How have you embraced the evolving role of the educator? What
would you add or revise in the graphic shared in chapter 1?
#IMMOOC #LCInnovation
In a sense, I feel like I’ve been a continuously evolving
educator. In my early days of teaching,
I was concerned that I wasn’t as prepared as other teachers. I never had the same lesson plans from year
to year though the overall topics studied in class often were the same. I envied those who could have their materials
together months in advance. That was
never me. I always looked to my students
and adjusted my approach based on a variety of types of student feedback. I didn’t think of it as formative assessment
at the time. It was just what I did.
One thing that wasn’t addressed in the text but might be
addressed under the categories listed is the need for teachers to communicate
and market what they do with the larger community. Many educators are finding it essential to do
so to gather and show gratitude for community support of our efforts. Costly programs, such as robotics, may
require substantial support from beyond the school community. It is also important to showcase the good things going on in our schools. The negative voices are loud and destructive, but the positive actions in schools are often humble and quiet.
The role technology has played in the evolution of the educator has been amazing! The ability to connect with educators across the globe on a regular basis for powerful learning exchanges through discourse, videos, and bits as short as simple texts and tweets has greatly enhanced the skills, knowledge, and understanding of the needs of learners that teachers bring to their classrooms. The resulting sense of community that has developed has sparked the evolution of educators, empowering and equipping them to take risks and try new methods for the benefit of students.
Martin, Katie, Learner-Centered Innovation: Spark Curiosity, Ignite Passion, and Unleash Genius (San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. 2018).
In the past year I have finally begun to really understand how big the educator community is and that I can participate in the conversation that is going on (hence doing this course).
ReplyDeleteThe conversation is amazing! It's a major grass roots improvement effort! 😊
DeleteI love that we can connect with people anywhere virtually anytime. It opens so many doors for us and for our students. The community is enormous and the people out here contributing and engaging are really terrific! There is so much to learn!
ReplyDeleteThat sense of community thanks to technology has made me the teacher I am today and so grateful to others who share. I used to envy those teachers who pulled out their plans from previous years also and didn't figure out why I always tried to do different things until I realized I was doing it for the students I was teaching at that time, not the previous year. It's so much more work but so worth it right?
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely worth it! I agree that it's a lot more work, but absolutely worth it for tailoring our work to meet our students where they are.
DeleteI just changed the address of this blog to
ReplyDeleteignite2learn.blogspot.com.