Portfolio Narrative

(Second-Half Semester Self-Assessment and Final

Summative Report)
Second-Half Semester Self-Assessment
I feel that my internship experience grew immensely during the
second half of the semester. Instead of attempting to fit my research
goals into the U-SPARC initiative, I let my learning unfold. This shift in
mindset mirrors the action research paradigm, and was a wonderful
experience for me. The goals that I set forth for my internship were as
follows:
A.
B.

Conduct a literature review on reflective teacher education

Pilot multiple methods of reflection with freshmen in the
FYOS course, and determine effective ways to encourage students to continue
incubating on and learning from their experiences
C.
Draw parallels between creativity research and reflective
practice research (with the ultimate goal of describing how creative thinking
skills can be harnessed to increase reflective thinking)
The following in-field activities (completed during the second
semester) were quite impactful:
GAGC Conference
o I managed to rearrange my schedule to ensure that I
could participate in this years GAGC conference. I
presented at the Bizarre Bazaar, as well as in a
symposium presentation explaining the goals of
Project U-SPARC. I enjoyed interacting with teachers
from diverse backgrounds during the Bizarre Bazaar,
and I realized the importance of making research
directly applicable to the classroom. When I
presented with the Project U-SPARC team, I finally felt
like I belonged, and that my research had a strong
impact on the over-all project initiative. This
experience was truly inspiringafter I left the
conference, I was determined to make my research
more impactful and applicable to the classroom. (This
experience was essential in my efforts to accomplish
goal A).
Developing and teaching the Tummy Ache Trouble inquiry
lesson for the kindergarten students
o I took the lead on developing our third lesson for the
kindergarteners, and it was extremely rewarding to
see my ideas come to fruition! This experience

helped me relate the research on reflection with

creativity (goal C).
Developing and facilitating the culminating lesson for the
kindergarten students at Stroud
o Our last day at Stroud was truly a bittersweet
experience. It was challenging to take the back
seat and let the UGA students take a more active
role in the classroom, but I loved to see them in
action!
Facilitating FYO classes at Aderhold
o I enjoyed helping instruct the lessons on problematic
language and underlying assumptions. Since we
split into small groups, I was able to speak directly
with the UGA students about their reflective
experiences. This helped me glean a better
understanding of their different learning styles and
ensured that I developed reflective teaching
techniques that met their unique needs. One of the
most effective techniques (which I actually did not
propose!) was using socrative.com, a cite through
which students can submit comments ananomously.
I helped lead several small group activities (a total of
three courses), and also presented a summary of my
findings about research to the students. These
experiences were especially influential towards
accomplishing goal B. The students reflected in the
following manners: discussion boards, flash
reflections, small-group discussion, group
presentations, and ananomyous submission of
thoughts/concerns.
Writing retreats
o I enjoyed participating in two writing retreats with
fellow U-SPARC members this semester. This time
was quite valuable in developing the literature review
(goal A), and also provided me with a lot of
inspiration because I spent time with other graduate
students, teachers, and professors who are equally
passionate about education.
Interviewing with the Athens Banner Herald
o It was a really emotional experience to see my
picture with the kindergarteners in the newspaper. I
had SO much to say to the reporter, and I just joined
the Project U-SPARC initiative! This experience really
inspired me to press on with my work, especially
during such a busy time of year.

I am most proud of how this internship experience has changed

the entire trajectory of my doctoral studies. I am in the process of
forming my doctoral committee, and I plan to take comprehensive
exams this coming fall. The most effective part of this internship
experience has been the personal lessons that I have learned by
engaging in critical reflection. I reflected on several of the
expectations that I had for myself as a doctoral student, and I
realized that many of them were rooted in assumptions and
misunderstandings. Although I had previously proposed a highly
theoretical dissertation topic, I have now changed my work to
investigate the critical reflection process. I plan to apply the
Torrance Incubation Model in an undergraduate course, in hopes to
improve critical reflection harness creative thinking skills to
transform assumptions into opportunities for new and impactful
learning. Changing the trajectory of my research was quite
challenging, and required me to confront several assumptions of my
own. I feel like I am truly experiencing what I am researching, and
Im looking forward to submitting my IRB next month. I am so
thankful for this experience, and cant wait to see what happens
next!
Final Summative Report
A. Conduct a literature review on reflective teacher education
I feel that I both met and exceeded this goal [4]. I conducted a plethora of
research investigating the literature on reflection, and reported my findings in a
multitude of ways (the literature review, the THP article, etc.). Furthermore, I
did not expect this research to overlap with my dissertation research, but I
uncovered several parallels between critical reflection and transformation. This
brought an unexpected depth to my research, and Im very excited about it!
B. Pilot multiple methods of reflection with freshmen in the FYOS course, and
determine effective ways to encourage students to continue incubating on and
learning from their experiences
This goal fluctuated a lot as the semester went on. At first, I was very focused
on developing methods to promote reflection, but I dont think I actually had a
firm grasp on what reflection truly was! After attempting to neatly sort the
student reflections into different levels/categories, I realized that my current
methods were quite flawed. I thus introduced the flash reflections, and also
investigated the nature of reflection during group discussion and anonymous
online submission. This being said, I feel that I met and exceeded this goal [4]
because I actually expanded the goal as the semester went on.

C. Draw parallels between creativity research and reflective practice research (with
the ultimate goal of describing how creative thinking skills can be harnessed to
increase reflective thinking)
I feel that I was very effective in meeting this goal [3]. As previously
mentioned, I uncovered several parallels between my research on
transformation (a cognitive capacity essential to creativity) and critical
reflection, as well as the Torrance Incubation Model. My future research goals
are going to address this connection in detail, so I feel like I'm still progressing
towards developing a true understanding about the relationship between
creativity and reflection.
Overall, I think I have met and exceeded the goals set forth. I met my research
goals, but most importantly really learned a lot about myself along the way. It was
challenging to remain open-minded as the semester progressed, but this shift in mindset
helped me engage in true, deep and impactful learning.