Welcome. My name is Gwen Fiecko and I am in my ninth year of teaching. Currently I instruct students in the subjects of English and Multimedia Communications at Lincoln High School in Manitowoc WI.

A good educator sets goals and develops a plan to meet those goals. My Professional Development Plan is evidence of this practice. Students respect teachers who have deep understanding of their subject/content area. To deepen my understanding of the art of English, I immersed myself in the topic of media literacy and college level AP English.  The English department at Lincoln High School continually makes available avenues for learning. I attended the AP English Conference in Madison, WI where I was introduced to high levels of instruction and learning.

Another goal of my PDP was assessment. Assessment is two-fold. My plan has allowed greater student learning because assessment is a tool not only to gage growth in learning, but also to see the holes in my teaching. I worked closely with the English department head and a nationally board certified teacher to concretize my understanding and practice of assessment. As a result, my students’ level of academic achievement has increased as I discovered in my action research.

I often wondered if students heard their own writing, would they be able to hear their mistakes in grammar and verbiage? My action research focused on this question. Participants in my study read their previously written literary analysis papers into digital voice recorder. Their recordings were uploaded to individual computers. They listened to their writing and noted mistakes. They edited and revised their papers. Overwhelmingly, this project proved if students hear their words, their writing will improve.