CAPSTONE
My journey through the Graduate English Education Program
At Gardner-Webb University
Nikki Cheek
 SECURITY
 Flexibility
 Structure
 Trust
 Consistency
 Surprises
 Foucault’s Discipline and Punish addresses the use of
discipline as a social disciplinary tool in prisons and
other similar institutions such as schools.
 When that institution is actually a classroom in jail,
one can imagine the shift of power given to the
authority.
 Discipline in Jail…
1. Teachers have the final say
2. Teachers can teach whatever they want without
penalty
3. Teachers can dismiss students without explanations
 What does this means for the students?
They are not individuals-they are inmates
2. They are not allowed to control their learning
3. They are forced to learn as dictated by teacher and
institution
1.
How did my studies at Gardner-Webb challenge those
conclusions and practices?
 The Young Adult Library Services Association serves as
a great resources for connecting literature and
activities for students to the classrooms.
 For 2011 “Teen Tech Week” (March 6-12), sponsored by
the ALA, the librarian and I collaborated on a lesson
plan about Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
 The original plan of students recording an optional
ending to the story in the library flopped, but I was
able to save it using the Book Talk strategy in which
students give a quick glimpse of the book.
 Students acknowledged that teachers who show them
that they care about them are willing to show that
they care about their situation (“Transistion from an
Alternative to Traditional School Settings” Konkol and
Owen, 2004)
Evidence of Standard 2
Daybook Entry
Using Lippi-Green’s book, I am
able to learn and analyze the use
of language in my own classroom
and what steps I can take as a
Teacher to make my students
feel comfortable as speakers.
• According to Teaching English by Design,
Smagorinsky encourages teachers to provide
learning scaffolds so that the students will be
in control of their own learning
• Adolescent Literacy (Beers, Probst, and Rief,
2007) suggests that teachers make use of
multi-intelligences to fit the 21 st Century
classroom.
*Assess students based on student intelligences
The Rose That Grew from
Concrete by Tupac Shakur
Monster by Walter Dean
Myers
In a Conceptual Unit Plan the students were required to relate the lives of the authors
and characters with their own. They chose how to assess shared common experiences.
 I was able to facilitate student learning through evidence-
based practice
 Urbanski urges teachers to model writing and the thinking
process while writing to students in Using Workshop
Approach
 Albers and Harste “The Arts, New Literacies, and
Multimodality” states that teachers should make
connections between the digital technologies and the
empowerment of literacy teaching and learning of English
&
Infusion of multimodal tools into an integrated set of
courses in the classroom
Teacher
Student
Using the research in order to problem solve how I
can facilitate learning effectively in the classroom—
especially in an alternative education setting.
2. Continuously analyze my classroom practices and
support professional development that promote a
successful classroom.
1.
*This will be accomplished by applying related research
and professional development knowledge to the
classroom and myself as an educator as demonstrated in
Standards 1-4.
How did I come up with the question?
-I would question my student’s actions in the classroom
Why are they stealing books from class?
Why is he telling me so much about his life on paper?
Why does he want to research WWII all day?
-Family, Friends, and other teachers were curious
What do the kids do in class in jail?
Are they bad?
Are you scared?
Are they really learning?
 As I researched, I began to understand my population
of students better in reference to being in an
alternative learning setting
 The research revealed to me practices outside of
teaching that were or were not appropriate for my
setting
Asking students for the truth will reveal effective and
ineffective classroom practices just as much as the
research
2. Keeping a personal journal on the classroom for
weeks allowed me to recognize different patterns
within the classroom and with the students
1.
 I was able to conclude using my research for my
research that it was more than me that influenced my
classroom in a jail institution.
-other students
-detention officers
-court dates
-counselors
-news from home or court
 Although I am an important factor, the jail structure
ultimately determines what a student does in English
class in jail
Could a curriculum aligning to the Common
Core Standards that prepare students for
college and careers be created/implemented
in alternative learning settings like jails?
What would be the challenges in developing
curriculum knowing that institutions parallel
to jails have initiatives and interests that may
possibly contradict those standards?
 British Science-Fiction and Fantasy
Created a classroom sci-fi collection and requested book
orders to be supplied to the library in order to expand Young
Adult Literature selection in jail library
 Irish Literature
Created a lesson that compares Irish culture to Southern
culture in the United States
 World Literature-Caribbean women
Gave me an appreciation to explore the marginalized and the
other in classroom texts and practices
 Shakespeare
Use Shakespearean villain or monster with a unit plan with
Monster and The Rose That Grew from Concrete
Used Hamlet in conjunction with Speak and Stuck in Neutral
 Allow students to explore their own learning. It is okay for the
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teacher to transfer control to the students to be assessed.
Rationale and Purpose: Have a clear reason why the students are
learning what they are learning and why it is important.
Introduce the students to more. In order for the students to be
innovative in the classroom, they have to model the teacher.
Collaborate with other teachers and staff to give students a full
experience beyond the classroom.
Foster the student’s yearning for more. Point them in directions
that will encourage learning outside of the classroom.
Know your student population. Be aware of the challenges your
students face in the classroom and at home. Know what they
think is cool and incorporate and/acknowledge to make
connections.