I believe that a teacher is the most essential element in the classroom. We are the compass that decides which
direction to take and how we are going to get there. Teachers are the love, nourishment, and inspiration students crave. Students should always be encouraged to search for the truth and use reasoning through real-world contexts to adapt to today’s ever-changing society. As an educator, I am in an important position to develop 21st century learners that have the skills necessary to function in our future world. With every new technology that is developed society is changing the ways students learn, communicate, and function in day-to-day life. As future generations grow up and go out into the “real world” to find jobs they are going to be pushed in all sorts of directions to adapt their knowledge to become proficient in the ever-changing area that is technology. In order to ensure I provide support for my students, I will continually seek out new information about teaching 21st century skills to provide the foundation my students need for their future. |
Another realm I am passionate about is encouraging students to be self-managed learners who continually progress monitor. I want students to advocate for themselves while focusing on their metacognitive skills. If students know more about how they think and learn, they will be able to assess and determine what it is they need to do in order to deeply understand the content. Goal setting is a real-world 21st century skill that students aren’t ever “coached” on during their time in an educational setting. It is always something that is talked about, but as teachers we need to direct, guide, and model these strategies that students can use. Focusing on short-term and long-term goal setting with my students will allow them to make plans and reach their goals. When students are able to see success from a plan that they created, they will be encouraged to set higher goals the next time and continue to excel.
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As a teacher, it is my goal to make education new and exciting each and every day. I will continually search for ways to relate the curriculum to my students’ lives in order to foster deep connections and a love for learning. One of the ways I have created connections with my students is through a flipped classroom setting. Running a flipped classroom allows me to focus more of my time with each student individually instead of spending my time lecturing. I am now able to work one-on-one with students who are struggling, and challenge students who are motivated to work ahead. This model has also proved to show numerous advantages – higher average test scores, deeper understanding, more one-on-one attention, greater scaffolding between students, and an increased confidence in math. Students no longer have to sit through “boring” lecture-type math classes where notes are taken and endless book problems are given for homework. Parents now have the ability to better assist at home due to the examples provided. They have communicated that students are excited to watch the new videos each night and feel less stress when it comes to math homework. The videos provide instruction that is delivered by auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning. Through my video lectures, I try to incorporate as many fun and relatable ideas within the teaching as possible. I truly believe that incorporating jokes, humor, and songs helps students to not only stay focused, but also allows them to have fun while learning! As a middle school educator, it is so important to make that connection and build rapport with your students. After you have built their trust and rapport, they will follow you anywhere! Overall this program has aided me to reach more of my students on a personal level and devote more of my time to the individual’s needs rather than focusing on the “middle” level.
Recently I began working as the instructional technology chair for my building. As part of this position, I am in charge of creating professional development workshops, teaching staff about new technologies, and helping them implement these new technologies into the curriculum. This position is so exciting for me because I’m able to help others in a field I am so passionate about. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced so far is trying to develop the “perfect” teacher workshop for technology. Technology has always been a sore spot for many teachers because they want to stick with what they are accustomed to already. Many teachers feel that they are digital immigrants and it will take them years to learn a new topic. One of my goals as an instructional technology educator is to dispel these feelings so that all teachers are excited and comfortable implementing new technology. I want all teachers to be able to feel success when implementing new technology so that they are encouraged to foster 21st century skills in our students to prepare them for the future.