Although this is a parting blog that looks at where I started and where I am now, I also feel like it is a new also the start of a new journey. Being a part of this program has opened my eyes to many great things.
As I started this journey I didn't really know what I was getting into. I knew it was a way for me to get my Masters that would work with my teaching schedule along with the responsibility of being a single mom. I was in my second year at New Technology High School; a school site that is very different from where I spent my first eight years teaching. I was ready to explore how I could push my practice in a PBL school. Each semester had its ups and downs. During semester one I really enjoyed getting to know my cohort members - AKA C15 fam, I also really enjoyed the 701 class. However, during the 790 class, I felt very rushed into creating a driving question and was not aware of the big picture. This driving question shaped the entire experience of the program and I would have liked time to brainstorm ideas and have a clear understanding that the DQ was then going to be what our research was about and that would be our focus for the entire year. Although I think this entire class was not done well, I am glad that I got some research experience that I can now apply to other things. I enjoyed both classes in semester two. I was introduced to some great new tech tools and given the opportunity to explore them a bit. One challenge that semester was that we did not have students and were unable to do a second round of research, this caused some issues going into semester three. I also had some health challenges which sent me to the hospital for one week; thankfully this program has understanding professors that are very willing to work with life situations. Going into the third semester I felt unclear about what my capstone message was. I felt like I had a lot of interesting thoughts but no solid research showing what I would like to say. In the middle of the semester I was invited to Finland to present about New Tech High's blog portfolios and be recognized hundrED. This opportunity reinvigorated me and pushed me to dig deeper into what blogging meant at our site, not just in my classroom. Going to Finland was amazing, I connected with educational innovators from all over the world and saw first hand what this program can inspire. My struggle here was that so much of my research and time was spend on my original driving question, however, I would have liked more space for my new question and how it really applied to my school site. Overall, as I said before, this is just the beginning of my journey. I plan to continue working with my school site on how to strengthen both our blogging portfolios and also how to strengthen our math achievement. Throughout this program, I learned, explored, collaborated, connected, struggled, persevered, and all of it made me a better educator and person.
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The Innovative Learning Program embodies Touro's values in the following ways: Respect for the inherent value and dignity of each individual - As we collaborated throughout the program we all brought our ideas and strengths to support each other in this process. Our professors were understanding our life circumstances and helped each of us whenever we stumbled. It is also clear that each member of our cohort is passionate about their students. We all value the humans that come into our classrooms day in and day out. Intellectual inquiry, discovery, and passion for life-long learning - Our cohort engaged in an inquiry process as we examined our driving question. We engaged in discovery as we did our research and collaborated with our peers. The Innovative Learning Program encouraged collaboration and habits of mind that will allow us to be life-long learners. Acceptance and appreciation of diversity- All of our cohort members come from different backgrounds, they have different teaching experiences and teach different levels and subjects. This program sees the value in what each person has to offer. As we learn about new tools and methods that we could implement in the classroom, the focus is really meeting the needs of our diverse groups of students. Compassion and service to society- As educators we are constantly in a place to show compassion and serve our society through our students. We have a responsibility to educate students to be compassionate citizens and open the doors to ways to serve society. Throughout this program we are learning tools and ways to make this happen in our classroom. Student-centered education- The Innovative Learning Program is really a program to support each member (the student) along a path that is meaningful for them. As we look at a driving question that is relevant to us we are able to dig deep into issues that will support our groups of kids. We are also able to try out and reflect on strategies that allow us to create a student centered environment in our classrooms. Collaboration and sense of community- The entire program is focused on collaboration. Our cohort members became our support system throughout the three semesters. Promotion of inter professionalism- I feel as if everyone that joins the the Innovative Learning Program is a professional that is looking to push themselves to the next level. We are guided to examine areas of our practice and collaborate and reflect on what we do. As we have gone on this journey of social justice, intellectual pursuit, and service to humanity I have pushed myself, reflected on life, and grown as a person. I plan to continue the work that we have started in this program. I will be going to Finland in a few weeks to share the work of a past Innovative Learning Program student and adding to it with the work I have done. I am hoping that this is the start of a bigger journey. As New Technology High engages innovated changes one of the things that is being implemented is blogging portfolios. I hope to support and be part of change and innovation at my school site; from there I see it being a model for other schools to learn from.
When I started this course I was in my 10th year of teaching. I received my teaching credential from Cal Poly Pomona where I had an amazing professor support me in how I communicated my content knowledge. After college I spent eight years teaching in Torrance, Ca where I was lucky enough to be part of an amazing program. That program supported me in developing my pedagogy. The one piece missing from the TPACK model was the technology. This is my third year at New Technology High and the place where my journey with using technology in the classroom really began. I have many colleagues that set the bar high in terms of how they incorporate technology. My eyes were opened to the amount of tools that were at my finger tips. Entering the innovative learning program informed me about what could be done, pushed me to try new things and allowed me to collaborate with others about how they use tools and how they have students use tools to support their learning. I know I still have a lot of work to do in integrating content with pedagogy and technology. I think teaching using the TPACK model is a something you are always working on improving or adjusting. I am excited to continue on this journey and grow as an educator. My journey this week has been focused on defining the purpose of driving question and how it will impact my school while balancing putting together my capstone website and being a contributing member of our collaborative teaching team. I am still figuring out how to make my research meaningful and how to make sure it continues beyond this program. I truly feel that at the center of every good teacher are the students. The reason so many of us do what we do is for our kids. Although we are here for the students, my capstone website will have other educators as the target audience. I believe that it is so valuable to create a space for resources, research, and inspiration as teachers aim to get their classroom functioning at a high level. If my capstone can help or inspire even one teacher, that could have an impact on a large number of students. When I started teaching I felt very isolated, there has been a shift in education towards a much more collaborative work environment. I think this collaboration is a vital part of a schools success. Creating this site for other teachers allow the connections and support to go beyond the walls of the classroom and even beyond the walls of the school or district.
As I look at the "Learn More" pages I get an idea of what I can include in my capstone. I like that Saelee had an infographic as well as some how's and whys of resources. I also like how her links were clearly defined. I hope to include screencasts, infographics, data and research, and quotes to name a few. I am not sure what the organization will look like at this point. I am struggling a little with streamlining the information because I did end up changing my driving question slightly. I would also like to make sure my page is visually appealing and that there is not too much text or too little. I hope to keep my audience engaged in the site because it will be easy to navigate and feel like there is good information but not to the point that it is overwhelming. Overall I don't have a clear idea of what it will look like but I am going to continue looking at the work that I have done and begin to piece it together. Gottfried:
I think her audience is not only teachers but administrators and school sites implementing something school wide. She also mentioned having some information for students. I think you could use some of her resources to support students in blogging. Yes, I think that she was effective in presenting the information. I love her use of visuals and quotes from both students and other educators. Her titles on each page captured my attention. I also liked that she linked things in such as common core standards and the design thinking process. Being from her school, I may be a little biased, I know that she stands by this work and the information she presented lives on at New Tech High. Saelee: I think Saelee's audience is teachers. She is giving educators the tools and information for a student centered classroom. I think she was effective in presenting this on each page. I liked her use of color with the text, it focused me in on some key points. I think her lay out was clean, it was simple but informative. She had a lot of visual components that captured my attention. I really appreciated how on some of the resources she had the "How" and "Why" information; I would find that much more helpful than just seeing an icon. I also really enjoyed how she presented her teaching journey in timeline form. Ellison: Again, I think this site is targeting educators. I enjoyed the Learn More page and the guide to the website along with all the videos that were inspiration. I also liked the standards page and how the visual was a group on links. This page seems very user friendly and things are communicated clearly. Avrukin: This site also seems to have educators as the target audience. Normally I like the idea of not too much text; however I felt that there was almost no information on some pages. I also like that there was a guide to what was on the website; however, by looking at the guide, I would not necessarily know where to find it. It was clear that her focus was differentiation, but I had to dig deep to find any information that I would be able to apply to my classroom. Overall, I think there were some good elements, but it was not the most meaningful to me. I came into this program not really knowing what to expect but knowing that I want to grow as an educator and as an individual. "The Innovative Learning program was designed to immerse teachers and provide first hand knowledge for teachers in Project-Based Learning, 21st century workforce readiness skills through a blended learning environment that includes face-to-face virtual classes and a “flipped” teaching model." After spending eight years teaching in southern California and being part of a program that was partnered with Loyola Marymount University, I pushed my practice as a math teacher every year. When I moved back home to Napa I was excited to get a job at New Tech High, a wall to wall project based learning school site. I felt as if I was a brand new teacher. I have learned a lot over the past two years and being a part of the Innovative Learning program has helped to develop me as a teacher at a PBL school. My goals are as follows:
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November 2018
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