Goal 8: Professionalism
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
-Aristotle
-Aristotle
Knowledge is power. information is liberating. education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. -kofi annan Judith Winn and Linda Blanton (2005) identify the importance of collaboration in the educational setting, writing, "As the number of students who are struggling in school grows, the need for general and special education to come together to create the vision and capacity to educate all students becomes more and more pronounced. Collaboration by teachers is called for in the schools...--the dialogues, the examination of what should be taught, the rethinking of practicum experiences for teachers, the sharing of knowledge and expertise, the faculty modeling--all have high potential to support teachers' ability to work together for meaningful change" (p. 1).
At the beginning of my career as an educator, the majority of my daily professional collaborative efforts occurred with special education staff, largely due to the unique challenges of teaching in rural Alaska. Technology has helped close that isolating gap, providing opportunities for professional learning through platforms such as Twitter, Google Hangouts, and MOOCs. Documents can be shared, updated, and improved upon in real time thanks to Google Docs. Educators can take continuing education courses, build lasting relationships, and interact with a variety of different experts through distance education. This fall I hosted an MAT student in my classroom. His focus in my room was classroom management, and I was happy to share my knowledge and students with him as he works toward a degree in elementary education. This type of mentorship is critical for future educators, and as classroom teachers, being willing and available to provide learning opportunities is valuable for everyone in the room, as students, the classroom teacher, and the MAT student all learn and grow from the experience. Professional growth is incredibly important to me. I recognize that in this changing world, not only must I change to remain relevant to my students, but also so I do not become a stagnant educator. I strive to constantly learn better ways to help more students, challenging myself to be more effective each year. In addition to this master's program, this past year I completed a gifted and talented certificate program through UC San Diego in order to be able to better differentiate for and serve the gifted students in my classroom. In a previous district, I became a certified trainer for the National Institute for Direct Instruction and provided Reading Mastery, Corrective Reading, Language for Learning, and Distar Math training for teachers and paraprofessionals. Teaching in rural districts often means stepping outside one's area of certification, and frankly, often one's area of comfort. Pushing the boundaries of comfort can lead to the biggest gains in personal and professional development as one struggles to make the best of a difficult situation and finds they can not only make it through, but shine while doing it. Goal 8 Artifact 1: This Copper Tape LED Circuit Video for Mechanical Applications of Technology (EDET 677) was one of my first attempts at demonstrating a process (paper circuits) through video format. I chose this video because it demonstrates how technology can contribute to professional growth by allowing students located anywhere to "see" what other students are doing. This video was created during part of a virtual makerspace, where educators joined together for a virtual hour of making. While we weren't all in the same room, we were able to help each other problem solve, give advice on projects, and offer support when the going got rough. Following the makerspace, the video was added to a Google Community where all students could access it, ask questions, give advice, or leave feedback. This feedback allowed me to make a few modifications to the design before I hung it outside my classroom as a hands-on, exploration circuit for all students (and a few adults) in the building. Goal 8 Artifact 2: My second artifact is a blog post reflection for Differentiating Instruction Through Technology (EDET 637), Week 10 Reflection. This post demonstrates how professional growth and collegial activities can coexist. Using Twitter for the first time to host a class discussion can be a bit daunting. Throw in some technical challenges, a co-host who is also brand new to Twitter, and a virtual classroom full of understanding collegues, and what you get is an exciting and memorable hour. I truly enjoyed the challenge of facilitating an online discussion, working with a colleague over a thousand miles away (that's Alaska for you) to make sure we covered our content thoroughly, and reading through and responding to all the replies we received during the Twitter session. Resources: Winn, J., and Blanton, L. (2005). The call for collaboration in teacher education. Focus on exceptional children. 38(2), 1-10.
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