The last week of my CEP 812 at Michigan State has arrived. As I reflect on my time this semester, one concept keeps circling back in my mind: Questioning! How am I as a teacher? Am I making a difference? Is my future in education or something else? My reflection brought me back to my days as a PGA Golf Professional while completing undergraduate courses. My initial career path I believed was to become a golf pro; however, as I got more through my degree and working in the golf world everything changed.
When I began my journey, I reflected on my readings on success, curiosity and passion. For me, the category drives the other one. Without passion how can you be successful? If you aren’t curious about your success then do you have any passion? Dickson (2015) mentions it clearly, “success by living with passion and curiosity vs your average IQ”. Without a passion for curiosity, then what is our purpose on this planet? I believe that many of us are still trying to find our way in this world, our path alone! My journey has been labeled as one word “comeback”. For each failure in life I have had, the “comeback” part of it has been my biggest achievement. I am a hard-worker and after my failures I believe I come back as a stronger, more mature person. As I get older, my “comebacks” are not major, but I think that my curiosity and questioning has led me in a different direction. As I conclude this class, I have been asking questions about the teaching profession for me. I think the new found questioning I found in life is going to lead me to better and bigger things in future. References: Dickson, J. (2015, May 9). (PQ+CQ)>IQ every time, author Thomas Friedman tells the Ottawa crowd. iPolitics. https://ipolitics.ca/2015/05/09/pqcqiq-every-time-author-thomas-friedman-tells-ottawa-crowd/.
0 Comments
In my CEP 812 class at Michigan State, we focused on applications of technology in K-12 settings. We use identification, implementation, and evaluation of technology-based solutions to solve educational issues in school settings. We were instructed to create a Wicked Question and look at a Wicked Problem that we currently face in the classroom. I completed a Quick-Fire Session of brainstorming and came up with 20 questions on a variety of topics. After breaking down my questions into different categories, I decided to focus on one: Is student achievement in hybrid or virtual learning based on student engagement? I felt that this question was most relevant because my county is currently in the process of deciding what type of learning environment we will be returning to in the fall. Many teachers and students have become accustomed to virtual learning, but also feel that it has not been the best learning environment for them. However, there are those who have been successful, but I feel their voice will not be heard because education remains focused on the “one size fits all” mentality. I created a survey to gain a better understanding of virtual and hybrid learning and investigate the role that student engagement plays in student success. If you want to find out more about the survey and what I learned click here! I have asked many teachers to reflect on their time this year - a year of jumping from virtual to hybrid and back again and now hybrid full time. Does student engagement impact student achievement in the virtual and hybrid settings? In my personal experience, I believe that student engagement in a hybrid/virtual setting is key to student achievement and success. In my school, students are doing better in the classes with teachers who have a better understanding of technology. Which is how my wicked question came about: What form of education will be offered for the 2021-2022 School Year? After conducting and reflecting on my quickfire, I decided to dig deeper into my questions by creating a survey to see what my colleagues think about hybrid and virtual learning and the role engagement plays in student achievement in these settings. At first, creating my survey was very difficult. I didn’t have a foundation and didn’t know where to begin, but as I got more feedback it became easier. Based on some feedback, I realized that numbering my questions would be helpful and I added some areas for teachers to expand on their thinking for a couple of questions. This allows me to see what is driving their answer selections. Overall, I do think my survey will offer insight to teachers’ thoughts for next year and provide a foundation of where the education system is heading. Whether it’s virtual, hybrid or in-person this year has opened many doors for student access to a proper education. Reference: Opperhauser, B. (2020). Colleague Opperhauser [Screenshot]. Brent Opperhauser’s Google Drive. |
AuthorI'm currently in my 2nd Semester at Michigan State University. Please feel free to comment and leave feedback! Archives |