Here you will find a showcase of some of my work done throughout my Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University (MSU). As I was choosing pieces of my proudest work to include in my showcase, themes started to arise. I have categorized my work samples into three major categories: critical thinking, learning, and technology. Not only do these words categorize my work, but they encompass what I am most passionate about as an educator. I believe that critical thinking and technology skills will best prepare our students for their future.
Click the colorful images below to access the work in its entirety.
Click the colorful images below to access the work in its entirety.
CRITICAL THINKING
I wrote this essay in an effort to share my passion for teaching students to be critical thinkers. For so long, it seemed like education was focused on "teaching to the test," but that strategy will not create the innovators and problem solvers our modern world needs. This essay focuses on creating critical thinkers in the classroom through teaching inquiry, fostering collaboration, and engaging students in learning. By writing this essay, I show how important it is to me to prepare my students for their future.
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For this project, I spent almost an entire semester thinking about and researching one wicked problem: How can a teacher make more time for thinking, questioning, and play while still fitting in all the curriculum? Although a wicked problem is one that is almost impossible to solve, I did come up with some creative ideas to incorporate thinking, questioning, and play into your current curriculum. I look forward to trying these strategies in my classroom in the fall .
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After reading Warren Berger's A More Beautiful Question, I was inspired to put myself in my students shoes while also exploring one very important element of critical thinking: questioning. I engaged in a "Question Quickfire" wherein I wrote down every question I could think of about my practice as a teacher in 5 minutes. This is an example of how I explore issues of critical thinking that apply to my teaching by putting myself in the shoes of my students. By experiencing this routine as my students would, I am better able to apply these ideas in classrooms.
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LEARNING
I wrote this essay after exploring the difference between learning and understanding. In my research, it became clear to me that educators not only need to focus on their students’ understanding rather than learning, but also that there is an urgency for educators to share these ideas with the students’ parents, students themselves, and society as a whole. I am hoping to do just that in sharing this essay.
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Throughout my Masters Program, I was exposed to many new resources that have helped evolve my Personal Theory of Learning. This essay explores my views on learning after a culmination of courses through the MAET program at MSU. Ultimately, I believe that learning is a never-ending cycle that can occur in various ways that are explained in this essay. This theory almost serves as a reflection of my experience in the classroom.
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In my studies, I spent some time exploring 21st Century Learning. What does a 21st Century classroom look like? What should it look like? How is it the same as it used to be? How is it different? The link to the left will take you to a blog post exploring these questions that also includes this video I made exploring how I implement 21st Century Learning in my classroom now and how I’d like to in the future. This shows how important it is to me to stay up to date with education.
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TECHNOLOGY
After learning about 21st Century Learning, I adapted one of my current lesson plans to incorporate the most important elements of 21st Century Learning - The 4 C's: collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. I actually followed this lesson plan in the spring and it was one of mine and my students' favorite projects of the year - they wrote Non-Fiction research books on an app called Book Creator. This lesson plan shows my ability to learn something new and implement it in my classroom in a way that fits my students needs.
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I created this lesson plan after exploring a new technology that I was hoping to incorporate in my classroom. Makey Makey is an electronic invention tool that allows users to create circuits through connecting every day objects to the computer. After exploring with the tool, I thought it would be best used to help teach my students how to count coins. By implementing this lesson, this shows that I am eager to try new things to do what is best for my students.
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This was another semester long project in which I focused on one topic - hand lettering. I chose something that I have always wanted to learn and learned it completely online. I used many resources but felt I learned best from videos and blog posts. It was eye opening to learn solely online, without being able to go into a store or even purchase something to be delivered to you. I learned that certain things might be more suitable to learn online than others, but there are countless resources out there no matter what you're looking for. This project allowed me to be the student and experience what it is like for a student to learn online, which will serve me well when teaching virtually.
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