EDUC 6713 Reflection

I acquired several useful tools over the past two months that will improve my performance as an educator. I was introduced to the concept of having students participate in self directed learning activities in week one. Although I have been utilizing this learning method for decades as a way to develop professionally, I have not utilized it in the classroom. Developing young people’s self directed learning skills seemed like a good idea so I gave it a try. I utilized the Jason Project (http://www.jason.org) with my students for a sedimentary rock unit. Learners had missions to accomplish, which led to engaged research. This experience reinforced my view that authentic learning and critical thinking activities are necessary for long term academic success.


During week two we learned about a self development approach known as a GAME plan. In a GAME plan one first sets reasonable, achievable goals. We used NETS-T (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx) as a basis for developing our individual plans. My personal goal was to implement new learning, locate quality resources, and broaden my professional network. Throughout the course we took action to meet our goals, monitored progress, evaluated effectiveness and made changes as needed. I also learned this can be an effective method of involving students in their own learning.

Midway through the course we utilized universal design as a way to improve the learning experience. Taking each young person’s individual learning needs and developing a plan to meet those needs helps the entire class, and makes me a better educator.

The second half of the course was spent creating a unit consisting of three distinct lessons. The first lesson consisted of problem based learning. Students are given a problem to solve. As they seek answers to their problem they learn the required content, as well as critical thinking, research, and writing skills. The second portion of the unit consisted of a collaborative project. The third portion consisted of digital storytelling. While we developed our unit my classmates and I utilized a collaborative approach for peer reviews via a Wiki. Using this wiki reminded me of how quick technology allows us to acquire large amounts of information, how easy it is to make available to the public, and how quickly it can be destroyed through a single click of the button. I think this is important to remember when teaching young people these skills as they will suffer setbacks while learning the technology.