When I started in this program, I didn't know what to expect. A couple of colleagues had told me about the program and that I should think about applying. I contacted Dr. Redmond one day after school about more information and she told me that there was still one spot left if I wanted to apply. I thought that meant in a few months. She told me that I needed to start the process... tonight. From that moment it was a scramble to get my transcripts, learn what Zoom was, buy books, etc... Four days later I was in my first class. Two days later I was in Jeff's room having him explain to me that I was taking two different classes (when I thought I was taking one), how to use the homework log, and answering a million different questions that I had. Needless to say it was a very stressful time.
Looking back it was a great decision. I feel that I am a better teacher today than I was back in January. That's not to say I don't still have a lot to improve on, but the program has helped me take positive steps forward in my never ending attempt to get this teaching thing right. I have begun to incorporate technology in ways that I never did in the past, have made using feedback part of the culture in my classroom, have changed the way I use images in my presentations, the list goes on and on. It has been a very challenging year. Committing your free time on the weekends and nights after work is not easy. It's tough to pass on other things because you know you have homework or class. But I am proud of what I have accomplished. I feel that I set a good example of learning for my daughter. She saw me struggle and keep going. I am proud to say that I will have a Master's degree when I have told my wife endless times that I didn't think I would ever go back to school to complete it. I'm thankful for the wonderful people I have met, and the support that they have provided. It all seems like a whirlwind looking back, but one that I am glad that I stuck with and completed (almost).
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, Looking at that list, it definitely covers a lot of topics that we have addressed over the course of the last year. I feel that what I have learned throughout the program has done a good job of making those values a focal point of our learning. Of that list though, there were two that really stuck out to me.
The first topic was the commitment to life long learning. I think that as teachers we have all made that commitment in the way that we approach our classrooms. The need to be constantly changing the way we deliver the content to our kids continues to rapidly change, and will continue to do so in the future. What I have learned over the last year has helped me with that commitment. Not only have I changed the way that I integrate technology into my room, but my viewpoint of how to look at education has changed. Whether that is how I try and focus on concepts over facts, or how I really and try and see how the medium I choose can effect the learning process itself, I feel I have been exposed to so many helpful strategies that my students will continue to benefit from. I also like being able to tell my kids that I am still in school. My students always give me such a funny look when I tell them I go to school the same as they do. But I think that helps show them my life long commitment to learning continues. In some way I think that helps reinforce the importance of education, and how you really should never stop learning. The other one I wanted to address combines the final three on that list. Through my ability to work with such awesome Cohort members, I have been able to work towards those (collaboration, inter professionalism, and student centered education) goals. Everything that we talk about is always student centered. Despite being lost and confused many times over the course over the year, I feel that the group always brought it back to "how is this going to help my kids"? "How can I alter this in a way that will benefit my students?" With that group focus, I feel that has helped me become a better teacher, and I am thankful for the help and commitment of my group members. My commitment forward is to continue to try and do the best I can for my school and my community. I will continue to look for new ways that will help my kids learn content and life skills that will undoubtedly benefit them in the future (even if they don't see it today). I know that being a teacher is about constant self reflection and a drive to find new ways to be better tomorrow than you were today. I think that through my time in the program I have been able to continue that work. When I first started this course, I thought that I was using technology effectively. I was using Google docs. I was using Kahoot! to review the prior Chapter's work. What I didn't realize at the time (but probably should have) was that I was really just at the substitution level. I don't think I was really doing anything "innovative" with how I was using the technology. What my time in the course has done has made me more aware of where I was. While I still am not any kind of expert, I feel that I am at least making progress towards being at the augmentation stage rather than the substitute level that we discussed when we were talking about the SAMR model.
My driving question for my project has always revolved around feedback. While I continue to try and grow using technology in my classroom, this has been my focus to try and improve on. I now use Google Forms so that I can get instant feedback from the kids. I have been using other sites that allow me to gather formative and summative results in real time. This has helped me decide the best way to spend our time. Flipgrid has not only allowed students to submit their work, but the hours of engagement that other students get from watching other kids videos isn't something that I could have recreated without it. Students are able to view exemplary models, hear the information multiple times, etc... I have made a shift in the way I approach the curriculum, and I feel that my kids are benefiting because of it. The tricky part is (and probably will be) incorporating all 3 parts of the TPACK model. All of us are strong in our content knowledge, but blending the pedagogical and technological parts (at least for me) takes practice. I hope that as I continue to try and apply these 3 concepts together, I will continue to find new and different ways to help my kids as they try and learn the content in an rapidly changing world. In regards to the Saelee site, I think that the audience that she had in mind was specifically math teachers. I would also like to think that this student centered approach could be applied to any content area. A common struggle for Math teachers specifically is having such a wide range of skill level between students. I think that by applying this approach of relationships and competency, she was trying to show other strategies to help teachers meet students where they were at in their own learning. The layout is well done, and the visuals and media are well done. While I feel strange criticizing anything about a project as complete as this, the only part I might change is the length of the lesson plans. If math teachers were going to try and apply this in their own room, I think they might not take the time to go through something that long.
The Gottfried site seems to be geared towards an audience that would have students that are getting closer to graduating from high school. As we move away from more traditional portfolios, her argument was that blogging (and the keeping of information long term), aligned more with what is expected of students moving forward. It also seems to tie in more with PBL teachers due to the authenticity piece in the portfolio as well. I think she did a really good job of presenting her key ideas on each page. Each page refers back her key ideas about the role blogging plays and how students interact with the world moving forward. Both this one and the previous one were very easy to follow. The Ellison site seems to be geared towards teachers looking for new ways to engage students in their learning. It also seems to be applicable to all grade levels as long as you're mindful of making the process age relevant. Relative to the first two that I looked at, this one was more difficult to follow. It all centered around gaming, but the layout and media used seemed a little confusing as I worked my way through the site. For example, it would jump from text, to media, to visuals without really detailing what the reader was supposed to be focusing on. The final one I looked at was very confusing for me. Maybe I am just not seeing what I am supposed to, but I had a difficult time pulling information from it. I know that the research was based off of differentiated instruction, but was unclear with the steps (or newly discovered strategies) that she was trying to convey. The visuals were also a little unclear. This one didn't seem to have a flow to it like the first 2 I read. I feel that my own goals align pretty well with the program. As I mentioned previously, I have always looked at teaching as something should lead to constant self reflection and a constant search for ways to improve. Technology being implemented in the classroom (and our everyday lives) is definitely here to stay. Action research is also a way to critically look at your own practice, and then make future decisions based on the collected evidence. Being able to combine technology, content, and a focus on my own pedagogy should allow me to create lessons that will hopefully continue to challenge students and build interest in science as they move towards high school.
I think that as I look towards our capstone project, I think the most beneficial thing for me and the partner that I have will be the feedback between the two of us. Throughout this program our cohort has done a great job of supporting each other with questions and frustrations that we have had with the work that we have done. Being able to have somebody look at your work and give you suggestions on how to improve it should always be welcomed. It definitely creates less anxiety with this project knowing that I will have someone that can help me build a capstone project that will be clear and informative for those who decide to read it. Feedback is an essential part of any assignment, and this capstone project will be no different. As far as cohesion and norms, those have already been established. This group (and those who have joined with us) will see that it's a supportive and hard working group of teachers. It's a group of people that are always willing to help out and be supportive of whatever frustrations that arise at the time. As far as my role in continuing that positive cohesion, I think just trying to be supportive and trying to help with questions that come up in a timely manner will help to continue to support the my cohort members as we move towards the completion of this program. I currently teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Depending on the trimester, I have either 6th or 7th grade students in my STEM elective class, and I also teach 8th grade science. This is my 4th year at my current school and I also taught at a school in another district for the 6 years prior to that. I have always seen teaching as something that is constantly in motion. My first year somebody told me that once I have my lesson plans created, I would be in "set it and forget it" mode. I remember being confused by this at the time. From what I could tell, not only was each year different, so was each day, and even from period to period. My wife had heard the same stories and insisted that I must be doing something wrong based on the constant changing of my lessons and the hours I was still putting into it 3 years into my career. What I knew at the time (and what my wife has come to accept), is that this job is never in "set it and forget it" mode. This is what drew me to this program initially. I knew that education was changing faster than I could keep up; specifically the integration of technology in the classroom. I understood that for my own growth I would have to take some steps professionally to better help my students in the future. I was lucky enough to work with a teacher who introduced me to the program, which has put me on a path to better understand my own limitations and how to close my own learning gap so that I can further prepare my kids for the challenges they will surely face in the future.
When I first started teaching, I enrolled in a credential program that didn't involve any student teaching. I took over for a teacher that had been removed mid year and had only been enrolled in the program a month or so prior to my first job. I observed a substitute on a Friday with the intention of starting full time on a Monday. What I witnessed that day made me rethink whether I had made the right decision. The chaos (and very descriptive language of how they felt about the substitute at the time), made me question whether I could survive, much less be an effective teacher. But looking back, there are two defining moments in my career, and that was one of them. Being put in that classroom was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to learn how to effective manage a classroom. It forced me to learn how to create structure, but also allowed me to see the importance of relationships in the classroom. I learned quickly that there is no silver bullet in teaching, no single strategy that allows you to be an effective teacher. I began to learn how individual each student is. Students knew that I was disciplined and could be tough, but that at the end of the day they all knew that I had their back and just wanted them to find success. The other defining moment for me was being placed next door to one of the most effective teachers I have ever worked with. He took me under his wing and was able to show me what being a good teacher looked like. By observing what he did, and doing my best to repeat it, I was able to build my confidence and improve. I am forever grateful to him for helping me when I was struggling. I still talk to him a few times a year to this day. Through these experiences, my outlook on education and the kind of teacher I wanted to be was created. Blending pedagogy, technology, and content knowledge drives my instruction now. I take what I learned from the first years and blend it with what I have learned in my own continuing professional development. Collaboration with my Cohort has reinforced my belief in the value of collaboration and feedback. Success in the classroom requires an open mind. Kids need to know its ok if they fail; they also need to believe that they will be set up for success if they work for it. Kids need to know that you have their back. Instruction needs to be well thought out and scaffolded. Academic and behavioral expectations should be clear and fair. Feedback needs to done often and quickly. And technology needs to be implemented in a way that it augments the lesson rather than just creating the same product in a different medium. With all that said, this program has more than anything made me look at my own practice with a more critical eye. I have been exposed to different theories and technology that I have already implemented in my own classroom as I continue to improve my own practice. I look forward to further growing as an educator as I look for new ways to help my kids find success. My driving question has remained mostly the same since my original round of action research. My original question looked at the "effects of technological peer feedback on depth of understanding and student achievement in middle school science." My goal moving forward still revolves around the same idea, but now will also focus on whether feedback used through specific digital platforms impacts student learning and achievement in a postitive way. Prior to the change, I was really using technology at the bottom of the SAMR model in relation to my driving question. Iam hoping to use it more in the augmentation phase rather than the substitution phase to look for possible gains in student learning and achievement.
Prior to our last class, I only looked at my audience as my students. Being in the classroom I could only see through the lens of being a teacher with my current students. I still feel that this is the priority, but have come to understand that if my research shows gains that are statistically significant, then I need to be able to convey that information to colleagues in a way that they could use it in their own classroom. As we continue to integrate technology more and more into our classrooms, and knowing the effect size that feedback can have on student learning, learning effective ways to integrate the two will play an important role in how learning is conducted in classrooms in the future. |
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November 2018
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