to express themselves competently in writing, 3) be reflective practitioners, 4) be conversant in the literature and research of their discipline, 5) know how to connect with all of their students, 6) be familiar with technology, 7) be able to synthesize the new knowledge they have gained from all the classes offered within their degree program, and know how to apply that knowledge in meaningful ways to improve their practice, improve student learning, and advance the field of education.

The following presentation is a way to give you insight into my reaching those seven proficiencies based on the observations of WOU instructors as well as my colleagues and peers in the educational field. Hopefully these quotes from professional educators speaking in reference to my skills will be insightful of my qualities as an educator and graduate student of WOU.

1. MSEd graduates will be professionals and leaders in their

field.

• they will know what it means to be a professional and will practice that as a matter of habit.• they will make connections with the professional world by attending conferences, reading professional journals, participating in professional development activities• they will have leadership skills and will take on leadership roles in their work • they will be change agents—they will advocate for change where it is needed • they will be agents for social change • they will be familiar with educational policy • they will be critical consumers of information • they will establish connections with the community and demonstrate outreach skills • they will be self-driven, growth oriented professionals • they will provide leadership in program and curricular design

“Diana is a leader in creating successful, motivating technology projects, that are tied to state and district standards, for students from first through fifth grades. I have observed some of her former students who are now in Middle School. They stand out above the rest with their comfort level and ease with technology.”

“Diana was an initiator in creating a Professional Learning Community for the Teacher Librarians in schools in West Salem. Through this PLC, lesson plans involving technology, library and literacy skills, and teacher collaboration as well as collection development ideas were shared and discussed in detail. This PLC was used as a framework for other PLC's throughout the Teacher Librarian community.”

Jennifer Gibson-MillsChapman Hill Library media Technology TeacherWest Professional Learning Community Member

“Diana is a consummate professional lending her expertise of library collection knowledge and technology skills to colleagues during Library Media meetings and Professional Learning Community gatherings wherein the exchange of new ideas and best practices were of the utmost importance.”

“Diana attended Oregon Association of School Library (OASL) conferences twice a year. She conducted district level in-services for district professional development days to disseminate information gained through university classes and conferences attended. During PLC meetings, she regularly shared book talks and new information gathered from professional journals such as Booklist and from her classes and conferences.”

Debra BarnsBush ElementaryLibrary Media Technology TeacherSalem Keizer Scope and Sequence Development Team

“Diana is an extremely devoted teacher. She truly loves what she does and gets along well with student she teaches. In addition Diana has always been a wonderful resource for staff. She is always willing to help trouble shoot technology problems, or her knowledge often provides just the right resource or program needed for any given project.”

Kathy StewartHarritt ElementaryKindergarten Dual Language Teacher

“As a parent of Diana’s former students, I appreciate her ability to infuse technology into all of her lessons. As a colleague, I appreciated her willingness to share those ideas in the PLC meetings that she initiated. The times we were able to come together were valuable for everyone involved. We were able to share ideas for lessons, but more importantly, we were able to develop of sense of community.”

Marie ZensSwegle Elementary Library Media TeacherSalem Keizer Scope and Sequence Development Team

“Diana has proved to be a leader in our district, related to library media services and how they connect to state and district stands. She’s coordinated a PLC of other elementary librarians who have been meeting regularly to create a scope and sequence that connects library, literacy and technology standards, aligning those with what the homeroom teacher are doing in the classroom.”

Bill WittmanPrincipal Liberty Elementary

“Diana’s spoke in many of our meetings. She would take 5-10 minutes to impress us with new technology, the things she had learned and new resources.”

Kristen TaylorHarritt Elementary3rd/4th Dual Language Teacher

“While at Harritt, Diana has served for five years as the Site Technology Coordinator, taught professional development classes in Web 2.0 tools, established the Harritt Library Media Cadet Program and led a Library Media Focus Group which established a district K-5 Scope and Sequence.”

Stephen CoxLibrary/Media Program SpecialistSalem-Keizer School District

2. MSEd graduates will be able to express themselves competently

in writing.

• they will be skilled writers • they will know how to write for an academic audience • they will know how to write persuasively • they will know how to communicate effectively with colleagues, students, parents, and the community

“I loved reading your reflective writing pieces. If only they could be circulated in our school system. Awesome Job!”

Karen JaredWalker Middle School 7th grade Language Art/Social Studies teacher

“Diana regularly interacts with parents, students and staff via email, in person and on the phone. She also communicates with library patrons through an effective library media web page which she developed for her school @: http://www.harrittmedia.blogspot.com/”


3. MSEd graduates will be reflective practitioners.

• they will strive to improve their practice • they will think critically about their own practice • they will understand how to evaluate their own work and how to apply what they have learned to make necessary improvements• they will not be complacent • they will understand how theory informs their own practice • they will apply new instructional practices as a result of reflection

Be reflective practitioners

“Diana practiced her skills with the highest level of drive and concern toward professional growth to continue to become the most knowledgeable and effective media specialist she could possibly be. She encouraged and helped her colleagues to do the same. As one of her colleagues, I benefited tremendously from our discussions, exchanges and the collaborative lessons we created and refined together.”


4. MSEd graduates will be conversant in the literature and research of their

discipline.• they will understand the theories underlying teaching and learning and know how to apply those theories to improve their own teaching• they will know how to review and evaluate the research of others and apply the findings to their own situations• they will be familiar with best practices and be able to identify the theoretical foundations that support these practices• they will use research and theory to develop new instructional practices• they will be theory-builders • they will be critical consumers of research • they will know how to collect and use data to evaluate programs • they should understand and use action research

“During her eight years of media specialist service to the Salem Keizer School District, Diana organized and led a committee of SKSD media specialists in the job of creating a scope and sequence which aligned library use, literacy and technology skills. The subsequent documents created became the foundation for SKSD Library Media curriculum.”

Debra BarnsBush ElementaryLibrary media Technology TeacherSalem Keizer Scope and Sequence Development Team

Be conversant in the literature and research of

their discipline “Diana is an outstanding professional who is experienced, knowledgeable and caring. Diana constantly strives to improve her teaching and technical skills.


5. MSEd graduates will know how to connect with all of their students,

whether they be children or adults.• they will be able to effectively work in a diverse environment • no matter how diverse their student body, they will be able to make learning meaningful for each and every student• they will be able to help every student access, understand, and personalize information• they will understand how to connect with adult learners, whether in a classroom situation, in conferences, or in professional meetings• they will be culturally competent • they will be aware of special education issues.

Know how to connect with all of their students

“Diana Wanek consistently created projects connected to students lives. Last year at the end of the year, she asked each student to create an Animoto movie acknowledging their best friends in their lives. Many of these ended up being family members; they often brought tears to my eyes and allowed each student the opportunity to compliment and honor the classroom peers that had made and impact on them here at Harritt.”

“Diana found ways to acknowledge and support all academic levels of students. She was also quick to comment on students’ skills and especially the strengths of Special Education and ELL students. She often made the students, that most struggled with traditional academic issues, her helpers and experts in the lab. She cared about each and every student and made them all feel talented, worthy and special.”

Kristen TaylorHarritt Elementary3rd/4th Dual Language Teacher

“When Salem-Keizer made the decision to place their library media program on the chopping block, during the board meetings which would determine the fate of this SKSD’s program, it was evident Diana had successfully reached out to her school community by the number of her students and parents who came to speak on her behalf to attempt to save the program. While all of the attempts were unsuccessful, her students’ and parents’ speeches regarding how she had made such a difference in student reading interests and technology abilities were resounding.”


“Last year Mrs. Wanek asked me to volunteer in the media center in order to help those children who had not had much exposure to working with the computer mouse. This demonstrates her concern and willingness to do what it take to help students who need extra support develop critical technological literacy skills.”

Kristen KlayHarritt Parent

“As a new teacher, I learned so much from watching Mrs. Wanek teach and interact with students at Harritt Elementary. She holds ALL of her students to high expectations and teaches them with compassion, energy, and a great sense of humor. With a dual language program and culturally diverse student population, she was able to find ways to teach technology by connecting it to what the students were learning in class as well as taking their background knowledge into consideration.”

Brianne Cameron2nd Grade Dual Language Teacher Harritt Elementary

“Diana is not content until every student is fully engaged. Each of her students experiences success with a wide range of media opportunities. She monitors participation until she discovers any challenges students face. She is actively engaged with each of her students to adapt & support until they experience success.” “Diana's selection of materials is consistently culturally sensitive as are her assignments. She is sensitive to the learning needs of a diverse population including bilingual, bicultural and special education students.”

Cindy VanlevunHarritt Elementary Special Education Teacher

6. MSEd graduates will be familiar with technology.

• they will know when it is appropriate to use technology and when it is not • they will know how to use technology in ways that enhance learning • they will know what it means to be literate in a digital world, and will be able help their students learn to locate, retrieve, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources

Be familiar with technology

“Diana took a variety of Technology focused classes. She spent countless hours in professional development all for the benefit of our school, but mostly for our students. Upon arriving from any workshop, Diana would immediately incorporate her new learning and skills with great enthusiasm. Every week was a new, exciting project for kids; she shared how she had just learned something new and made them excited about learning something new too.”

Kristin TaylorHarritt Elementary3rd/4th Dual Language Teacher

"I have always been inspired by Diana's creativity and ability to integrate fun and engaging projects incorporating up-to-date technology at so many different levels. Anyone who works with or has Diana as a teacher is extremely fortunate!“

Terry SelbakMorningside ElementaryLibrary Media TeacherSalem Keizer Scope and Sequence Development Team

7. MSEd graduates will be able to synthesize the new knowledge they have gained from all the classes we offer in our programs, and will know how to apply that knowledge in meaningful ways to improve their practice, improve student learning, and advance the field of education.

•they will synthesize knowledge gained and use it to build theory • they will use knowledge gained to introduce new approaches to teaching • they will employ critical thinking skills as they apply knowledge gained in coursework and new information encountered after graduation

Be able to synthesize the new knowledge they have gained from all the classes offered within their degree program, and will know how to apply that knowledge in meaningful ways to improve their practice, improve student learning, and advance the field of education.

“Last year, I remember Diana coming to the staff with a video she had created. She showed staff her video and taught us the ease this technology. She encouraged us to delve into new technological realms and made it easy, fun and doable even for teachers reluctant to move into the new age of computers.” Kristen TaylorHarritt Elementary3rd/4th Dual Language Teacher

“Diana is a self-motivated, hard worker who strives to create the best short and long term plans possible. Student emerge from their K-5 experience with solid computer skills: everything form Word to Publisher to PowerPoint to research-related skills and Internet awareness. Her student not only learn the skills but then apply them regularly to project.”

Bill WittmanLiberty Elementary Principal

“Diana has ensured that she stay current on new technology and software. She has taken the Harritt student further into the world of computers than the average elementary media specialist. Diana has sued the computer to teach not only basics computer skills, but also basic internet navigation, research skills and other programs such as Animoto.”

Kathy StewartHarritt ElementaryKindergarten Dual Language Teacher