Reflection: Personal Learning Goal

As our schools work to remain relevant in our changing world, I find myself looking at my own teaching practices and seeking ways to improve the relevance of my own classes. We are at an exciting time in education, when those who take a "different" approach in the classroom are valued, rather than told to remain neatly within the confines of their own "box" (classroom) and teach exactly the content they have always taught at exactly the right time in the school year. The adoption of Common Core State Standards has provided an invitation to break the habit of doing things they way they have always been done, because it's the way they have always been done, and I am looking to completely revamp what I teach and how I teach it.

I have spent much of the past year researching effective models of instruction and reflecting on my own practices. I am particularly interested in technology use in education, as I see it as a way to effectively engage students and, at the same time, teach them a foundation of basic technology literacy that many of our students are lacking. It seems odd to say in the days when two-year-olds can effectively use iPhones to entertain themselves, but a large portion of our students are functionally illiterate when it comes to using computers for anything other than entertainment. Our students desperately need to learn to use computers as tools for communication, collaboration, and productivity. Although our students need this knowledge, I do not believe it is necessary to teach these skills explicitly. In fact, it would be counterproductive to do so. What I want to do is create a classroom where my students learn what they need to learn about computers out of a necessity that is a created through the content of my class.

I have many ideas about what I want my class to look like, and I have spent much time reflecting upon my practice and personal educational philosophy. The research I have done in the past year has led me to more questions than answers as I overhaul my approach to the classroom, and I am seeking an opportunity to engage in an environment that helps me find the answers to those lingering questions.

My learning goal for this course is primarily one of gaining additional background knowledge to take into my own practice and build upon. I hope to participate in discussions about best practices in engaging students in lessons where they learn both content and how to use technology; I want to debate the merits of the various ways students access content online (phones, tablets, computers, etc.); and I want to walk away from this course with a solid sense of how all of this fits together in my own pedagogy.