A Reflection of Learning

February 2022 

Read my thoughts from the beginning of my journey here.

Summer 2022

• EDLD 5305 Authentic Innovation Plan: Learners will explore technology innovations and embrace them as opportunities rather than challenges and proactively use those changes as catalysts to enhance their institution or district’s learning environments.
• EDLD 5302 Learning Mindset:  Learners will take ownership and agency over the learning process and incorporate choice and voice in designing authentic projects that use technology innovation as a catalyst for change in their organizations.

From the beginning of the program, a learner is thrown into the learning with little specific instruction and clarification.  This is intentional.  We are tasked with navigating learning activities by creating a product that reflects you and your innovation project. The audience will be my stakeholders, not my professors.  This was an odd place to find myself in.  I was uncomfortable from the start. I had to avoid expecting a checklist for all assignments and multiple-choice assessments quickly! This was where I would live as a learner in the first two terms of the ADL program.  It was hard to ask my professors what they wanted to receive from me.  Choice and ownership were difficult to grasp.

In EDLD 5305, the main goal of the course is to research and develop an innovation plan to implement throughout the ADL program.  This was my first experience with academic research and writing.  I have never found myself to be a strong writer.  If you give me guidelines and rules, I can produce a product that satisfies the rubric.  I am well-versed in interpreting rubrics and connecting them to my understanding of a topic.  I thoroughly enjoyed the research process and appreciated the learning I achieved.

The second course I was enrolled in that first term of my program was centered on Growth Mindset.  This is a concept that I felt confident about at the start of my learning in EDLD 5302.  I am an educator, and a growth mindset is an unspoken prerequisite.  Well, that was my understanding.  Boy, was I  missing the mark.  In reading Dweck’s Mindset (2017), I found that I lacked belief in myself and my learners’ capacities to learn and grow.  As I worked through the required readings and assigned videos, I was inspired as a learner.  I knew how I needed to change and adjust for my success and that of my learners.   I was on my way to feeling equipped to start the new school year strong.  This was just the beginning, as I discovered later in the fall. 

Fall 2022

• EDLD 5303 ePortfolio: Learners will create an ePortfolio to share their work, reflect on their growth, and develop their voice.
• EDLD 5304 Organizational Change: Learners will apply leadership theories and practices to become self-differentiated leaders who can address the inevitable resistance to change that will occur when launching innovative digital learning initiatives.
• EDLD 5317 EdTech Publication: Learners will examine a variety of digital environments and other digital resources to effectively communicate with others the practical implementation and the pedagogical value for educational use.

With the start of the 2022-2023 school year, I found myself energized and ready to continue learning for the benefit of my community and personally.  In the third course of my program, I was given guidance and the opportunity to navigate and create an ePortfolio.  Through this media, I would display my products of learning to the world. At this time, I found my deepening understanding of the principles this program is built upon, COVA ((Harapnuik, 2018).  COVA is an acronym for a learner’s choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning experiences.  Reading the book COVA (Harapnuik et al., 2018) provided an enlightening opportunity for personal growth and understanding of my true obligations in the classroom as an educator.  I was not accomplishing this obligation at the determinant of my learners. Again, I found validation in my choice of graduate programs. 

Failure has a bad reputation.  One goal I have set for myself as a teacher is to change that reputation.  Failure is an integral part of the learning process.  Through mistakes and failure, we can gain insight and feedforward to persevere in our search for knowledge and understanding. With the work that I have put forth on my ePortfolio, I have had personal experiences with misconceptions and mistakes.  I am a better person, if not a better learning facilitator, due to these experiences with defeat and frustrations from my learning activities in my ePortfolio course.

In October of 2022, I was enrolled in Organizational Change and EdTech Publication.  I found myself floundering yet again in self-doubt.  The reading list for the Organizational Change course was just the tip of the iceberg.  Most of my anxiety came from the daunting task of writing, editing, and submitting an article for publication.  Again, I am still trying to overcome my fixed mindset. I seem to have made two steps forward with my prior learning activities, but now I have been sent three steps back. The process of outlining, drafting, and editing a piece for publication has taught me that we all have a voice.  We must be given the tools and resources within the ideal environment to find and develop that voice.  With my innovation project of implementing a Flipped Classroom, I found that I have things to contribute and say that people would listen to and take to heart. 

As Sinek (TEDx Talks, 2009) has assured us, people do not buy what we do; they buy why we do it.  In education, we have the formidable task of preparing our future for the real world.  We must firmly believe in our “why” as teachers.  My experience with losing my vision in the classroom is a testament to this. Change in public education is a hot topic for everyone.  We can all agree it needs to happen, but how it happens is controversial.  While I do not see a way around not spending more money on our children, I truly believe that a major impact can be made by letting teachers do what they do best: teaching. Do we need some version of testing?  Yes. It is vital to have data to help guide what and how we educate our learners.  It does not have to come in the package of a high-stakes standardized test that millions of dollars are spent to develop.  

With guidance from the readings assigned in Organizational Change, I gained confidence in my innovation plan.  I could be a leader in my community and drive change that has the potential to push public education in a direction that will have lasting and meaningful benefits for our learners and future. I may not be able to end standardized testing. I can shift the focus on learning for growth and understanding rather than teaching to a test.

Spring 2023

• EDLD 5313 Learning Environments: Learners will identify and incorporate constructivist theories to create and implement significant digital learning environments.
• EDLD 5389 PD Planning: Learners will effectively apply an innovative teaching practice by collaborating with colleagues to evaluate their impact on learners and design and model authentic professional learning (PL) activities that are active, have a significant duration, and are specific to their discipline. 
• EDLD 5315 Measurement Strategy: Learners will be able to assess the instructional impact the implementation of their innovation plans have on creating effective digital learning environments.

With the start of a new year, I found myself halfway in my ADL quest.  I was encouraged by my progress and eagerly awaited my next course as the spring semester started with my learners.  This term was about designing and developing learning experiences for my learners and colleagues.  My studies dived deeper into the learning theories of Piaget, Dewey, Bruner, Vygotsky, and other primary theorists.  These constructivists believed simply that we learn by doing.  Learning should be active. Learners construct meaning and understanding of concepts and skills from experiences and social interactions (Learning Theory Project Team of HKU, 2018).  While this is a fundamental definition of Constructivism, it rings true from my time in the classroom.  

A learning opportunity to grow a learner must be relevant and worthwhile.  It was fulfilling to dive into the design of learning activities for young learners and professionals.  I am better equipped to take on this task in the future.  Professional development does not cause excitement for many.  Most of the time, we feel like we could have accomplished the learning on our own time and not in a 90-minute seminar where we are forced to participate in juvenile icebreakers.  It is imperative that the learning is broken into chunks that are easy to digest and comprehend.  Support and mentorship should be offered.  This does not happen in a one-hour PD session on the first week of the new school year.  It is a process that takes several weeks if not months.  I am a big fan of rethinking PL for educators.  It is one piece of the bigger education reform puzzle that needs our attention.

As the end of the school year approached, I found myself again diving into the research on my the innovation plan for implementing a flipped classroom.  It was amazing to find even more literature less than a year from when I started this project.  It was empowering to find research to support my efforts of the last nine months.  I found ample literature to support my plan of implementing a blended learning model.

Action Research was a term I had never heard before my course on Measurement Strategy. According to Mertler ( 2020), action research is defined as 

any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, administrators, counselors, or others with a vested interest in the teaching and learning process or environment for the purpose of gathering information about how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how their students learn.

(p.309)

This type of research is something educators are always doing.  While it may be much more informal, the action research process is almost natural.  We are always hypothesizing strategies and approaches.  We will make a plan to implement the new model of learning.  We will put that plan into action.  Data will be collected and analyzed to tweak the original strategy.  Reflection will also happen in this stage.  From there, we adjust or pivot entirely to do it again. 

I appreciate the chance to see how valuable taking the time to work through an action research plan can be.  The biggest asset gained would be time, as ironic as that might sound.  By going through all the motions of action research, one might see errors and misconceptions early in the literature review and research.  This would save time moving forward.  Adjustments can be made as one navigates through the study, thus saving time.  Time is our most valuable asset in education.  There is never enough of it, unfortunately.

Summer 2023

• EDLD 5318 Online Course: Students will apply constructivist learning theories and instructional design principles in the development and delivery of an online course utilizing significant learning environments through selected course management tools.
• EDLD 5320 CSLE+COVA Capstone: Learners will synthesize their knowledge, skills, beliefs, and values gained through their digital learning and leadership experiences and present a comprehensive plan on how they developed into digital learners and leaders that can identify and promote innovation, create significant digital learning environments, and lead organizational change.

Along with this capstone course, I am taking EDLD 5318, which aims to plan and implement an online course of study. As with other activities and projects in the ADL program, I had the choice to design a learning opportunity for my learner or coworkers.  I decided to go with a PL experience that focused on blended learning.  With the acquisition of Chromebooks for all the learners in our district, the need to utilize this resource has become strongly encouraged.  I do not wish my colleagues to be intimidated or reluctant to take advantage of the technology we have.  After the traumatic and less-than-ideal outcomes of the pandemic, I want to change educators’ opinions on online learning.  Hopefully, with my course, I will be able to demonstrate that technology is something to help everyone be more successful as learners.

As my graduate program ends, I find myself sad in a way.  I wish to continue learning about learning.  If I have gained an understanding of even one thing, learning does not ever have to end.  My husband will be happy to know I will never know it all (even though I tell him I do!).  Along with the slight bit of sadness, I feel happiness.  I have accomplished something I never thought I could or would do.  I entertained the idea of a master’s degree after I graduated with my bachelor’s degree. However, as my path into the classroom was not easy, I put the dreams of furthering my education to the back of my mind.  

The realization of the outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic has just sunk in.  I am here because of that.  What a blessing in disguise!  Now I move on to bigger things with greater self-confidence and understanding of learning.  I am excited to see where this voyage of knowledge will take me.  I am no longer afraid to fail.  If I put forth the effort and hard work, I can accomplish and master anything.  Now I must ensure my learners figure that out for themselves sooner than I did.

References

Croteau, J. (2023). 35 of the Best End of School Year Quotes. We Are Teachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/end-of-school-year-quotes/

Dweck, C. (2017). Mindset – Updated Edition: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential. Hachette UK.

Harapnuik, D. (2018, July 14). COVA. It’s About Learning. Retrieved July 19, 2023, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991

Harapnuik, D. (2021, August 16). ADL Course Goals. It’s About Learning. Retrieved July 17, 2023, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8534

Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). COVA (0.9) [EBook]. Creative Commons License. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7291

Learning Theory Project Team of HKU. (2018). Theories_Constructivism – KB. What Teachers Should Know About Learning Theories. Retrieved July 18, 2023, from https://kb.edu.hku.hk/theory_constructivism/

Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators. SAGE Publications.

TEDx Talks. (2009, September 29). Start with why — how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA