Future Learning Goals
21st Century Educator
One of the reasons I became a teacher is because I knew I was a student, myself, that was passionate about learning. I knew that my desire to continue my own learning would be something that I would try to instill in my own students. Now though, my time as a graduate student is coming to its end, but we as teachers know that we never stop being a student. Teachers are constantly learning and evolving with their students. I am a teacher who is passionate about being a lifelong learner. I am also a human that is eager to grow with the world we live in. With all of this in mind, I have planned self-directed objectives I want to work towards when my time as a graduate student ends. My future goals are narrowed down to three objectives: implementing technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) effectively, receiving further training for trauma-informed and culturally responsive teaching and becoming a technology leader for the school I work for.
I first take you to a goal within my own classroom. A reoccurring theme throughout the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program is TPACK. It is something that caught my attention right away, stuck with me and seeps into my thoughts on a professional level. Am I using technology to meaningfully enhance the pedagogy and content I am teaching? Am I using technology to enrich learning? These are the types of questions that pop into my head while I am planning lessons. I have found it to be so beneficial. Using TPACK as a lens, I want to continue to learn about technology tools to deepen my technology knowledge (TK) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK). I also recognize as a third-year teacher, I need to continue to hone my craft of pedagogical teaching and understanding (PT) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The 21st Century has provided an unlimited amount of innovative resources and tools that will give our students a whole other meaning of access to learning.
Oris, A. (2017). Home - SAMR Matrix. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/cftigers.org/techcoach/trainings/samr-matrix.
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Roberts, C. (2013, April 26). TPACK in 2 Minutes. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/FagVSQlZELY?list=UUyiLyAMZj_Y8QWdlpZHAgDQ.
Another goal I have within my own teaching is to learn more about trauma-informed teaching and culturally responsive teaching on a deeper level. Through my time with the Urban Educators Cohort Program at Michigan State University, I began to understand the importance of sociocultural issues, structures of power & privilege and connection. Now, teaching Special Education on the island of Oahu, I want to deepen my understanding of the pedagogy behind culturally responsive teaching and trauma-informed practices. One of my passions as a teacher is connection, specifically building positive, healthy relationships with my students. I want to better reach students who have endured trauma. I want to better incorporate diverse cultures into the curriculum I teach to reach more students. I can use platforms like Edutopia to learn more about both, such as these two articles here: The How and Why of Trauma-Informed Teaching and Preparing for Cultural Diversity: Resources for Teachers. I would love to attend a conference by the Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc. Ideally, the 3rd National Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference to listen to experts on how to address the difficulties of trauma in school.
Crnobori , M. (2019, Jan. 10) Why All Schools Should Be Trauma-Informed. TedX Talks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaM0TTrgkQ
Dessources , J. (2018, May 8). TrillEDU: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. TedX Talks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KrxfcW7Irg
Finally, my last goal involves a giant step out of my comfort zone. I want to take more of a leadership role with technology at the school I work for. Everything I have learned through the MAET program has made me excited about the endless possibilities and opportunities, we as educators have, within the classroom. Learning in the classroom can be taken to the next level. Traditional teaching methods can be taken to the next level. Kerry Gallagher (2016) shared in her Ted Talk how technology can be used to enhance learning, instead of teachers feeling like they have to compete with it. I want to not only lead by example but teach my colleagues how to use technology effectively in the classroom. For me, this would start at a school-wide level as more professional development style teaching and sharing of information. Then, I would love to learn more about how this can lead to a technology integration specialist role at my school, district or state level.
As I sit and reflect on my three goals for the future, I have realized that the secret to learning, self-improvement and making goals is reflecting. To gain knowledge or skill you must reflect on your own knowledge and skill. Self-improvement requires self-awareness through reflection. Making goals requires reflection of your progress and areas of need. Through my reflection of my future goals, I hope to utilize TPACK, Trauma-Informed and Culturally Responsive Instruction and technology leadership to continue my ladder of self-improvement.