Skip to main content

End of Course Reflection


           Initially, my assumptions about this course were quite different than the learning that took place throughout the course and the understandings I have now.  When thinking of communication and collaboration, I knew it encompassed almost all aspects of working in the field of education; however, I didn’t realize the importance that adult learning theories had in engaging others in their own professional learning.  I started realizing a lot of the research behind the professional learning strategies that take place in my district and within my building, and I also have identified some areas of possible growth for my building and district based on my new understandings.
                Looking at our course objectives, we were to understand and apply adult learning theories for professional learning, demonstrate our knowledge about effective professional practices, analyze the context and needs of a school, and plan actions for appropriate collaboration within a school setting.  Initially, I knew what I preferred when being engaged in professional learning: the assumption that I was a competent educator, opportunities for creativity and space for individuality, and time for reflection.  It wasn’t until this course that many of what I look for in professional learning are consistent with the pillars of andragogy.  While I was extremely familiar with considering pedagogy in almost all aspects of my teaching, I really hadn’t taken the time to consider aspects of adult learning in the same way.  I now have the language and research to use when planning for adult professional learning, which will be key in ensuring that the learning is appropriate for all teachers. 
                The five assumptions of an adult learner is something that I will now use to gauge professional practices within my building and district.  Especially when considering one’s own independent self-concept, it is imperative that administration allows for individuality and assumes self-motivation in their educators.  It is also extremely important that the practical nature of the professional learning shines through and applications for immediate use are offered (Merriam, 2001). 
                Using this information and considering the need in my building, I was able to construct a professional learning plan for my building that will both help with our school improvement plan but will also engage teachers in collaboration and new learning.  My plan, linked here, uses the strategies mentioned above and research from Zepeda to construct a year long professional learning series focusing on increasing teacher use of technology to reach parents in the area of reading.  Considering that the professional learning needed to be centered around data and research (Zepeda, 2008), it consisted of many pre and post surveys as well as research around reading at home and engaging families through technology.  It also significantly focused on teacher leadership, using other teachers to engage the building in the learning process through modeling and allowing other teachers to observe.  I now feel that having a component of teacher leadership is vital to all professional learning, as it allows the planner to consider the state of continuum each teacher is in (Zepeda, 2008) and it draws out the best efforts in teachers. 
                When interviewing my principal, it was clear that there will always be challenges and issues raised with professional learning within a building.  It was enlightening to see, though, that many of the issues addressed can be reduced when considering each adult as an individual learner and providing a variety of opportunities for teachers to feel like their needs are individually met. I appreciate the new understanding that planning a professional learning series has given me, as I didn’t fully realize the work that goes into planning a building series previously.  I am excited to continue with the work that I started in this course, as my principal has asked that we work components of my professional learning plan into our current building professional development series. I am excited to see where this learning takes me next as we work with our building on this. 


Resources:
Graham, S. (n.d.). A Simple, Easy To Understand Guide To Andragogy. Retrieved from        https://www.cornerstone.edu/blogs/lifelong-learning-matters/post/a-simple-easy-to-understand-guide-to-andragogy
Merriam, S. B. (2001). Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of      Adult Learning Theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education,2001(89), 3. doi:10.1002/ace.3

Zepeda, S. J. (2008). Professional development: What works. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EDU 6433 Module 1 Reflection

Incorporating Technology Within Genius Hour Using the first ISTE Standard, facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity, I asked a question that hopefully I could answer to further my technology integration: “ How can I incorporate technology to advance student innovation during Genius Hour with my first graders? ”.  I have been implementing Genius Hour in my classroom for about a year now, and am very passionate about implementing passion projects or student centered learning within a classroom from a young age.  I even wrote another unrelated blog post   about Genius Hour in a primary classroom prior to taking this course, so the concept of Genius Hour is something that I am comfortable with and am now looking to improve.  Prior to researching articles to answer this question, I did allow some use of technology during genius hour, but I felt like I was only using it as a replacement to other tools rather than a way to advance innovation.  Thi...
5 comments
Read more

EDTC 6433 Module 5 Blog Post

Promoting Lifelong Learning as a Technology Leader The question that I set out to answer for the fifth ISTE standard is “How can I promote lifelong learning of technology to improve professional practice as my building’s technology team leader?”.  I am particularly focusing on section B of this ISTE standard: “Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others”.  This portion of the standard is important to me because our building’s technology team is currently redesigning our vision for teacher use of technology and is deciding how to best implement some technology chances in a way that would appeal to all teachers.  One article that I read that helped with gaining more information in this area is “The Administrator’s Role in Technology Integration”.  While this article is geared towards administrators and ho...
4 comments
Read more

EDTC 6433 Module 4 Blog Post

Providing Access to Digital Technologies at Home Working with the 4 th ISTE standard, promoting and modeling digital citizenship, I decided to focus my attention on equitable access of technology.  The question I set out to answer was: How can I meet the diverse needs of my first graders through technology while providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools at home? This is something that has been on my mind lately, especially with the increasing technology that I have in my room.  I’ve noticed there is a large gap of technology-related knowledge between my students, often separated by the students’ socio economic status.  Confirmed by an article that a classmate shared, many low income families still have a significant lack of technology resources, even in today’s technology rich society (Ribble, 2011).   While I can individualize my technology instruction within the classroom, this still has a significant impact to students at home.  ...
4 comments
Read more