MAET Journey : It All Comes Together
I would say that my master’s program was very diverse; diverse in location, diverse in interest, and uniquely diverse in its overall path taken. When combing through my Master’s program, three critical points come to the forefront. Now, this is not to say that other moments, projects, or courses didn’t have impact, however they were the supporting actors and actresses to the main events of what overall shaped my experience within this program. My studies in South Africa, my STEM fellowship, and my leadership course were the predominate features that had the most overall influence.
I cannot put into words what my studies in South Africa have done for my professional career and my personal life but I will do my best. Being in a situation where I am fresh out of undergrad, walking off a plane into a culture entirely different than my own, and having a very unique experience compared to my other fellow educators. The expectation of the program was to be immersed in a culture, learn from our surroundings and experiences, and observe a teaching and learning within a South African classroom. Those set expectations were intriguing enough, but the events and subsequent learning that actually transpired from my trip could not ever be replicated.
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Being placed in one of the poorest schools in Cape Town, South Africa and being handed my very own classroom for those six weeks is something that changed my life. I had to learn how to be innovative with only the materials I brought with me in a suitcase. I had to be quick on my feet as disruptions broke out and language barriers presented themselves. Most importantly I found my love for making impact in students’ lives by going past my academic duty to them as their teacher, something that I still hold high value for seven years later. While there, I saw a need for physical exercise within the school day, as the students were very active within the classroom, and only had the opportunity to run around the adjacent parking lot. So, I created a “Let’s Move Day” school-wide for all kindergarten through fifth grade learners. These activities didn’t utilize many resources but rather showed these kids how to stay active with simple yet fun exercises. I also inquired about the lack of parent involvement. During my stay, I met only two parents out of my 30-second grade learners. The staff at the school said that many parents don’t show interest because they themselves are illiterate and therefore feel inadequate to help their child. After much publicity and even some door-to-door visits, I managed to create an after-school parent workshop.
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The remarkable transformation occurred when I returned back to the States. I am a different person, a different educator. That South African classroom was my very first, but it was the platform for the rest of my career. I am so much more appreciative of what I can give my students. I am much more creative in my teaching, not just looking for the easy print of lesson, but using the world around us as our resources, much like what I had to do in Cape Town. I don’t get bogged down with not having enough copies given to me in the month, or not having access to the top curriculum. I am continually reminded of my experience in South Africa. I changed lives during those six weeks without anything fancy, just passion. I have carried that with me to this day, to affect change in the lives of my students and focus on the whole student, supporting all needs and not stopping when the bell rings at 3:30pm.
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My program’s focus switched when I was accepted into the inaugural cohort of the MSU-WIPRO STEM Fellowship through Chicago Public Schools. Here is another situation where expectations going into the experience were meant and completely exceeded by the results of this year-long fellowship. I had applied for this fellowship because it was going to help me continue to degree with three required courses, I wanted to grow my practice in the STEM initiatives, and I always jump at the opportunity to collaborate with fellow teachers from other schools.
This fellowship spoke to my needs as a life-long learner. Teaching STEM content areas was something that I didn’t have full confidence with. I wanted to better my practice within this realm of teaching. I also wanted to provide my students more meaningful learning that connected to their everyday lives. This program did just that. I designed a DreamIT project that I implemented throughout the course of the entire school year. My students grew along with me. The transformation was incredible. I found ways to organically incorporate science instruction into other core content areas. Students created engineering projects that helped solve everyday problems. Math came alive in our classroom, as students applied concepts to their own daily phenomenon within cooking, shopping, and designing a garden space for our school.
This fellowship spoke to my needs as a life-long learner. Teaching STEM content areas was something that I didn’t have full confidence with. I wanted to better my practice within this realm of teaching. I also wanted to provide my students more meaningful learning that connected to their everyday lives. This program did just that. I designed a DreamIT project that I implemented throughout the course of the entire school year. My students grew along with me. The transformation was incredible. I found ways to organically incorporate science instruction into other core content areas. Students created engineering projects that helped solve everyday problems. Math came alive in our classroom, as students applied concepts to their own daily phenomenon within cooking, shopping, and designing a garden space for our school.
Technology with seamlessly integrated into everything we did. Students gained confidence in using iPads. I used what I learned from my Educational Research course, to implement specific strategies that would produce positive results for my students when using these devices. Our iPads went from being a device students used after school as a toy, to a tool for learning, for discovery. This transformation occurred because of careful planning through my courses and my fellowship. My students’ learning and the innovative way they were exploring, creating and sharing, was a direct reflection on my own robust education through this fellowship.
The biggest transformation I saw within my students was their ownership over their learning. One of the biggest compliments I received from my principal was that my second graders could run that classroom without me. I didn’t take that comment as I wasn’t needed, but instead was a testament to the hard work that my students and myself have done together. We created a classroom where students felt safe, confident, and were thinkers. They problem solved for themselves and their peers, they work collaboratively and produce great work. This fellowship helped me focus my practice on strategies that would help every student, differentiate for the many needs I had in my classroom, and created a space for learning where exploring, creating and sharing was genuine and exciting.
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This fellowship made me a sharper thinker. I was definitely out of my element. I was working with people I had never met; collaborating on topics I knew little to nothing about. But it was a challenge well accepted. I appreciated the intellectual challenge and push this program gave me. It was exactly what I needed at this point in my career. I was able to partake in incredible experiences as an educator that I would not have ever done on my own. From conducting an interview with an educational STEM author to presenting at a national convention, each and every step along the way strengthened my overall professional growth.
Another aspect of this fellowship that was embedded was a leadership course. The intent of this course was to take what we were learning from the fellowship and share it with our colleagues at our schools. However, this leadership course also made a personal impact in my life. Looking ahead to my five-year plan, my thoughts have been all over the place. I have many interests; technology, the arts, teaching, curriculum, educational policy, and global education. It was hard for me to synthesize what my next career goal should be. I am someone who is always looking to strive for something; I never want to stay stagnant in my practice. |
Through the activities within the leadership portion of my fellowship, I found my niche. Overall the course of the past few years I had taken on leadership roles within my school, but nothing to this extent. The fellowship provided me the opportunity to collaborate with teachers from across the district. This helped me gain a sense of others’ experiences as I have been at my school from the very beginning of my career. I have had the privilege of working with fantastic leadership and naively thought that this expectation was present in most schools. After being a part of this cohort of educators and intimately understanding their own schools, I learned that this isn’t true for the majority of schools within my district. I couldn’t imagine working with such principals. Many of them would correct my word choice and say we’re not working with; we are working for these individuals.
I had told myself that when entering this fellowship it was going to help me be a catalyst for change. I initially thought helping to change the scene of STEM in the classroom, however my focus has shifted. I have aspirations to become a leader like the one I have the pleasure of learning from every day. Every educator should have that ally in their building to do what is best for the students. This point in my Master’s program, and others that happened along the way, gave me compass onto my next step to grow myself professionally.
I had told myself that when entering this fellowship it was going to help me be a catalyst for change. I initially thought helping to change the scene of STEM in the classroom, however my focus has shifted. I have aspirations to become a leader like the one I have the pleasure of learning from every day. Every educator should have that ally in their building to do what is best for the students. This point in my Master’s program, and others that happened along the way, gave me compass onto my next step to grow myself professionally.
During my final year of my program, I took an Approaches to Educational Research course, CEP 822. I approached this required course with much hesitation and fear. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I not only got out of the course, but also how meaningful it was to my current practice. I appreciated the liberal approach to picking a research topic that was relevant to our profession and the freedom of applying it to our specific context. Because I was taking my STEM courses simultaneously, I was knee deep in my DreamIT project of integrating technology into the teaching and learning that happened in my classroom. During this time I had also recently acquired a 1:1 ratio of iPads for my students. Therefore I chose to research the affects of iPads on student learning. It is undeniable that my students are learning in a digital world, and that these devices are appealing, but do they positively influence student growth over its counterpart; the textbook? I set out to find an answer to not only this question. I was quite surprised with the research I discovered on this topic. I decided to explore several lens, from different content areas, student versus teacher use, and several case studies in different demographics. |
Through my research I read about positive influences in settings such as music classes, special education classes, and collaborative teaching settings. Although the research was inconclusive, I did gain valuable knowledge about particular settings, applications, and content areas where iPads yielded more engagement and excitement for students. I took this knowledge and applied it to my own classroom using apps such as Socrative and Zaption and more stimulating lessons to portray content. I also had my students using Educreations more to share their ideas and understanding of a particular topic. As a result, I found my students more engaged for longer periods of time with greater attention spans, and more efficient at retaining the content quicker. I felt as though this course was very applicable to my teaching, and definitely improved the overall structure and learning that occurred in my classroom. I am very thankful for the required course that turned into one of my most impactful in my program.
I am so appreciative of the rich education I got from this Master’s program. It was rich because it was personalized. I was able to explore topics entirely out of my element, play to my strengths as an educator, and help grow my practice. Most importantly, this Master’s program brought my learning to life. I was able to apply what I was learning from courses to my classroom. Subsequently my teaching improved and my students’ learning did as well. The three predominate experiences within my program had to do with submerging myself into experiences that helped me make connections to my learning and develop my skills. I absolutely feel as though I have evolved through the course of this program. There were several “aha” moments and some path changes, but ultimately my goal was met; to provide myself with the opportunities and experiences to better myself as an educator for the betterment of my students.
I am very proud to be a life-long learner. I enjoyed sharing my experiences continuing as a student with my second graders. I value the opportunity to model the ‘think big’ aspirations to them. Each year, my classroom changes, largely in part to what I am studying within my course. Although the studying has stopped, the changes will continue to grow year after year. This Master’s program has instilled a drive within me to renew my practice. That individual drive will further my education by continuing to seek opportunities. After all, I am a Spartan, and Spartans will! |