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My SMART goals helped to shape my journey. Below is a discussion of how these goals were achieved and how I have and will continue to use what I have learned in my teaching practice.
Why are these goals important to me?
1. As an educator, it is easy to focus only on the curriculum and assessment as they relate to each other, and not take the time to ensure that the curriculum and assessment are ensuring that participation and success are accessible to all.
2. As an adult educator, classroom activities tend to focus on the ‘container model’ where knowledge is something that we give to students. Finding activities that will assist students in engaging in design thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) aids students in developing iterative skills.
3. I do not want to use technology for the sake of technology. I want to use it in ways that enhance learning. It is easy to 'grab and go' when it comes to technology, but it is important to learn ways to assess technology, including through making and through reflecting on my own experiences as a student.
For auditory learners, these videos provide an audio version of the text.
For auditory learners, these videos provide an audio version of the text.
How have I already utilized my learning?
1. I had the opportunity to teach an Introduction to Sociology course that was designed around the Medicine Wheel. I have begun to include more varied forms of representation, and started implementing more choice and options for multi-modality in assignments to address different learning needs and ways of expressing and using alternative frameworks and perspectives (Indigenous ways of knowing)
2. There are a number of activities that I have developed in the program that have become a part of my teaching practice. This includes using the stop motion video I created to teach about Marxism. I have also utilized the Medicine Wheel that we developed in a group project to teach about health, and have had students construct a wellness model in a 3D form to help them visualize connections. I also found the use of provocations at the beginning of class to be a worthwhile intervention, as it helps students connect to the material and reflect on it before engaging in formal learning.
3. I am more thoughtful of how I use technology, focusing on helping students learn a concept in new ways (rather than just thinking about how it might be fun or engaging for them). This focus on how students learn has helped me to be more thoughtful in how I use technology and to consider technology's usefulness for not only delivering content, but also for helping students engage and learn in new ways.
What are my next steps as I move forward?
1. Develop new SMART goals to guide me in my teaching practice! Having SMART goals helps me to make more specific, measurable and attainable goals, which are much easier to plan for!
2. I am currently in the process of re-evaluating my courses (my curriculum and course design) to see where they meet or fail to meet EDIDA considerations.
3. I will work to re-design lessons that help students ‘learn to learn’ rather than expect to ‘get knowledge’, by using a maker mentality/mindset/constructivist approach.
4. I want to evaluate and re-design each lesson to have the low floor (point of entry), high ceiling (opportunities to take their learning to new levels) and no walls (no barriers to access). It is a challenge for me, but I want to begin to put less emphasis on getting it ‘right’ and more focus on the act of learning and engaging with knowledge and activities.
5. Now that I feel much more comfortable in my relationship to technology, I plan to use more technology in my classes that encourage students to create and demonstrate learning in new ways. I am currently working on my course design for when I return to my teaching in September and have some great ideas for how to implement things like Genial.ly and Plotagon into my courses.
6. I am currently designing a new course that I will teach this fall, (Soci 290: Sociology of Technology). As I plan this course, I am working on finding ways to make it more accessible. To this end, I am creating a course website that is more accessible for students with disabilties and which has suggestions for converting to large text, audio/visual learning, and descriptive text.
For auditory learners, these videos provide an audio version of the text.