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DEVELOPMENT
The 2018-19 school year marked the first in my teaching career where I was teaching the
same grade level at the same school. No moving classrooms, no unpacking boxes, no navigating
new school cultures. It felt like a luxury to focus my beginning of the year planning on my 1st
planned out routines with my prior year’s class in mind, recreating the environment that worked
well before we packed things up last May. On the first day of school, in the midst of the
excitement that a new school year brings, I quickly realized that I had neglected one critical
component in my planning. I had made my room ready for 4th quarter 1st graders, and I was
developmental strengths and needs of individual students was necessary when planning my
classroom. For me, it was time to grab the crayons and regroup.
students construct knowledge through personal experience and problem solving (Powell &
classroom and introduce lessons that engage student’s active understanding of a subject, but also
capitalize on their developmental readiness for engaging with new ideas and concepts (Eun,
2018). With readiness, context, and appropriate scaffolding, students can engage with new tasks
commitment to understanding where students “are” as a starting point to helping them get where
they need to go. In this project, I analyze writing samples from students who are at varying
ERICKSON MASTERS PORTFOLIO 2
levels of reading and writing development. Consistent with a study conducted by Sulzby,
Bernhart, and Hieshima (1989), the student work samples exhibit a combination of drawing and
invented spelling to share their stories, and each skill exhibited herein is a step in the literacy
progression, sharing valuable insight into the literacy experience of the child. In each sample, I
look first to see what skills the students are currently using. With this understanding of the
student’s prior knowledge, I can establish appropriate scaffolding and challenge to support their
astonishing speed, and each piece of the puzzle builds on prior knowledge – what they learned
prior knowledge has a significant impact on how effectively students will engage with new
material (Myhill & Brackley, 2004). In decoding text, some students rely heavily on their
understanding of letter sounds and blending, while others look to context. My objective as an
instructor is to understand what strategies they already know, and introduce new strategies or
material for them to explore. Providing students with a variety of materials to explore and
modes to represent their learning allows me to adjust my curriculum to meet the particular needs
honor the social and emotional capabilities of the entire group. Developmental readiness in these
areas is integral when considering how to scaffold the introduction of new skills or methods of
instruction. Can students effectively work independently or collaborate with their peers? Are
students able to take on multi-step directions? Do they engage with direct instruction and apply
what they have learned? Through personal reflection, continuing education, and teacher research,
ERICKSON MASTERS PORTFOLIO 3
I have found that one instructional strategy does not work for every group of learners. I
flexibility. My students are provided appropriate scaffolding to support their growth as both
honor the academic and social strengths of my students, I can engage them with experiences and
REFERENCES
Eun, B. (2018) The zone of proximal development as an overarching concept: A framework for
Myhill, D., Brackley, M. (2004) Making Connections: Teachers’ use of children’s prior
knowledge in whole class discourse. British Journal of Educational Studies. 52(3), 263-
275
Powell, Katherine C., Kalina, Cody J. (2009) Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Sulzby, E., Barnhart, J., & Hieshima, J. (1989, July). Forms of writing and rereading from
writing: A preliminary report (Technical Report No. 20). Berkeley, CA: University of