End of Course Reflection
Teacher Leadership Standard 4: Engage in analysis of teaching and
collaborative practices.
10 weeks ago I officially took that big step and began the whole
"getting your Master’s Degree" thing. I had begun my third year of
teaching 4th grade and it felt like the right time to start this whole process.
When I started this course, I really did not know what to expect. I knew that I
was extremely intimidated by the whole writing papers in APA format, writing/sharing
ideas on discussion boards, and the biggest challenge of balancing being a
teacher, teammate, a student, a daughter, a sister and a friend all at the same
time. This course’s goals were to have us really reflect and analyze our own teaching
practices and collaborate in a variety of different settings-such as
partnerships or small groups, which I never really gave much thought to
beforehand. I knew about the importance of collaboration, just not the depth of
reflection that really goes along with it.
I remember at the very beginning of this quarter, I sat at my
computer with anxiety of pushing “reply” to our very first discussion board. Bracing
myself for the possible critiques that may have followed, or the possible
perception that I really do not know a whole lot in areas of teaching. However,
that was never the case. Through our courses reading I gained a lot of
knowledge about how to reflect and approach collaboration and working with
others. I posted in our second module about the fundamentals that I would like
to work on throughout the course/at work and those two things were “Being Open”
and “Viewing Learning as Mutual.” The first one of Being Open (York-Barr,
Pg. 38): Taking and considering multiple perspectives. Was not something that I
struggled with in the sense of needing or wanting to be right all of the time
within a group. It was more in the sense that I needed to be open to hearing
responses that are going to help me and allow me to grow. I have always had the
challenge of hearing critiques and responses to my own personal thinking.
I have always been shy and have the fear of saying or doing something,
and having someone harshly respond to it. However, with pushing myself out of
that restrictive box, I have been able to really show my grade level teammates that
I am a part of the team, I have these ideas, resources, and opinions in which they
have been very complimentary of. They have never once responded in a way that
has hurt me. Which leads me into the next area that I really took on the perspective
of, viewing learning as a mutual thing.
We are all teachers and
have things to learn every single day. I think that is one of the great things
about the field of Education, there are always new developments, skills, resources,
and theories to try. Our textbook states that some schools take on hierarchy
structures of individuals based on age, years of experience, degree held or
even the grade level taught (York-Barr, Pg. 40). Being the youngest on my team in age and in
the experience department definitely has made me think that I cannot offer as
much as my teammates can who are older and have more experience than myself,
however, my perspective on this has changed over the last 10 weeks. It also
helped that this course gave me the opportunity to work with a partner during
our lesson plan collaboration project that works in a completely different area
of education than I do. Immediately I got hit with that fixed mindset of, I am
not sure what I can offer to my partner that would be helpful for his lesson
and students. After reading the article “Developing a Growth Mindset in
Teachers and Staff” by Keith Heggart, I made a realization that I need to
practice what I preach to my students. He states that “the crucial point for
individuals is that these mindsets have a large impact upon our understanding
of success and failure. Fixed mindset people dread failure, feeling that it reflects
badly upon themselves as individuals, while growth mindset people instead embrace
failure as an opportunity to learn and improve their abilities” (Heggart, 2016)
I am always telling my kids to take their
mistakes and learn from them. That it is okay to make them because we learn so
much more and become stronger learners. Just as James Morehead states “That
struggling means you’re committed to something and are willing to work hard”
(Morehead, 2012). I have really had to embrace that growth mindset as a teacher-student
within this Teacher Leadership program and in the work environment. After
working with my partner for this lesson, the results were wonderful. My lesson
offered a lot of supports for my students-visuals, working with each other,
helper rings, which my partner really helped me access. I walked into our first meeting with a skeleton of a lesson, and my partner really helped me add the meat to my lesson in essence of resources, more vocabulary to focus on, and differentiation ideas.
The overall impact of this class has had a great impact on me personally on the way that I reflect and collaborate with others. Before this course, I still really struggled with voicing my opinions/thoughts, being self conscience of people coming in a seeing me teach, and asking for help. I have always had the mentality that I want to do great things and do the best I can for my students so they can be the most successful. Little did I know, that in order for that to happen, I have to enter that whole process of self reflection and search for feedback in order to grow. However, that feedback cannot just come from anyone. You must pick collaborative partners that produce a positive energy, not drain it. They must have a similar purpose to you in the sense of having a growth mindset and open to the feedback. It has only been 10 weeks of this program and I have felt that I have already started to grow more in my teaching practice. I am looking forward to the rest of this program and the knowledge and experiences I will gain throughout. I feel that I am now in a better growth mindset then I was before, and willing to take those risks in order to continue to grow as a learner and a educator.
Resources:
Heggart, K. (2015, February 03). Developing a Growth Mindset in Teachers and Staff. EduTopia. Retrieved December 4, 2016, from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/developing-growth-mindset-teachers-and-staff.
Morehead, J. (2012, June 19). Stanford University’s Carol Dweck on the Growth Mindset and Education. One Dublin. Retrieved from https://onedublin.org/2012/06/19/stanford-universitys-carol-dweck-on-the-growth-mindset-and-education/.
York-Barr, J., Sommer, W.A., Ghere, G.S., & Montie, J.K. (2006). Reflective Practice to Improve Schools: An action guide for educators (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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