Back to the Beginning
I have worked in education for about 10 years now - I dedicated six years to students in my third-grade classroom and currently on my fourth year as an elementary mathematics instructional coach. You can learn more about me and my learning philosophy through understanding my WHY and the purpose. I felt like the ADL program fit perfectly with my current role in education as I am able to reach more students by supporting all of the teachers on my campus from pre-k to fourth grade.
The Journey
Thinking back to last summer, when I began this journey, I feel very accomplished at all that I have learned and grown through the ADL program. I consider myself a lifelong learner so being part of this program made perfect sense to me.
From day one, I was pushed out of my comfort zone when I realized I had to create an ePortfolio and decide what type of innovation plan I wanted to focus on. I faced two tasks at once that I felt unsure about but after a brainstorming session and listening to others' ideas, it was a no-brainer that blended learning in mathematics would be my focus. I learned more about the type of learner that I have evolved into and due to that I feel even stronger about the desire to help students become self-directed learners through blended learning in mathematics.
As a mathematics instructional coach, I am constantly learning about new theories, strategies, and resources that help support teachers as they support their students. Through the ADL course I learned that change does not come easy and that we have to be very methodical about organizational change - it is a process and we have to trust it in order to see our plans come to fruition. With this, I had to keep in mind how to best present professional learning by keeping them engaged, letting them experience the vision, and be respectful or considerate of their time. In today's world, education is constantly changing. Technology is all around us which is why it is important to learn and adapt. Creating a digital environment to help support that was one of the more rewarding parts of this program.
It was amazing to get to know everyone who is/was part of the program because having a PLN has been crucial to the ADL program. Receiving feed-forward from others was helpful - especially when I wasn't sure if I was properly communicating my ideas. The collaborative groups, discussion sessions, and messages were all ways that we communicated and I appreciated the flexibility from everyone involved. Learning from others was one of the best experiences of this program.
Overall, this program had the perfect balance of blended learning because I was able to work at my own pace to an extent while managing to stay on track with the different components of the program. I have definitely grown as a learner and an educator and I am excited to continue growing as a leader.
The Right Mindset
COVA was a term I learned about through the ADL program and in this term, I was able to reflect on how COVA has impacted my journey. I had to embrace a growth mindset through continuous reflection and learning. This growth mindset plan has helped me remember that it is all about the learning as I prepare to create significant learning environments.
Research, Research, & More Research
I enjoyed being able to research my topic in depth and review resources that helped support my learning. The first literature review focused on blended learning and technology to improve student achievement. Following this, I had to create an action research plan that digs into the effectiveness of blended learning strategies. Finally, understanding indicators for growth and student outcomes through blended learning helped with my literature review of measuring effectiveness.
Putting it All Together
The learning process has not come without difficulties. I have learned to embrace all of the challenges and learn from them as I continue to evolve my learning abilities. My Blog has also helped me document the navigation of my journey and I appreciate the experience that much more when I read back to how I felt uncomfortable with with taking full control of the learning. I am very excited to complete the ADL program but I also know this does not mark the end of my growth - it is a new beginning so that I can continue what I started and hopefully make an impact in education through supporting teachers and students as they embark on their own learning journey. Through this program I feel more confident that I am courageous enough to abandon the past in order to embrace new opportunities. What we know is constantly evolving and as educators we have to be committed to evolving as well.
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