goal setter
All of my life, it seems I have always had a goal I am striving to reach. I have set a wide variety of goals ranging from learning how to ride my bike without training wheels to my most recent goal of obtaining my master’s degree. After a lifetime of setting goals, it only feels appropriate to start thinking about my next goals as I wrap up my master’s courses. Although my past goals such as getting into college or landing my dream job were rather concrete, I am finally at a point where I feel that my goals should be more continuous.
As I finish up my master’s program while looking forward to starting a new job in the fall, I’ve identified three goals that will help me stay on my course as a lifelong learner. These goals are to create a culture of thinking, to integrate technology into my future curriculum, and to stay active in professional development. I have chosen these three goals not only because they align with where I believe the field of education is going, but more so because I am passionate about doing what is best for my students. I believe teaching them to think critically, to become responsible digital citizens in our digital world, and teaching them using best instructional practices will prepare them for their future.
As I finish up my master’s program while looking forward to starting a new job in the fall, I’ve identified three goals that will help me stay on my course as a lifelong learner. These goals are to create a culture of thinking, to integrate technology into my future curriculum, and to stay active in professional development. I have chosen these three goals not only because they align with where I believe the field of education is going, but more so because I am passionate about doing what is best for my students. I believe teaching them to think critically, to become responsible digital citizens in our digital world, and teaching them using best instructional practices will prepare them for their future.
CREATE A CULTURE OF THINKING
In my three years of teaching, I have slowly been exposed in my previous district to the idea of creating a culture of thinking, an initiative by Harvard’s Project Zero. Ron Ritchhart, the author of Creating a Culture of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, defines cultures of thinking as “places where a group’s collective as well as individual thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as part of the regular, day-to-day experience of all group members.” As I entered my Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program, I quickly realized how well this initiative aligned with the premise of my program. In my courses, I have learned how to think critically about learning and establish practices that best fit my teaching style, integrate technology, and encourage my students to think critically as well. Now, more than ever, I see how important it is to give our students the tools to share their thinking, listen to others’ thinking, and maybe even change their thinking. As I start to think about establishing my new classroom in the fall, I plan to integrate Ritchhart’s strategies immediately to establish a culture of thinking where my students feel safe and empowered to share their thinking.
integrate technology into future curriculum
As I wrap up my last year teaching in Michigan and look forward to teaching in Kentucky, I realize that I will likely have a major learning curve at my new school. I have looked into the new curriculum I will be teaching, but have not heard of it previously. Because of this, I will have to revamp the vast majority of my lesson plans I have been successful with in the last three years. I am choosing to see this as an opportunity to start fresh and use what I’ve learned about Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to integrate technology where appropriate. TPACK is a framework I learned about in my master’s program that describes the sweet spot where a teacher’s technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge intersect and allow them to choose the right technology that is appropriate for the content they want to teach and how they want to teach it. I am excited at the opportunity to take my new curriculum and use the TPACK framework to integrate technology to the best of my ability in my new classroom.
remain active in professional development
Although I am proud to say I am approaching the end of my master’s program, I realize that means that I will now be responsible for seeking out my own learnings as I will no longer be exposed to new ideas through my courses. Because of this, I am choosing to make one of my goals to stay learning, more specifically be active in professional development. I have seen teachers who have become stagnant in their careers, they are teaching the same lessons they’ve taught for 20 years - I never want to be this teacher. I will dedicate myself to find professional development opportunities to attend that will keep me up to date with the latest and greatest in education. Some of these opportunities could surround Educational Technology while others could be focused on Literacy, a topic I am interested in learning more about as I have spent most of my formal education focusing on Special Education and Educational Technology.
lifelong learner
I have spent most of my life as a student in the formal sense of the word, even as I grew into an educator as well. As I reach my goal of obtaining my master’s degree, I will not be an official student any longer. However, I know I will always be a learner. Specifically in the next few years, I look forward to learning more about teaching my students to think critically, integrate technology, and staying active in the latest and greatest in education. It is my desire to bring my knowledge back to my classroom and be the best educator I can be for my students.