A Teachers Quest

A Reflection on My Work as a Doctoral Student

Reflection paper submitted for

residency requirements
at Marshall University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

Doctor of Education
in
Curriculum and Instruction

Committee Chair, Dr. Elizabeth Campbell

Dr. Ronald Childress
Dr. Lisa A. Heaton
Dr. James Sottile
South Charleston, West Virginia

Keywords: curriculum, instruction, teaching, reflection

Copyright 2015 Whitney Ann Shakuri-Rad

Table of Contents
Reflection..................................................................................... 3
From the beginning...........................................................................3

Collaboration................................................................................ 5
Together we are stronger..................................................................5

Scholarship.................................................................................. 8
Through the woods...........................................................................8

Research and Development.........................................................13

What I have learned along the way..................................................13

Depth of Understanding..............................................................16
The journey continues.....................................................................16

References.................................................................................19

Reflection
From the beginning
Cease conceiving of education as
mere preparation for later life, and make of it the full meaning
of the present life.
John Dewey (1893)
In the spring of 2011 my father mailed me an advertisement for the Ed.D cohort through
Marshall University. He knew that I wanted to get my doctorate at some point in my life, and

thought the present was as good a time as any. I did not have incredibly high hopes of being
accepted. The program required three years of teaching experience, and I was finishing up my
third year as I was applying. Therefore, I was surprised when I received an interview on the
Charleston campus, where I would later learn all of my courses would take place. To my
incredible surprise Edna Thomas, the doctoral program secretary, called me less than an hour
after I left my interview in Charleston to inform me that I had been accepted into the Marshall
University doctoral cohort. I had not dared to hope, and yet there I was, about to start my quest
as a doctoral student.
That phone call began my quest for an Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction. I have had
many experiences in the past four years and I continue to learn and grow every day. Dewey
(1893) believed that education was life, and I agree with him. Education has been my life, and it
is my hope that through this program, and beyond, education can continue to be my life. I am a
teacher, a simple, yet profound, fact. I was a teacher before I joined this program, and I will be a
teacher when I finish. This endeavor was not about a destination; it was about the journey, my
journey, to becoming a better teacher for my students.
During my time in this program, I have been able to collaborate with my peers and
instructors, conduct research, critique and analyze findings in curriculum and instruction, and
present my research. Most importantly, I have learned how to further educate myself beyond this
program. I have gained confidence from my experiences and I have learned more about myself
as an educator. In this paper, I present and discuss the evidence related to these experiences and
changes, which may be found under the artifacts tab on this Weebly site
(http://shakurirad.weebly.com). These artifacts also show some of my accomplishments over the

last four years, and detail those aspects of being a cohort member that have been most influential
to my quest.
I would like to begin by acknowledging one experience that cannot be presented through
an artifact, but has been formative in my development: my membership in the cohort. I am
incredibly thankful that I joined this particular program because of our support system. Even
now, as we are individually developing our portfolios and dissertations, we are still sharing our
experiences and concerns, constantly encouraging each other to keep moving forward, keep
learning. That support has many times felt like a safety net, because I knew that if I failed, my
classmates would help me stand back up.
Being a member of a doctoral cohort can be difficult at times due to the lack of in person
contact with the professors and the rigid schedule. I loved using Blackboard for our assignments
because it was easy to navigate and communicate with, but there were times I found myself
wishing I lived on campus. I also struggled with wanting to take extra classes in the summer
when I was not working, but taking more or fewer classes at a time was not a possibility.
Despite these difficulties, I still believe that the cohort is an incredible opportunity for working
educators and I would not hesitate to recommend the cohort model to any of my colleagues.

Collaboration
Together we are stronger

We must come to know how students view their worlds if we want to teach them.

 William H. Schubert and Ann Lynn Lopez Schubert (2002)

While in the doctoral program I have been able to collaborate with both professors and
fellow classmates who, at one point or another, have all been my teachers. During these
collaborations I was able to determine my educational philosophy, as well as what I think is
important in my classroom. In 2001, Marzano and Pickering identified nine high yield
instructional strategies. I was introduced to these strategies in the doctoral program, and have
been using them ever since in my classroom. The strategies are effective because they promote
differentiation along with higher order thinking. As Tomlinson (2000) points out, students
differ in their readiness to learn, their interests, their styles of learning, their experiences and
their life circumstances (p. 6). This leads to the necessity of having the strategies in place to
promote differentiation for all of the students needs. Bonk and Reynolds (1997) also add The
learner centered movement has encouraged instructors to create challenging and novel
environments as well as encourage students to think about their own thinking (p.167). All of
the strategies have value, but I have found that the most effective strategies are focused on
differentiation and providing an environment conducive to higher order thinking and reflection.
This is because all students want to feel valued. Students want their needs to be addressed; they
need to be encouraged by their instructor to reflect upon their learning.
During the summer of 2013 I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Nega Debela on his
Multicultural and Diversity Issues Course (Artifact A- CI 706 syllabus). I had hoped for an
experience that involved collaboration where I could apply Marzanos strategies, but
unfortunately this was not the case. All of the assignments had stringent rubrics that I had to
follow when grading, and my input was not needed in any aspect of the course. In this instance I

did not feel as if I was teaching; there was no room to praise the students, and quantity was
valued over quality. Nonetheless, I did learn something important from this experience. I am
now more aware of how class discussions can be constructed to support the students
development and their ability to reflect deeply on what has been learned. As Cross (2002) points
out By taking the personalities, strengths, and needs of the people in the course into
consideration, the teacher can personalize the classroom discussion (p. 1). Nystrand (2006) also
supports this point by stating Recent sociocultural and dialogic research supports claims that
classroom discourse, including small-group work and whole-class discussion, works as an
epistemic environment (versus script) for literacy development (p. 393). They support the idea
that the quality of the reflection is far more beneficial to the student than the quantity of words.
By allowing students to reflect freely on their work and learning the teacher can see what
has been learned, or not learned, and can offer proper praise or guidance. This is not something
that can be restricted or produced in a finite number of words. Reflection must be allowed to
flow freely depending on the situation. As Tobin (2005) found, this type of class reflection
allows a higher level of participation from a more diverse population, including special needs
students, who may feel more open to sharing once they see their classmates participating.
During the same time that I was working with Dr. Debela, I was also working with Dr.
Yvonne Skoretz. My role in the Capstone course (Artifact B-CI 690 syllabus) was to advise the
students on their progress through their electronic portfolios, and to submit scores and feedback
regarding their portfolio artifacts. Dr. Skoretz and I spoke with each other before the class
began to establish a truly collaborative experience. She asked what I thought about the format of
the course and our instruction. Her questions gave me time to reflect on my previous teaching

practices, and on my thoughts regarding this course. Another beneficial aspect of this
collaboration was being able to work with several current and aspiring teachers and develop a
productive community of colleagues and peers. Elster, Barendziak, Haskamp, and Kastenholz
(2014) discuss how having a community of colleagues and peers can support student learning,
because teachers share with one another their success and failures, and are able to learn from
each other. As Porter (1987) and Watson (2014) point out, collaboration among teachers is too
valuable a tool to be overlooked. Teachers must foster their communities of sharing and support
to better our classrooms.
My work in CIEC 561 Wired for Learning (Artifact C-CIEC 561 welcome page) was
different from previous experiences because after I worked with my classmates to develop the
course, I also taught a section. The main thing I learned from the teachers in the class was that
anyone, no matter their age or background, can learn with proper direction and attentive
teaching. One student wrote in his final reflection that his lack of experience with technology had
made him incredibly nervous about taking this course, but he was thankful that he did take it
because he had learned so much. The course was not easy for him, but by applying the
information presented in the course, and by seeking his peers and instructor when he had
questions, he was able to learn several new technology tools that he can now implement in his
classroom.
As one who is both a teacher and a student, I am aware of how deeply technology and
education are now linked. There are so many positives to incorporating technology into our
classrooms. Technology can improve our teaching by capturing a students attention, supporting
visual learners, and adding a sense of fun to the learning environment. But, as with all things,

moderation must be considered. Teachers must be cautious, because technology can be

overwhelming to some students, and too much of it can or may detract from the curriculum. As
with everything done in the classroom, technology must be used purposefully. The combination
of designing the course collaboratively and implementing it on my own made me particularly
aware of how my students learn from, struggle with, and become distracted by technology.
As a result of my collaboration experiences I am now more cognizant of my classroom
practices. With my co-designers I learned to incorporate Marzanos (2001) strategies to support
my students understanding of literature and encourage their efforts. The doctoral program has
led me to value these strategies because they provide rigor and relevance to the curriculum, both
of which are vital to student growth.
I have also found that learning is not a solitary endeavor. To be a successful instructor I
must strive to constantly learn from my colleagues and students. I aim to constantly assess my
curriculum and instruction to see if what I am doing in the classroom best serves the needs of my
students. I do this by constantly requesting feedback from my students and colleagues and
adjusting my practices based on our collaboration. This exercise creates a collaborative
classroom where we may learn and grow together and allows the students to have a stake in their
education. From these experiences I have learned that collaboration is a deliberate act. Working
with an instructor or colleague does not mean we are collaborating. Collaboration requires the
conscious effort of both parties to engage in working with and learning from each other towards
a common goal.

Scholarship
Through the woods
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruits are sweet.
Aristotle (trans. 1941)

All journeys have times of struggle. Being a doctoral student has been incredibly
difficult, challenging, and tiring. On occasion, I have wondered if it has been worth the struggle.
But as I look back on the last four years I am so happy that I continued my education. I have
gained invaluable experience and knowledge and have become a lifelong learner and better
teacher. I consider my conference presentations, research, and development to be the struggle of
my journey, but I believe it is during our times of struggle that we learn the most about ourselves.
The Eastern Educational Research Association Conference (Artifact F- the final draft of
my conference presentation paper) in February of 2013 with Dr. Sottile was my first
experience with conference presentations. The topic was of great interest to me because I have a
background in women's studies and I wanted to address the issue of the lack of diversity in the
West Virginia state content standards. Presenting at this conference made me aware of my areas
of interest in research. Before attending EERA, I had not considered what I wanted to research,
or what I was interested in. I am now more aware of my interest in womens studies research, as
well as research regarding teacher education and curriculum. Butler (1991) and Tantengco (2014)
point out that incorporating womens studies into the secondary curriculum would allow teachers
to aspire to the closest approximation of the truth (Butler, 1991, p. xx) in regards to the
contributions of women throughout history, information that is essential to a well-rounded
education.
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I also had the opportunity to present at the West Virginia Statewide Technology
Conference (Artifact E- WVSTC session schedule) in the summer of 2013 after I helped teach
the Masters online capstone course. The course implemented a new format the semester that I
co-taught and Dr. Heaton, Dr. Skoretz, and I shared our experiences with the new course format
at the conference. The audience was interested in how we used ePortfolios instead of traditional
paper based portfolios for the final portfolio.
The switch from paper to electronic portfolios developed because Dr. Heaton and Dr.
Skoretz wanted to address the needs and desires of their students. Instructors must reevaluate
their class procedures and tools regularly to make certain that the curriculum meets the needs of
the students. As Brookfield (1995) states One of the hardest things teachers have to learn is that
the sincerity of their intentions does not guarantee the purity of their practice (p. 1). According
to Fink (2003), student centered teaching will lead to higher engagement and significant learning
experiences. If a teacher continues to use the same tools and materials year after year their
teaching may become antiquated and less valuable to the students. With Brookfield I am very
concerned with making my curriculum useful and relevant to my students; this opportunity
allowed me to assess my views on the use of certain technology tools in the classroom, as well as
how I might continue to be a student centered teacher. Part of being a student-centered teacher is
seeking to maximize student involvement and engagement. For example, my current schools
practice is to have the students themselves lead their parent teacher conferences; this is a new
practice for me, but I find it to be extremely valuable because it increases their accountability
and involvement in their education. It requires that the student self-assess their performance. It
also allows me to see what they find relevant, based on how they focus the conversation.

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Being a student and teacher simultaneously has led me to be more contemplative

regarding what I do in my classroom. Before joining the cohort I simply taught how I had been
taught, but after studying Dewey (1938), Marzano (2001), Bloom (1994), and others I have
begun evaluating what I teach and why. From Dewey (1938), for example, I have become more
conscious of my students prior experiences and how those experiences affect their learning. That
consciousness has changed how I build learning experiences, especially with regard to their order
and timing of what I teach. From both Marzano (2001) and Bloom (1994) I have learned to be
much more reflective and deliberate about my teaching practice than I was before entering this
program. For example, I meet with the other 8th grade English teacher in my building once a
week and we review how our lessons are going, where we want to make improvements, and
share our suggestions on how the other might make those improvements.
This doctoral cohort has also sparked an interest in how my program compares to other
programs. In the spring of 2014 I presented at The International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry
Conference (Artifact D-photograph of ICQI 2014 panel) as part of a panel with Dr. Elizabeth
Campbell, Donna Hage, Lee Ann Porter, Darrell Brewer, and Allison Pyle. We discussed the
intricacies and individualities of being a part of a doctoral cohort. My part of the discussion
focused on how over time the cohort became a collective. Although we all began the program
saying I, we all eventually began to frame the doctoral experience in terms of we. I did not
fully realize the significance of that word choice until our ICQI presentation, when other doctoral
students who attended our panel spoke of the competition and solitude they experienced in their
doctoral programs. The audience members who spoke with us after the panel did not experience
anything close to the sense of community that we did. Several audience members, in fact, stated
that it would be rare for people in their programs to support one another the way we have. We

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talked about how our cohort, regularly shared with each other about our grades and progress in a
non-judgmental manner. Our audience said they would rather lie about their grades to classmates
than admit that they struggled with anything. The audience discussion was a particularly eyeopening experience for me. It allowed me to gain an understanding of how our cohort is
different from other programs due to our camaraderie, as well as my role in the cohort. This
discussion also underscored for me the way in which an emphasis on collaboration rather than
competition makes for a fundamentally different learning experience.
The most valuable aspect of the conference was a discussion that happened the night
before we presented. I went to a small diner with Dr. Campbell and Jill Wood, who was on a
different panel, to get dessert before we all headed off to bed. We discussed several topics,
including what we want to do once we complete the program. I was especially interested in what
Dr. Campbell had to say about working as a university professor, as that is my future career goal.
Since joining the doctoral program I have had few opportunities to sit and talk with my
classmates and professors, so it was nice to get to share experiences with them and talk about
goals and future plans after the program is finished. I had only been concerned with finishing,
but our conversation made me pause and consider my experiences as a part of the cohort and
how my experiences have changed me as a person, student, and educator, as well as how they
may have shaped my future.
As a result of these formal and informal experiences, I have now gained an appreciation
for the educational opportunities conferences can provide. Conferences are a rare opportunity
where individuals from different areas of the country--indeed, of the world--and different
educational fields can come together to discuss and share their commonalities. I find that most

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times people with similar experiences surround me, and I enjoy the diversity that conferences
provide. Because of these conference experiences I am also more aware of my areas of interest
in research and what areas I wish to study in the future. I wish to continue studying how
womens studies can be integrated into secondary education, as well as best practices in
curriculum and instruction, especially in a student centered classroom.
These experiences taught me how to review and criticize my practices, as well as the
practices of others. Before entering the doctoral program I did not reflect on or critique my work
or the work of others. I am now more conscientious when I am evaluating my classroom
practices and educational research, as well as when I am studying the work of others. I question
what I read and consider information on curriculum and instruction from a far more critical
perspective.

Research and Development

What I have learned along the way
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
Albert Einstein (trans. 1999)

Part of my learning process was to create an evaluation plan (Artifact G-Program

Evaluation Plan) for the Program Evaluation course with Dr. Childress and Dr. Tuckwiller in
the spring of 2013. This plan proposed to evaluate a middle school behavior model and to
examine faculty perceptions regarding this model. This assignment was very valuable because
the information was presented in general terms so that the cohort students might mold what they

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learned to fit future evaluation projects. In some instances, curriculum may be presented in a
rigid manner that is not applicable outside of that one situation, but in this case we were given
the knowledge in a manner that could be used for any of our future evaluation endeavors.
That same semester I wrote my first major research paper for Dr. Childress and Dr.
Tuckwiller for EDF 711 Survey Research (Artifact H-EDF 711 Survey Research Paper). This
assignment was my first extensive piece of research and the requirements were more rigorous
than previous assignments; the project, therefore, necessitated more time, focus, and revision
than I was accustomed to doing. The most important thing I learned from this assignment was
the research process. I had never written a paper where I had to have over 30 sources and a
lengthy table of contents. I had previously written a paper with an abstract and subsections
before, but I had not done it to this degree. I had to plan out and conduct my literature review,
eliminate unsuitable sources, construct the various sections, and then conduct several rounds of
revisions.
The hardest part in this learning process was eliminating the unsuitable sources, so I
developed a process for doing this. I started by reading abstracts to see if they might fit with my
research goals. If I thought the abstract aligned with my research then I looked at the whole
piece. I looked for pieces that both supported and challenged my ideas so that I would have a
more balanced paper. The survey research paper was valuable preparation for the dissertation,
and I believe that the process helped me to become a better writer.
In EDF 711 I also conducted a survey (Artifact I-Survey Report), which taught me still
more about research. This research required that I go through the IRB process. I had done that
before, but this time felt different. I had never asked a group of people to respond to a survey I

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had written, which made me feel slightly vulnerable. I was not just doing a class assignment; I
was asking people to participate in an actual research project. I also learned how to use Survey
Monkey with this project and was able to see how the program can analyze and process the data.
Of all my doctoral courses, I feel that CIEC 715 Online Course Development and
Delivery (Artifact J-CIEC 715 Course Introduction) had the most real world applications. I
learned how to completely construct an online course from start to finish. This course brought
together content, practice, collaboration, and compromise between team members. The class
first had to practice developing modules. We created tests, quizzes, discussion forums, blogs,
and journals. We also learned how to adjust settings on Blackboard such as grading scales,
rubrics, color schemes, layout, and how to upload materials we wanted to use with the students.
After developing our practice modules, my cohort members and I worked together to
develop CIEC 561 Wired for Learning. The Wired for Learning course was developed for
teachers who wanted to learn about technology tools they could incorporate into their
classrooms. The course showed them various technology tools that they could incorporate into
their classrooms such as Symbaloo and Topic Hotlist. The students then had to develop their
own Weebly site and create separate pages for their examples of these tools. The process of
learning how an online course is created and then teaching that course was very beneficial to me
because as students, we rarely get to immediately utilize what we learn. I believe that this
process allowed me to see how making learning processes more relevant to students can help
them engage more with the curriculum and with their learning.
Before taking CI 677 (Artifact K-Three drafts of a single essay) with Dr. Simone I
thought I was a great writer. I had always received perfect scores on my papers, with little effort

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on my part and little feedback on my instructor's part. This course changed all that. I was told
that I would be doing several drafts of my papers. I assumed that this would not be needed,
because I had always been such a good writer. I was wrong. I learned that all good writers have
multiple drafts, sometimes entirely rewriting a piece. I also learned that this was a natural part of
the writing process. This course not only changed my behavior as a writer, it also changed how I
view my classroom and my students. I now give greater consideration to their work and I always
provide feedback where applicable. I let them know where they should add information, what
should be cut out, and how they can improve their writing. Before this course, I simply corrected
my students spelling and grammar, the same way that my teachers corrected my papers. But the
course taught me that no one should be getting 100% on the first draft of their writing. I am no
longer surprised when I receive comments and requests for revision on my own work, and I am
helping my students to feel the same way.
Because of these experiences I have learned that writing and research are a journey, not a
destination. My work with Drs. Childress, Tuckwiller, Simone, and Heaton has not only
expanded my research abilities, but has also deepened my knowledge of curriculum and
instruction through our coursework.

Depth of Understanding
The journey continues
The only journey is the one within.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1939)

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This reflection has caused me to consider what I have done the last four years, what I
have learned, and who I have become. I am in this program because I want to be a better
teacher, and my work throughout this program has made that improvement possible. I am
constantly conducting research on best practices in the classroom to maximize my lessons. I
incorporate Blooms taxonomy and Marzanos strategies to better reach my students and push
them to higher levels of achievement.
This program has also allowed me the opportunity to study major curriculum and
instruction theorists and to consider my own beliefs. Through my studies I have found that I
agree with much of what Dewey (1938) writes. As teachers we must connect our subject to the
students interests if we want to engage them in their learning (Dewey, 1938). With Freire
(2000), I understand that students are not banks where teachers make deposits. Teachers must
encourage them to take an active role in their learning and create lifelong learners who wish to
take an active role in the world, instead of just dumping information on them and asking them to
recite it back to us. As teachers we must do as Tyler (1949) recommends and create useful
learning experiences for our students and, more importantly, revise the curriculum when it is not
effective. These theorists support my beliefs about how I, as a teacher, wish to support my
students. I do not want to just deliver knowledge and hope something sticks; I want to engage
them in their learning and teach them how to use that knowledge when they are no longer in my
classroom.
Through my studies and experiences I have also discovered that having a culturally and
ethnically diverse curriculum is vital to my students well being. Villegas and Lucas (2002) and
Gay (2001) emphasize that teachers must be more responsive to diverse students needs. We

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cannot teach as if every student comes from a middle to upper class, native English speaking,
two parent, Christian household. Students are incredibly diverse and educators must meet the
students individual needs; instead of seeing a mass of 30, we must learn to see each as one
unique person. If not for the doctoral program, I would not have developed this awareness of best
practices in curriculum and instruction, nor would I have learned how to continue to educate
myself in the future.
Because of the doctoral program I am also more aware of my areas of interest. As I
consider my dissertation I am looking towards areas related to doctoral program models. I have
had so many wonderful experiences in the doctoral program, especially because of the cohort
model, that I now want to study how it compares to the traditional doctoral program model. I am
interested in interviewing cohort and traditional students to determine program best practices and
outcomes.
As I enter candidacy and begin my dissertation I feel as if I am moving towards the end
of one quest and beginning another. I have learned so much so far, and I am excited to continue
learning. I have gained invaluable confidence in my abilities because of my experiences in the
cohort. I have learned how to properly critique articles, conduct research, present at state,
national, and international conferences, collaborate with my peers and instructors, reflect upon
my work, and understand the best practices in curriculum and instruction. All of these tools will
support me as I move on to my dissertation, but most importantly the doctoral cohort has taught
me how to seek that which I do not know, and for that I am eternally grateful.

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