Future Learning Opportunities
When thinking about the future and more things I need to think about and focus on, I think a lot about more things I need to learn about to help better my understanding of the things I need to do in order to promote a positive learning environment for my future students. I think one of the main things I want to focus on as a learner is learning more about different strategies I can use to help each individual student. I also think another thing I want to focus on is the actual learning environment I create for my students in regard to creating a classroom where they all feel able to learn and develop comfortably without fear of judgement or worry about what their classmates will think or say if they make mistakes.
Goal #1:
My first learning goal for the future is to learn more about creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for my students. I think growing up there were often times where I felt like I was in a space in a classroom where I was unable to feel comfortable and confident in the space with the classroom and my classmates. I always felt like there was a lot of pressure on being perfect, and I can remember not wanting to raise my hand or participate in certain topics or assignments because of fear of looking stupid or dumb in front of my classmates. I think one of the most important things I want for my future students is that they never feel that way in their learning environment but rather they feel comfortable and excited about learning and trying hard things knowing that if they mess up there is no harm or consequences. I think the knowledge and skills required in order to reach this goal would be more time spent learning and reading research reports on the topics of classroom management and environment but also spending more time in the classroom which allows for more research and experience of being actually in the classroom. I think having a really good mentor teacher, or student teaching with someone who is really good with classroom management and inclusivity of the students is really important because it allows for learning in my future of how to model my future classroom around connecting with students and making things feel safe and comfortable.
https://blog.teachmint.com/10-ways-to-make-your-classroom-a-safe-space-for-all-students/
Goal #2:
My second learning goal I am really focused on for the future is connectivity with students. I think a large part of my learning throughout the program has been developing connections with students in order to understand what they specifically need. One of the largest things I have learned in this program is that every single student is different in their own ways.
I think overall there needs to be a better understanding of knowing that every single student is different and has very specific needs in the classroom. For a more basic level of explanation, we know that some learners are visual, some are auditory, and some are kinesthetic meaning they learn from movement and development. I think we forget sometimes about that and I think it's something I really want to focus on learning about because it allows for each and every student to have an ample amount of learning and development opportunities. I think I really feel passionately about learning about how to assess which category each student falls under, in order to create assignments and work that each student can feel comfortable with working with. I think the skills and knowledge I would need would be to have a full understanding of how to assess each student and what kind of learner they are and then creating ways to apply that to create work for each style of learning. I think it is really important to be able to identify all of these things while also adding it to the classroom environment to allow for each and every student to have ample opportunities to learn as much as possible.
https://teachable.com/blog/types-of-learning-styles
Goal #3:
My third and final learning goal that I really want to focus on for my future is simply continuing to learn in the educational world. I think there can be a complacency that happens when you get into a routine or consistent day to day efforts of teaching I think it can be easy to get lost in translation that it is really important to continue your learning and development of skills in order to stay current with the times while also developing yourself in order to better your students. I think the continuation of learning and development in the classroom becomes extremely important as the students are continuously changing and learning and as things become more modern it becomes so important to also follow the trends within development and learning new skills in order to help students as much as possible.
https://pce.sandiego.edu/10-strategies-for-effective-teacher-professional-development-with-examples/
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I have found that this master's program has helped me develop my skills in countless ways. I am beyond excited and proud of the work I have completed throughout the course and also of the skills and knowledge I have gained throughout. I think getting the chance to work with people, especially young people is something that I feel honored, blessed, and excited for and also cannot wait to hopefully have the impact that some of my past teachers have had on me.