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As a learner and teacher in the 21st century, I often think about what kind of talents are needed in the future. Growing up in China, my parents told me that during their time, literacy was the most important skill. In our generation, I believe the most important skills are learning to speak English, use computers, and drive. So, for the next generation, what will be the most important skills? There are certainly many, but living in harmony with technology will undoubtedly be one of them. Therefore, I chose to study Educational Technology at Michigan State University (Master of Arts in Educational Technology), hoping to acquire more knowledge and skills to help both myself and my students become better learners in the field of technology. And indeed, this program has proven to change the way I approach my job; many courses have also changed the way I see my responsibilities. Below, I have listed four skills and knowledge I learned in the MAET program: First, First-grade students have a very strong ability to accept technology. If teachers can provide sufficient support, students can not only master specific subject knowledge but also develop various skills. Second, teachers are also educational researchers. We should maintain an interest in the latest educational technology products and research findings while also having critical thinking skills. Third, 21st-century learners need to possess various qualities, such as teamwork, exploration, communication, leadership, and more. To cultivate such students, teachers must lead by example and embody these qualities. I constantly remind myself of the importance of being a model as a teacher. Fourth, knowledge is valuable and meaningful only when applied to actual teaching. Although some attempts may be difficult and challenging, trying, even if it fails, will always yield rewards. Additionally, being a teacher for 7 years, I have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of the teaching methods and psychology concepts I only superficially understood during my undergraduate years.
As I worked, I realized that first-grade students have a very strong ability to accept new technologies. As long as teachers provide sufficient support, students can acquire relevant subject knowledge and improve their abilities in various aspects through the practice of technology. What teachers need to do is believe that their students can achieve the teaching goals with their help. In the course CEP811 Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education, I have written a lesson plan for making a windmill using the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set. In this project, first-grade students will learn about how electricity is generated and then work together with other members of their group to build a windmill. Fortunately, one of my student's parents had four sets. She is a STEM teacher. With her encouragement and support, we jointly completed three technology trial classes for first-grade students. At first, I was very nervous and lacked confidence. I thought they were students at a Chinese immersion school, and such a complex project would be difficult for them to understand even the classroom instructions in Chinese, let alone explain concepts like teamwork and division of responsibilities to seven or eight-year-old children. This student's parent also encouraged me by saying, "How do you know it won't work if you don't try? Even if the classroom management is chaotic and the children argue over these divisions of responsibilities, that's also an educational opportunity!" I found this very reasonable, so we co-taught. Although the result was as we expected—the classroom was chaotic, and the instructions were not well understood—every child was very interested and actively participated (perhaps too actively, which is why it was chaotic). Two groups succeeded, and I was happier than the students! I believe that if we try again next school year, it will definitely be better than this time. During this experience, students not only learned about electricity but also practiced teamwork, Chinese dialogue, hands-on skills, resilience, and the ability to keep trying. As teachers, we not only impart knowledge and skills but also play the role of a coach in the classroom, growing together with the students.
As teachers, we should always maintain an interest in the latest educational information and research results, and think about how to improve our lesson plans or teaching methods. Although this will increase the workload to some extent, it will also increase our interest in teaching. I have been teaching for seven years, which is neither long nor short. In the daily repetition of teaching, I sometimes feel bored because the content, teaching processes, tests, and materials are fixed and repetitive.
This sometimes frustrates me. In my first graduate course, CEP810 Teaching for Understanding with Technology, I learned about the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. At that time, I was frustrated that students always seemed to forget Chinese characters. Despite studying earnestly, when it came to dictation tests, students either couldn't write the characters or could only write a radical. After learning this theory, I thought about how to use technology to help students remember Chinese characters. The content knowledge is the Chinese characters that need to be mastered. I used Wordwall for technology, which offers various game formats for reviewing. One game is a picture-to-text match. Since Chinese characters are pictographic, I found corresponding pictographic images and paired them with modern characters, allowing students to play matching games. The results were immediate; students quickly remembered the characters, giving me a great sense of achievement. In the CEP800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings course, I reviewed many psychology theories I learned in my undergraduate studies, such as the Zone of Proximal Development, Constructivism, Multiple Intelligences, and Connected Knowledge. Revisiting these theories at the graduate level and combining them with my teaching experience generated many new ideas. For example, Multiple Intelligences theory suggests that each child has different intelligences. To benefit every child through differentiated teaching, I grouped students based on their intelligences (based on my understanding rather than testing) and adapted the existing teaching materials. Students showed great interest. Connected Knowledge constantly reminds me to link the content learned with real life. Since students rarely have opportunities to practice Chinese outside of school, situational dialogues or role play in the classroom become particularly important. Teaching cultural knowledge (such as Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival customs) is also challenging. To provide students with cultural experiences, we also have corresponding activities. These theories help me understand my students and myself as a teacher better. The course I am currently taking, CEP822 Approaches to Educational Research, makes me realize that a teacher is also an educational researcher. The exploration of knowledge is endless. My research topic is whether bilingual education for children from immigrant families negatively affects their English proficiency. Each week, I read many research papers, find content that supports my viewpoint, and constantly maintain a critical mindset. Accepting different viewpoints is also an important quality for educational researchers. These courses help me think about how to become a better teacher and prompt me to improve my lesson plans and teaching methods, keeping up with the times.
In the CEP810 Professional Roles and Teaching Practice course, we discussed that 21st-century learners need various qualities: creativity, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, exploration, responsibility, leadership, critical thinking, and so on. This requires teachers to guide students in continually practicing and improving these skills. On the other hand, teachers themselves need to possess these abilities to help their students, embodying the principle of "leading by example" (teachers need to model these qualities so that students can learn from them). Through studying this course, I have set an example for my students in collaboration, creativity, and leadership. I closely collaborate with grade-level teachers, supporting each other and sharing lesson plans and teaching materials. I strive to innovate in my lesson plans by incorporating new content and replacing old activities with more engaging classroom games to encourage active student participation. I also mentor my student teacher to help her complete her internship tasks. When students see that their teachers possess these qualities, it subtly influences them as well.
After completing these 10 graduate courses, I have a deeper understanding of a famous Chinese poem by the Southern Song poet Lu You: "纸上得来终觉浅，绝知此事要躬行The knowledge gained from books is superficial; to truly understand, one must practice." Or, to use an idiom, "学以致用apply what one has learned." Only by applying the knowledge gained to actual teaching does the learning become meaningful and valuable. When I was an undergraduate at Michigan State University, I learned many teaching theories and pedagogies, but at that time, I felt confused and could only understand them through imagination. However, after being a teacher for seven years, I now find that I can relate these courses to my daily teaching. The theories that I did not understand before now make sense. For example, in my undergraduate studies, I learned about constructivism. I could only understand it superficially as "scaffolding" to lay a foundation of prior knowledge before teaching new content. In the CEP811 Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education and CEP800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings courses, constructivism was also mentioned.
Although the focus was different, I could fully understand how to achieve teaching goals through specific step-by-step instruction. For example, I ask myself these three questions when designing a class or a whole unit: First, what goals do I expect students to achieve at the end? Second, what is the best way to assess? A test? A presentation? A project? Or a portfolio? Third, how can I plan the course within the prescribed class hours so that students can achieve the subject and language goals? These three questions are my application of constructivism in education. Every Saturday after finishing my assignments, I spend the following week bringing the new knowledge to my students, which gives me a great sense of achievement. In one unit, there was a video introducing a math game (I tried to find it but couldn't). It mentioned that in math, words can sometimes interfere, and simply looking at pictures can help students understand math better. The idea was that understanding math does not necessarily require understanding words. So, he developed a math game without any text or voice, allowing students to explore freely. The next day in class, I had the students try it, and they loved it. I noticed one student who I previously didn't know whether he struggled with math concepts or if his Chinese proficiency was low (we teach math in Chinese). However, I discovered that he got everything right, which made me realize he understood math but not the Chinese language, so he couldn't understand my instructions. There are many similar examples. Through the courses in the MAET program, I will continue to apply educational technology knowledge in the classroom.
Through the MAET program, I have indeed learned a lot of knowledge and actively thought about how to apply it to my future life and teaching. I am a teacher, but more importantly, I am also a student. Over the past year, I have been both a teacher and a student, which has been a very valuable experience. I hope to use the influence of an YouTuber to help more teachers understand educational technology, and improve my own teaching methods through technology, making classroom activities more diverse. Ultimately, I aspire to become a qualified 21st-century teacher.
References：
Cassie. (2023, March 12). 23 Inspirational Quotes for Teachers to Lift You Up When You're Down. Teach Starter. [Image] https://www.teachstarter.com/us/blog/10-inspirational-quotes-teachers-us
MAET Portfolio. (2018, April 7). Katie Dahmer [Image]. https://katiedahmer.wordpress.com/maet-portfolio/
纸上得来终觉浅 绝知此事要躬行 迟志鸿书 楷书138cmX69cm 草书 69cmX69cm 隶书 138cmX35cm. (n.d.). https://www.51sdj.com/sai.php?do=person_info&tid=106857
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