Professional Development

“Lauren has been an outstanding team member to work with. She is very organized, professional, and open-minded in dealing with all team members. As a team leader, Lauren is a terrific facilitator, ensuring every member of the team has had an opportunity to speak and making sure to keep the meetings on task.” 
– Scott Miller, Teaching Colleague


“Ms. Knuttila earned her colleagues’ respect by her willingness to listen and to share information during her department meetings.”  
- Alan Hodge, Principal

“Lauren brought new ideas, sharing differentiation strategies and the integration of technology into classroom instruction. She also looked for ways we could integrate our curriculum across subjects, resulting in greater support for students and colleagues.” 
– Jeffrey Fague, Teaching Colleague

Ongoing Professional Development

Twitter

Twitter is an excellent tool for communication, collaboration, and inspiration. By following education pages, like @educationweek and @edutopia, or education conversations, like #edtech or #mschat, I can be a part of the most current dialogue surrounding education. Below is my current Twitter feed for @msknuttila.

Language Learning

I am currently learning Spanish with Rosetta Stone. Learning Spanish will enable me to communicate more effectively with some of my students and their parents, making my classroom a more welcoming place, where all students feel comfortable.
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Rosetta Stone: Spanish

Reading
As an English teacher, I find it absolutely imperative that I stay on top of the books that my students want to read. On my current reading list, you'll find a variety of books, from education research to literacy strategies, and often a lot of 
young adult literature. 

Collaboration with Colleagues

  • Technology Committee, 2014
  • K-12 English Curriculum Committee, 2013-2014
  • Problem Solving Team, 2012-2014
  • Professional Learning Communities, 2011-2014
  • Textbook Selection Committee, 2013
  • English Vertical Alignment Committee, 2011
“It is rare to see a young teacher such as Lauren take on a leadership role of this type [rewriting curriculum], but Lauren is a strong, confident person who leads by example, knowledge base, and encouragement.” 
–Alan Hodge, Principal

Graduate Work


Master of Arts in Literacy Education
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
  • GPA: 4.0/4.0
  • Passed Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations (MTLE) Reading Teacher test
  • Received K-12 Reading Teacher license
Coursework
  • Created and presented staff development session for colleagues on a research-based reading strategy
  • Compared standardized testing data to two other similar districts and created a report on relative strengths and weaknesses for my school
  • Completed a School Improvement Plan based on standardized testing data
  • Tutored 3 students (ranging from 5th - 9th grade) for a total of 45 hours in reading, including assessing the students and implementing appropriate remediation strategies
  • Wrote a case study for each tutored student to determine their strengths and weaknesses in reading 
  • Researched and presented information (fidelity, validity, reliability, cost, etc) on a variety of assessments and programs, such as NWEA, RAN/RAS, TOSWRF, and Read 180
  • Created common assessments based on standards, such as a curriculum based cloze and maze test.
  • Wrote (and implemented within my own classroom as appropriate) a variety of lesson plans incorporating technology, appropriate reading strategies, and instruction materials
  • Analyzed existing research to create and implement my own research project to complete thesis paper
Thesis
"Comparing the Effects of Traditional Sustained Silent Reading and Scaffolded Silent Reading on Reading Comprehension and Disposition" 

Abstract
The amount of time that teenagers spend reading for pleasure is on the decline, and educators are looking for ways to motivate their students to read more. One commonly used strategy is that of giving students time to read silently during class. This study compared two strategies that encourage students to read more: Scaffolded Silent Reading and traditional sustained silent reading. All students were given 10 minutes a day to independently read a book of their choice. Students in the treatment group also received instruction on picking out appropriate books and spent time conferencing with the teacher using different comprehension strategies. In the end, there was no statistically significant difference between the control and treatments groups. More research needs to be done on increasing the amount of time actually spent reading and its effect on comprehension. 

Past Courses and Workshops

  • Expository Reading and Writing Course, CSU 2016 (3 day course)
  • READ 180 Program Training, 2016 (3 days, plus coaching sessions)
  • Julie Adams Training Sessions (Common Core, Education Neuroscience, etc.), 2016 (5 training days)
  • Minnesota Native American Symposium, 2013 (2 day course)
  • SMART Board Training, 2011 (8 hour course)
  • Moodle Training, 2011 (8 hour course)
thesis_.pdf
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