Randa Abla Cherfan

MAED Takeaway…

Born in 1975, I was raised in a country at war where electricity and landlines were hardly available. The choice of education was very limited. Back then the world was not as open as it is today, let alone the war condition which restricted our options to a couple of local well reputed universities. Choosing our majors was constrained by availability and social prejudice on certain fields. I ended up with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in finance. However, I had a continued interest in teaching and being with children since my teenage years. I used to give private lessons during my college years, I also worked as summer camp animator.

Becoming a mom only increased my love to education and teaching. In raising my kids, I realized the important impact an educator has on shaping up future generations. I then decided to shift into the teaching field. Throughout my teaching career I met all kinds of students, various skills, various needs, various challenges etc. Teaching them was always rewarding. But the most gratifying experience was working with the challenging students and I grew more interested in learning how to deal with them.

Fast forward, after 7 years of teaching at the French school, it became necessary to validate my teaching experience with a diploma in the field. That was the initial goal. The program took me a little more than two years to finish.

When I thought about the whole program, two main trending themes came to my mind: The digital age and inclusion. These topics defined my choice of the courses to take.

The timing shaped the path of my program as it coincided with the start of the COVID pandemic; along with my focus on special education, I wanted to learn more about online education to improve my teaching skills and strived to keep the same class vigor in online as in brick and mortar and instill a safe and positive virtual learning environment for my young learners. Accordingly, I decided to include the Graduate Certificate in online teaching in my program.

Going down memory lane, I now realize how fortunate I was to take a selection of courses that have been impactful on my growth and on my belief in lifelong learning. Each one contributed to defining the new educator in me. Some stood out more than others because of their relevance to the interests I had and to the timing that coincided with the COVID dictated online learning surge. These few courses left a memorable mark on me.

Persistence Pays Off …

In this course I learned how to create and online course module (OCM), around the discipline I teach. Being an ESL teacher, I designed a grade 4 module on describing people. The objective of this OCM was to be able to eventually use it with my students. Although it may initially seem like a simple process once you get familiar with various website and course management platforms. However, that by itself was a milestone for me. I got acquainted with weebly, canvas, wix, seesaw, google classroom/google sites etc. and many more. I finally decided to use google sites and google classroom to develop my OCM.

I also learned about many digital tools that can facilitate the online learning processes. I had fun producing screencasts using screen-o-matic and loom, and repeating them over and over until I reached the desired result. It felt like shooting movie scenes… I also explored digital tools for creating short tutorials such as powtoon and others for creating formative assessments such as kahoot, bamboozle, quizlet, wordmint etc. that I could incorporate in my OCM.

I was impressed by the digital tools available and the affordances they presented in the field of education.

Aside from the rich tech skills that I acquired, there was also the pedagogical aspect of online teaching and that is very different from the classical brick-and-mortar teaching approaches. The challenges here are about communication, engagement, accessibility, and the various forms that online schooling can take.

I developed a communication policy, and a course syllabus, that I immediately used in my actual online classes. I learned about the importance of being clear and open with learners and their parents, on the classroom organization, grading policy and work policy and requirements.

Finally, I integrated the major concepts of Universal Design of Learning (UDL) in my OCM to optimize the learning experience. I tackled the potential hurdles that my students might face by getting to know them better and included some universal support that could help, a simple example was through my communication with the families: Knowing that most of my students come from a French background and are non-English speakers, I made sure that all my communications were sent in both French and English languages.

Authentic Learning and Understanding…

I realized the importance of clear instructions, clearly defined objectives and eliminating potential bias by designing equitable assessments for all learners and providing helping tools to ensure the inclusion of all students.

I constructed my own assessment design checklist which I currently refer to every time I design a new assessment to ensure that I have complied with all the above criteria. I also strengthened my knowledge in using the digital formative assessment tools that I got introduced to in CEP820.

In both above courses I also got acquainted with the ungrading system. I have always believed that grades are more harmful than beneficial to students. Instead of serving as a learning indicator for educators, learners, and their parents, they become the ultimate goal. Accordingly, educators forget about the significance of what resulted in getting that grade or adjusting their teaching practices to cater for that and giving feedback to the students on their mistakes. The same applies to both parents and students, who once they get the results, they do not really look at the mistakes/comments to learn from them for the future.

I now apply ungrading system in my classes with my students and always try to convey the message that the grade is not important, it is what is behind it what matters most.

Aside from ungrading, I realized the significance of feedback and how lightly it is also taken by both parents and learners. When in fact, it is the most important part of the learning process. I, therefore, started allocating a weekly class for feedback only, to make sure that students/parents take the feedback in.

All for One and One for All…

Finally, CEP841 “Classroom and Behavior Management in the Inclusive Classroom” was also a course that affected me on a different level.

The world we currently live in is open to different cultures, various needs rendering each individual unique in their own way. Yet we are all part of one community. Our uniqueness calls for differentiated learning/teaching approaches but all under the same roof of a common classroom.

This course has taught me how to manage a group of diversified learners and cater for individual needs in one inclusive classroom. General Education teachers often struggle on how to work with learners who have special needs or disabilities. Building on previous experience does not always work in such situations as the learners as well as their needs are different from one to another.

The Final Curtain…

When I think back, I realize that it has been a bumpy journey at times, but the passion for education and the mother in me drove me to progress through this degree.

During this expedition, I realized the potential I can have in varying and improving my teaching practices and the constraints and limitations that are imposed by the institution that I work for.

The program, its timing and the COVID experience made me realize how education is changing, in line with the world’s evolution namely the rise of the digital age. However, educators are still chained with curriculum constraints and the resistance of some… to change.

Completing my masters made me discover the lifelong learner in me always eager to improve, learn from my daughters and students how to innovate, develop my instruction approaches to address their needs and adopt modern teaching strategies that are consistent with the world that we currently live in.

As I wrap up, I have this bittersweet feeling that I have reached the finish line, but then I remind myself that there is no finish line. In fact, it is the start line: I can never be a perfect teacher or mother, but I will always aspire to become a better educator, a better mother and thrive to increase my potential. I will aim to drive change in the education system and modify it to stay in line with the world progress and evolution.