Michigan State University
Master of Special Education
Christina Wilson's Coursework Descriptions and Samples
Fall 2011
CEP 804A - Reflection and Inquiry in Special Education - Literacy Instruction
Instructor: Dr. Carol Sue Englert
This course taught me more about how to teach students with learning difficulties the areas of reading and writing. Throughout the course, I was taught various strategies to use in the classroom. I enjoyed researching different strategies to use in the area of reading and trying those strategies out immediately in the classroom with my students. One area of reading that we focused on was fluency and I learned and implemented the PALS strategy in my resource room. I have included the plan I used and what I learned from the implementation.
Fall 2011
CEP 843 - Autism Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics and Educational Implications
Instructor: Dr. Summer Ferreri
I learned a plethora of information about Autism Spectrum Disorders in this course. There are so many different disabilities that fall into the ASD category and I learned the characteristics of those disabilities. I also learned some teaching and communication strategies that I can use in the classroom. I discovered a very interesting book written by a person diagnosed with autism and the struggles he went through growing up in a community that didn't understand what autism was. I have included the book review below.
Spring 2012
CEP 842 - Content Area Instruction for Students with Mild Disabilities
Instructor: Dr. Cindy Okolo
This course helped give me strategies to use for students with mild disabilities in the areas of math, social studies, and science. The strategies that were taught to me were emphasized to be used in the general education classroom so students could experience the general education curriculum. One of my assignments included creating a social studies lesson in which I scaffolded the instruction to help with students of all different abilities.
Spring 2012
ED 800 - Concepts of Educational Inquiry
Instructors: Steven Weiland and Nathan Clason
This course took me into a journey of education and the past. I took a deep look into education and why it is important to our society. It also made me look deep inside myself to realize why I chose teaching as my career - because I feel it is a rewarding and important job. In this class, I chose to focus on W.E.B. DuBois and learned about how hard he worked in order to receive a great education.
Summer 2012
CEP 840 - Policy Practices and Perspectives in Special Education
Instructor: Dr. Carol Sue Englert
This course helped me focus on special education students and my responsibilities in the classroom. We focused on many different aspects and strategies to use with special education students in order to help them become more successful in the general education classroom. Some things we looked at were: Universal Design for Learning, Response to Intervention, and assistive technology. One assignment I enjoyed completing in this class was to create a Hearing Impaired and Cognitive Impaired Fact Sheet for teachers to use.
Summer 2012
CEP 866 - Psychoeducational Intervention - Children and Youth
Instructor: Matthew Diemer
In this course, I took a deep look into issues that students may be facing in various environments around them and the symptoms that may be associated with those problems that students may face. There was also a lot of time spent talking about children living in poverty, which was beneficial since I teach in a low-income school district. In this class, I enjoyed creating a make-believe school called Hopeful High School, in which I had to create a "dream school" that I would like to work at and what that school would look like.
Fall 2012
TE 848 - Writing Instruction and Assessment
Instructor: Kati Macaluso
In the first half of this course, I spent time looking at many different authors and the writings they completed, as well as spent some time looking at myself as a writer. As I became more aware of myself as a writer in multiple genres, I then spent time studying how I currently teach writing in the classroom. Then, we learned some strategies we could implement while teaching writing in the classroom. In this class, I was able to read a book that is now considered one of my favorites! We had to read "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, write a paper on the book, and also take notes on how I spent writing and what processes I used while writing.
Fall 2012
TE 849 - Methods and Materials for Teaching Children & Adolescent Literature
Instructor: Dr. Laura Apol
In this course, I looked at and studied various children's literature. Each week, I was assigned to look at multiple books and would compare and contrast books. This course helped me look deeply into literature and deciding why I was using certain literature in the classroom. In this class, I enjoyed reading five novels about the Abenaki tribe and reflecting how I felt about each novel.
Spring 2013
ED 870 - Capstone Portfolio Course
Instructor: Dr. Matthew J. Koehler
In the final course of my Master's degree, I created this online portfolio that I can use for future employers. I spent time looking back at the courses I took and the work I performed in those courses. I also spent time thinking about what I learned throughout my courses. The resume, coursework, and essays are just some of the items I put on my online portfolio.