Goal for my Future:
The Power of "YET"
My brain is a muscle. When I exercise it, it gets stronger!
The Power of “Yet” – attitude and outlook can shape any outcome. We can say we just don’t get it or we can say we just don’t get it yet! The power of those 3 little letters can inspire us all to keep trying and growing our brains. Over the course of teaching, I have incorporated growth mindset into my classroom. Thinking into the future, I realized this is also my personal goal. Looking ahead, I want to continue to expand my knowledge in three important aspects of education: incorporating technology into teaching, inquiry learning, and strategies for educating English Language Learners. Without doubt, these three areas of education are vastly growing. Continually exercising my brain in these areas will ensure I always provide my students with currently learning strategies. It is my goal to always say, “I am not done learning about these areas YET.”
We live in a world where technology is the future. Students need to learn to learn from, create, and show learning through technology. My school is now one-to-one with ipads. The use of the TPACK model will help me to implement these into the classroom. Effectively using technology in the classroom requires, time, metacognition, and effort. Following other teachers on Twitter and a variety of blogs will give me a great starting point for knowing which applications work well in the classroom. In addition, it will provide me with tips on how to use them. Learning something new takes time. As educators, we not only need to learn how to work the tool, but how to teach with it and how to teach students to use it. The power of, “We are not completely there YET,” will allow my students and I to continue forward in the technology movement.
Inquiry-based learning prepares students to become proactive members of society by teaching critical thinking skills such as, problem solving, questioning, analyzing, building, and exploring. Giving students inquiry-based experiences in their education is something I want to strive for every day. My school has built outdoor classrooms in our surrounding apple orchards. I want to use this space to give students authentic experiences and develop higher order thinking skills. Resources I will use to achieve this goal include lessons based around the idea of Project Based Learning and the Next Generation Science Standards. Both of these will allow students the opportunity to engage in cross-curricular connections and apply skills learning in subject areas.
The student population I teach continues to become more and more diverse. Staying current on the best strategies for educating English Language Learners in therefore important. Succeeding in school does not have to mean diminished of native culture. Finding ways to make students successful academically, while staying in touch with their heritage will bring beauty and diversity to the world. Understanding how cultures are displayed in children’s literature is an important first step. Filling the classroom library with a diverse variety of books ensure every child is equally represented, feels safe and cared for. Websites help educators to choose diversified books.
Maintaining a growth mindset is one way to maintain a lifelong learner. Areas of education are always changing. Even if changes in education seem difficult, thinking of them as, “I don’t have it YET,” will change your outcome.