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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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2018
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