Aspiring Teacher
Brief Description of Evidence
During the Fall semester of 2018, I conducted an action research project in the course EDUC 121- Child and Adolescent Development. For this project, my peers and I created a survey, as well as going out into the community to conduct interviews. The interviewees included educators from multiple different levels, parents, and students. The goal was to gather input on two main local and global issues: poverty and soft skills. I used Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory while completing this project, as it helped me focus on how different environments and surroundings have an effect on students and their development.
Analysis of What I Learned
Whilst surveying the community, I realized that there are quite a few people who do not recognize the role poverty plays in education. I also noticed that not many people have thought about ideas to combat poverty. Although there may not be an answer to poverty, we need to be looking for ways to manage the issue. This project has sparked a desire in me to spread awareness about the effects of poverty on education, as well as do what I can to support the students from poverty that I will have in my future classroom. My research taught me that the effects of poverty will likely show in a student’s progress. Some examples of this could be attendance issues, lack of ability to concentrate, and absence of social skills. Poverty can also lead to little to no development of soft skills. Soft skills are a vital part of a student’s education, and it is very important that awareness is brought upon them. Soft skills allow people to effectively communicate with one another such as collaboration, leadership, work ethic, and flexibility.
How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the InTASC
Standard
By conducting this action research project I was able to bring awareness to my community regarding real-world issues. This gave me the opportunity to educate my peers about the complexity of two local and global issues that we face today. Gathering input from multiple different perspectives allowed me to think about these issues in many ways. Speaking to my classmates who already had a basic understanding of poverty in the classroom, I was able to dig deeper into the topic and challenge them to come up with creative ways to combat this issue, using collaborative problem-solving skills. This project let me analyze the complexities of the concerns at hand. I had the opportunity to challenge the assumptions that many people had about poverty and soft skills, and offer varying perspectives. I was able to offer my knowledge, as well as some potential approaches, to two major influences on education.
