Kelly's Introduction

I’m Kelly Hall and I am a second semester (aka first year) doctoral student in L&I. I am a Reading/English Language Development Specialist at a middle school.

Professional Life
I have taught elementary and middle school for 20 years in both California and Texas. I spent 15 years teaching 4th grade, 5th grade, and special education at the elementary level. I am currently a Reading/ELD Specialist at a middle school where almost all of the students are taller than me! I use it to my advantage though! Part of my day is spent as a reading specialist pushing in to a transitional 6th grade classroom. The students were hand-picked based on certain criteria, primarily scoring basic or below basic on the English Language Arts/Math CA Standards Tests. The goal of the program is to give an extended Language Arts and Math period in smaller groups to help the students achieve at a proficient level. The remainder of my day is spent instructing English Language Learners that have been in this country less than three years. I enjoy the variety in my day and the fact that most of the students I work with get my jokes!

Why a Doctorate
After completing my MEd, I knew I would someday go back to school to work on my doctorate. I am energized by studying, learning, and broadening my horizons. I would like to make a significant contribution to the field of education someday. I do not have a specific path I am heading down but I feel this program will guide me down the right career path.

Potential Project Topics
I am very interested in student motivation.
Once I began teaching at the middle school level I saw a tremendous decline in student motivation! I see intelligent students daily who choose not to complete assignments, participate or complete homework. Some of these students perform well on assessments regardless of previous effort while others do not do well.
I would like to explore how to make school more meaningful to these students.
• sense of belonging/connectiveness with their school, teachers, and peers?
• curriculum not engaging, meaningful, or relevant to students or are they just lazy?
• teacher delivery of instruction
• use of more technology in the classroom to provide advanced technological experiences that go beyond what students have currently mastered outside of school