About this site

This product of learning was created for partial fulfillment of the Master's Degree in Reading Education at Appalachian State University, under the direction of Dr. Woodrow Trathen. These artifacts serve to demonstrate knowledge gained while in this program of study. All artifacts are directly aligned with North Carolina DPI Teaching Standards.

Reading Education Graduate Program of Study and Reflection


Personal Statement and Reflection

Appalachian State University's Reading Education Program has increased my awareness in reading instruction.  It has introduced me to techniques and methods of instructions, reading and writing models, and assessments that work within the classroom among different levels of readers and learners.  Overall, it has transformed my way of teaching reading and writing.

Before beginning the master's program at Appalachian State University, I would often attempt to integrate various content areas with reading and writing - sometimes with success, sometimes not.  This integration was done with no real understanding as to why it worked, why it didn't work, and how to optimize the benefits for my students.  However, after attending the Reading Education Program, I was able to polish my instruction by developing relevant and rigorous curriculum that targeted real issues and concerns based on valid assessments and the analysis of these assessments and implementation of intervention plans.  This learned knowledge enabled me to better prepare my students, improving their gains of progress in reading, writing, and other content areas.

The biggest asset I have taken from this program has been the know-how in addressing weaknesses of struggling readers in order to help increase their confidence and make strides in reading growth.  Reading was never an area of struggle for me as a child, and I have been fortunate enough that my own children have not struggled with reading as well.  However, as an educator, I deal with children whose reading abilities span across various grade levels.  In a typical classroom, teachers teach children who range from below-grade level to above-grade level, and often they aim to teach somewhere in the middle.  Teaching to this middle crowd leaves those behind frustrated and still behind and those ahead independently searching for ways to move forward.  In my opinion, good teachers find the common ground, but I want to be a great teacher - one who meets the needs of every student despite the diligence and planning it takes.  Furthering my education and obtaining my master's degree from Appalachian State University's Reading Education Program has provided me an avenue to pursue my goal of being a great teacher, where I'm able to start with changing my reading and writing instruction.  After completing this program, I feel more confident in developing this reading instruction, and I am able to provide the research support for chosen instructional strategies that increase reading accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and motivation among my students.  I've also been able to establish a connection in my reading instruction to the other content areas I teach, providing a more advanced curriculum that will transform my students to success within the classroom and among society.