When I began this journey with my innovation plan, I felt like I was stepping out of my comfort zone, but I was able to do so with a topic that I am passionate about. I am very lucky that my district supports educators who want to grow as leaders, so this course helped me think more about the next steps in my career.
I had to decide what my publication topic would center around and think more specifically. I formulated my topic to be about blended learning and purposeful design in mathematics instruction. By starting with a publication outline, I was able to sort through my thoughts and ideas to come up with some type of plan as to how I would be sure to address the most important points about purposeful design without it feeling overwhelming.
I had not previously considered publishing an article but again, stepping out of my comfort zone, I landed on two options. Edutopia and We Are Teachers feature more blog-style posts and I enjoy reading articles on their sites because they are authored by other educators in the field, so I found that I was able to connect more with those sites on a different level.
The outline was very helpful in creating my publication rough draft. As I shared my ideas with my collaborative groups, I found their feedforward to help make changes to ensure that my message was delivered. My final draft required some simple edits once I received all the feedback, but overall, I enjoyed the experience of creating an article that I could consider submitting for publication. I was even able to include a lesson plan that I worked on with the help of one of our third-grade teachers.
I learned about media engagement and how it plays a big role in drawing the attention of the audience. At first, I was a little hesitant as I was not too sure how to create a video that would engage my target audience – other educators. Once I shared ideas with others, I realized that interviewing the experts in the field and showing students in action would be the best way to show and explain how purposeful design engages students in their learning of mathematics. I consulted with three teachers on my campus who were open to sharing their thoughts and their classrooms. I ensured that students seen in the video had a media publication release on file, but I also avoided recording faces or names. Now, putting the video together was a bit of a challenge as I am no expert! Overall, I was happy with my results as a beginner and the process was a fun one. Below is my media project. (insert page link)