Lindsey Kappen
Science Teacher
Student Advocate
Showcase of Work
This showcase is a represention of some of the coursework I have completed while earning my Master of Arts in Education Degree (MAED) at Michigan State University. I pursued a concentration in Sports Leadership and Coaching, so many of my classes focused on the plethora of things a coach needs to know about. When choosing my elective classes, I sought classes that would educate me on how to best serve students of diverse backgrounds and needs. .
Through all of these classes I have gained and developed a variety of skills that will make me a successful educator. There is a reason the MAED program is ranked so highly, it prepares individuals to become skillful leaders. I have gained many skills and strategies that will be useful in helping my students see success in my classroom.
Here you will find a sample of my work that shows the skills and strategies I have learned. I have divided my artifacts into three categories based on how they have helped me to grow as a professional: coaching development, reflective practioner development and analytical skill development. To view a PDF version of an assignment, click the title button of the artifact you wish to view.
Coaching Development
One of the key concepts a coach must understand are the critical factors necessary for an athlete to go from good to great. Through the development of these factors, a coach can help set their athlete up for success. These factors are different for each sport, the factors presented in the following document focuses on the sport of Ultimate Frisbee.
Athlete monitoring is a tool that allows coaches to take an analytical approach to coaching. Through the monitoring of athletes, coaches can collect data that they can then use to gain insight into various factors that are impacting performance. From here a coach can decipher if they need to alter their coaching approach or focus on different areas to best serve their athlete’s needs. For this project, I worked with three different athletes, monitoring them on five variables. The data collected and a discussion of it is also presented in the document.
Everyone knows that injuries are a major concern in the sporting world. A coach must be incorporating a strategic plan for injury prevention within their program to ensure the health and safety of their athletes. It is a known fact that ACL injuries are a common (and extremely debilitating) injury, therefore the focus for this strength and conditioning program was on ACL injury prevention.
Often times athletes, especially young ones, don’t understand the importance of nutrition in relation to their athletic performance. For this reason it is imperative a coach have an understanding of nutritional concepts. It is especially important to track an athlete’s intake post-exercise to ensure proper recovery is occurring in the body. The following two documents, were created with outreach in mind. The brochure was intended to be a source of information for parents that compliments the food suggestions provided in the snack cards.
Part 1: “Recovery 101: A Guide to Post-Workout Nutrition” brochure
Part 2: Post Workout Snack Cards
Reflective Practitioner Development
Through this essay I was able to begin reflecting on what it means to be a reflective practitioner. After conducting a thorough investigation of Vivian Paley, an educator known for her methods of teacher inquiry, I analyzed her inquisitive practices. Through this analysis, I was better able to understand what teacher inquiry is, and how I can better myself as an educator through the utilization of it.
Teacher inquiry is a crucial tool for the growth and development of any educator. In the previous analysis, I gained the foundation necessary to understand teacher inquiry. In this essay I delve deeper, into the various realms of teacher inquiry and reflect on its many uses in the classroom.
It is imperative that educators reflect on the needs of their students so they are able to better understand how they can set them up for success. In addition to understandin a chil's needs, it is important to know their nature because this influences their learning styles.Through this essay I was able to reflect on the nature of children and discern how this impacts their success.
Analytical Skill Development
Teachers will always have students that display challenging behaviors. It is crucial to develop an understanding of when behaviors happen during class to try to discern why they are happening; one way to do this is through data collection. I spent a semester studying an individual who displayed a challenging behavior. For this project, I analyzed an individual with severe ADHD by identified unwanted behaviors and collecting data about when the behavior occured. After analyzing the data, I created and implemented an intervention plan to prevent unwanted behaviors.
Goal setting may be one of the most important tools a teacher or coach can use to ensure success for their students. Goals are important for directing an individual’s attention towards what matters most. Through this project I conducted a “needs assessment;” an in depth analysis of performance areas to discover what areas needed attention. After conducting the needs assessment analysis, I went on to create benchmarks, or goals, to address areas that needed improvement.
Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one
-Malcolm Forbes