FInal Portfolio Documents

Below are the links to most of the final portfolio documents. Some documents included in the hardcopy of the portfolio but not below are the student surveys and in class evaluation. 


Cover Page


Final Essay


Application to CYAP


CYAP Syllabus


Intern Evaluation 

Final Class: "Reflection Potluck"

The final day of CYAP class with the 20 or more bustling young adult students felt more like the end of an extended family reunion. Along with their final portfolios, each student brought something for the potluck party we had to close the course. Students were asked to share their reflections with the class. Several students volunteered to read their reflections while others preferred if the instructor read it. The reflections were poignant and passionate. Many students expressed thanks to the staff for the support they provided during the 10-week course. Other were simply proud of themselves for making it through the program, whether or not the passed the GED exam, because it would be the first time they stayed enrolled long enough to complete an academic course. They were also expectant and binding in that the students had to write their future plans on paper. Many of them have never done this. This very act of writing down their aspirations, I think, will give theme extra drive to accomplish them. The caseworker closed the reflection session with inspirational phrases, in a poem, from the book “The Road to Success is Always Under Construction” by Larry Wall & Kathleen Russell. The quotes focused on staying on course and coping with success and failure. Some quote examples are:

“A turtle makes progress when it sticks its neck out.”

“Failure is the path of the least persistence.”

“Seek joy in what you give not in what u get.”

“Success comes in can's failure comes in cant’s.”

The caseworker recommended that the students add this to their room walls to pull strength and inspiration from in time of frustration, depression, or stress. This demonstration continues the “community building” fostered by CYAP. These students know they can reach out to professionals in CYAP after graduation from the program for advice and guidance.

Of the 30 students in the CYAP GED class, 20 are expected to pass the GED and two are boarder line based on the predictor exam. This is a total of 22 possible success stories from the program. The other eight students, because of attendance, participation, and poor GED predictor score, will not be allowed to take the GED exam. Basically, we expect approximately 73% of the students to pass. I am proud to have been part of the transformative process in these burgeoning lives.

July 7: GED Predictor

On July 7, I didn't assist with any teaching. Instead, I assisted Wynne in proctoring the science, reading, and writing (parts 1 & 2) sections of the GED predictor for the students. 

Of the 30 students in the CYAP GED class, 20 are expected to pass the GED and two are boarder line based on the predictor exam. This is a total of 22 possible success stories from the program. The other eight students, because of attendance, participation, and poor GED predictor score, will not be allowed to take the GED exam. Basically, we expect approximately 73% of the students to pass. I am proud to have been part of the transformative process in these burgeoning lives.

I thought the grading process would have been a little more tedious but it was streamline and, therefore, was executed quickly. At least, this was the case for the multiple-choice sections. The essay section was slightly more grueling, both more enjoyable. I was able to see clearly how the essay and composition workshops conducted improved the writing of many students.

The minimum score needed to pass the writing section of the exam is a 2 and the maximum is a 4. Wynne and I graded the each essay and averaged out scores. Most of the time we were within .5 to 1 point range. To get the final score we did an average. This was an interesting process for me because I had to account for all the components of the GED Essay Scoring Rubric. This includes the following criteria: 

1.     Response to the prompt. This simply answering the question with a clearly focused main idea (including the thesis statement and supporting examples.)

2.     Organization. The essay must establish clear and logical organization (sequencing of ideas).

3.     Development and Details. The essay should be coherent and developed with specific and relevant details and examples.

4.     Follow Conventions of EAE. The essay should demonstrate consistent sentence structure and the conventions of Edited American English (EAE).

5.     Word Choice. The essay should exhibit varied and precise word choice.

I felt my scoring of the essays were a little lenient when I began because I’d focus on specific aspects, but after I discussed it with Wynne I became more conscience about identifying if the essay met all the GED requirements.

Lesson 3: Reflection

Lesson three wasn't as successful as I thought it would have been. My intentions for the lesson were to use side shadowing and peer review activities to engage the students in composing their final essay for the course. During the first half of the class, from 9:15 AM to about 10:45 AM students worked on composing an essay about public health. First, we did a group brainstorm about the concept of public health and used that to guide us in the composition process. Wynne and I decided to time them on the first draft. This would create a pseudo exam environment and to help them mentally prepare for the GED predictor the following week.

For this lesson, I'd have a visitor: Prof. Gleason, the L & L department chair. Honestly, I was a little nervous to have her in the class. I felt like everything would do awry as they always do when one is being intently observed. Things did not do as expected and having an "outsider" in the class provided a different P.O.V.  I think I had good classroom presence and engaging activities, but classroom control and focus during the activity was an issue based on the critique of Prof. Gleason who visited the class that day.

I wanted to try teaching side shadowing and peer review as Wynne had in previous classes (without my being present) to see if I could use the same technique in the fall when I would be teaching freshman composition. This lesson also built on essay writing and editing skills along with peer-review and group work skills.

The warm-up activity could have been improved. Based on Prof. Gleason’s feedback 9 out of 10 students were not doing the activity. I was uncertain about this because many of the students had written answers on the activity sheet. Perhaps the activity was too simple or familiar so they were about to complete it quickly. This might have been why they were talking before the allotted activity was complete.

Prof. Gleason suggested making the activity more of a “challenge” in order to keep them focused on the activity. For example, I could have had the students write nonstop for 5 minutes and if they did not know what to write, they could write “I don’t know what to write” until the session was complete.  I think this is a good strategy and will utilize it in the fall.

The class was not as focused during this lesson. As Prof. Gleason noted, the students weren’t engaged with the activities. She even had to point out that a couple students had headphones on in class (even if they weren’t listening to the music).

Wynne and I did followed our usual protocol of walking around the class and helping the students, but Prof. Gleason thought I should have been more vigilant at the front of the class instead.  That had not been our style during the semester and I am still not sure if that would work with this group of students.

I learned from Prof. Gleason’s visit that every instructor has a different method.  In time, I too would have my own methods, techniques, and strategies in classroom management.