Goal 1

Summary:

In my career as a teacher I don’t want to become stale. I began to notice this potential challenge early in my teacher career. Even a persuasive teaching technique may become ineffective or boring if overused. In the past I generally selected methods I felt comfortable and competent using. I desire to use a variety of methods in my teaching. By working with others and personally studying and applying new teaching practices I have developed and refined my teaching philosophy. This has helped me better understand my professional identity.

Reflection:

I chose this goal to allow me to develop my learning philosophy and to increase my knowledge from learning with others. When I was asked what my learning philosophy was I had to think long and hard. This was something I had never really considered before. Being able to receive an education has been great blessing in my life. It has taken me places I never imagined, and I want to give that some opportunity to my students. I believe teaching and technology are really about people and relationships. I had limited experience with learning in an online environment so being introduced to a discussion board was really intimidating at first and my attitude towards them was let’s just get this over with. I’ve now realized their ability to help me think more deeply about my coursework in the context of my own profession. Collaborating with my peers and instructors has taught me a lot. I took my learning from others to another level in my ITEC 5020 course when we were asked to complete a group project. As a group we were to investigate the feasibility of creating a distance education program at a university to serve students throughout the state (see Wolves-Group Final). The case study provided gathered data that we were to analyze and present recommendations on. We were to decide if we felt it would work for this particular program, what delivery system to use, media resources and give rationales for these choices. This was kind of a messy and confusing experience for me at first, but I had a good group that came together and everyone did their part. I wish I had completed my google training before this project (see Google Educator Certificates). As part of my ITEC 4340 course I completed Level 1 and Level 2 Google Educator training. There’s a lot of online tools and software that make collaborating and learning more effective. Google Docs is something I’ve learned to utilize. For our group project it was easier for our group to put all of our thoughts in one place and then collaborate together on what we felt was the best direction to go. In the past I usually prefer independent learning. This experience, among many in the program, is changing my mind.

In my career as a teacher I don’t want to become stale. I saw this happening as I started to getting comfortable as a teacher after my first year of teaching. Even a persuasive teaching technique may become ineffective or boring if overused. In the past I generally selected methods I felt comfortable and competent using. I desire to use a variety of methods in my teaching. For this to happen I’ve had to do some exploring and dedicated study. My course work has helped me discover methods that have improved my teaching. Progressing towards this goal I’ve begun identifying what my teaching philosophy really is. The process of developing a philosophy of teaching should be a lifelong practice. I’m not just learning about new practices I’m applying them to my classroom. To accomplish the seminary objective and standards I developed an instructional unit designed to help students identify principles from given passages from the New Testament and then have students share those principles using technology (see Instructional Unit). This required me to analyze my students, understand their entry competencies, learning styles, and select strategies to accomplish learning objectives. Using techniques found in practices of instructional technology has helped me see the importance of really understanding my students. Understanding my students in turn helps me make better technology integration decisions (see Technology Integration) The technology available through mobile devices is remarkable. Mobile devices can improve learning in a religious setting as well. Religious organizations are tapping into these powerful learning tools. My students can have an improved and connecting experience by using mobile device technologies such as course websites, social networking, blogs, videos, and discussion boards in their religious study. Even though many aspects of religion are individual, the increased ability of social communications and student involvement through mobile device use is important in religious education.

Artifacts