Andrea's Portfolio

Animal Assisted Therapy   

In 2011, I enrolled in the Animal and Human Health (AHH) Program at the University of Denver, Colorado. This program focuses on animal-assisted therapy in the professional setting. While this certificate program was not directly related to my career as a teacher, it was a topic I was passionate about and something I wanted to incorporate into my career as an educator.

This capstone project culminated the AHH program in the fall of 2011. The project goals were to summarize and apply the learning that occurred throughout the program and to create a proposal for using animal-assisted therapy in a professional setting. My capstone project, Books ‘n Woofs, is a program to incorporate therapy dogs into a literacy program in elementary schools. Different than the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program, which has students reading to dogs on a regular or drop-in basis, this project proposes using therapy dogs in a reading program that tracks student progress and incorporates specific therapy lessons into the reading instruction.

This project was presented to a panel of experts in the animal and human health field, as well as other students in my cohort and evaluated for its potential effectiveness. This proposal was also offered to the principal of my former school as an implementation plan; however, it was not accepted.

Therapy Animals in the Classroom

Not only do I believe in providing experiences for my students, I also provide myself with experiences that will help me grow. Two ideals I strive to emulate in my classroom are following my dreams and living my life with passion. This capstone project is an example of following dreams, putting passion into the things I do, and is another piece of the broad range of experiences I surround myself with. As with the lessons/units I included in my portfolio, this project shows my ability to write a clear proposal for instruction in the classroom. It also highlights my innate ability to see opportunities for teaching that others might overlook and ways in which I seek opportunities to create unique and powerful learning experiences for my students. On a personal level, this artifact is a piece in the story of how my dog, Wesson (who I trained as a therapy dog), came to be a part of my life.

When I presented this capstone project to my audience, I was a little nervous, very excited, and extremely proud. With the AHH Program at the University of Denver being one of the leading programs in the nation for animal-assisted therapy, I knew my audience would be gentle, yet critical. Overall, my project was well-received, and easily convinced educators and my classmates. I used evidence and research to substantiate this unique proposal. Educators that I spoke with loved the idea and the connection that reached beyond literacy.

However, the program lacked enough logistical substantiation to gain administrative buy-in. Because the administration had the ultimate say in implementing the program, its buy-in was also critical to the potential success of the program. While I addressed potential problems or concerns (for example, insurance and allergies) that bringing a therapy dog into the classroom might cause, the solutions were not strong enough for administrators to be willing to take the risk.

It was an exciting moment to present this capstone project at our final program symposium. What started as an idea to bring a dog into the classroom led to a research-based project proposal, a culmination of nine months of learning. As a result of presenting and receiving feedback on this capstone project, I knew I had more research to complete to gain the administrative buy-in. At the time of this project presentation, there were few examples of therapy dogs being used in classrooms, and even after adding additional evidence, my school was not willing to take the risk to incorporate the program.

Learning in Education     

Through designing, presenting, and having my capstone project evaluated, I learned perseverance and how difficult it can be to take risks in education. Before I started the AHH Program, my fascination with service and therapy animals was just that- a fascination. I did not imagine myself pursuing a certificate in this field, and falling in love with it. While I admit that this project has been pushed to the back of my plate over the past few years, I often find it creeping to the front of my mind.

With my varied experiences related to education, and 12 years of teaching under my belt, I can look at this project in a new light. While a therapy dog can help students who struggle in literacy, a therapy dog has the power to help teach the whole child. For example, a therapy dog has the power to help teach students social/emotional skills and empathy. My revised project proposal will include research-based experiential and problem-based methods in order to gain administrator buy-in.