Andrea Haun

Andrea met with her building instructional coach to explore available resources for next year. The coach is currently working to secure additional manipulatives from UFLI for the primary grades, where the primary focus continues to be. At the same time, she is also looking into finding some that could support upper elementary grades on an as-needed basis. Andrea shared that the 4th-grade team has also been using UFLI as a spelling resource, creating increased interest and demand at the intermediate level as well. She plans to continue serving as an advocate and support within the building for implementation of the program. Andrea also learned that UFLI is developing a morphology component, which will better address the needs of intermediate-grade students.

As the session concluded, Andrea reflected on how much she has learned through the course. Although she entered with prior experience, she shared that she now understands the “why” behind many of the instructional practices she previously followed through teacher guides. She feels more confident because she now has the knowledge and research base to support those practices and intends to remain intentional in her instruction moving forward. Andrea also noted that the course has better equipped her for IEP meetings and strengthened her ability to advocate for students. She described the coaching component as especially valuable because it provided clarification, perspective, additional instructional ideas, and ongoing feedback throughout the process. She felt the coaching aspect was an essential and necessary part of the course.