Final Reflection on EDUC 6711

After rereading my personal theory of learning that I developed during Week 1, I don’t believe that I would make any modifications to my philosophies. I still strongly believe that students have a need to be entertained and learn better from instructors whom they respect and trust. Also, I still agree with my ideas about the powerful impacts of environmental factors, psychological factors, and personal filters. Furthermore, I still believe that Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences in addition to learning styles play a large role in the way students learn. However, while my theory of learning remains the same, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t learn anything from this class. As I mention in my Week 1 assignment, I did not have great knowledge of the existing learning theories. Now that I have studied multiple learning theories, such as constructivism, behaviorism, cognitive learning theories, and social learning theories, I have a much better understanding of the various ways students gain and retain information. If anything, my personal theory of learning has been augmented to include more possibilities for the way students learn. Moreover, my own knowledge of educational technologies has grown because I now have more technology tools to add to my repertoire. Happily, these technology tools were easy to learn about, and I am excited to begin using them in my own classroom when I return to school next year.

Reflecting on my instructional practices regarding the usage of technology, I now realize that I definitely have the opportunity to incorporate more technology into my lessons. While I am often concerned about not having enough time, I see now that many technology tools are easy to use and could really enhance our reading of the texts found in the curriculum. For example, I would like to begin using more webquests and virtual field trips because I think it is important for students to discover information on their own, rather than through a lecture or other teacher-centered lesson. Also, I am very interested in the addition of virtual field trips because they give students the chance to “witness” history and explore places that they would not actually be able to visit. Secondly, I really enjoyed learning about VoiceThreads because they are very relevant to a language arts class, and I can think of many ways that I can use VoiceThreads in my curriculum. The NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards mandate that language arts students gain speaking and listening skills. Therefore, creating and participating in VoiceThreads fulfills important criteria. Integrating more education technology such as the examples discussed above will have a significant and positive impact on my teaching abilities.

Two long-term goals that I now have regarding my instructional practices and the use of technology are described below:

1.) First, I would like to incorporate the use of weekly blogs as a different type of forum for student participation. While I have used blogs in the past, it was only an occasional occurrence, and I did not take full advantage of the benefits offered by student blogs. I would like my students to utilize their blogs more often to respond to prompts that I give them, interact with each other and offer their classmates feedback and constructive criticism, and share their work with a wider audience. Next year, I will have my students create their blogs during the first week of school so that we can begin using them right away. I believe that the blogs will give a voice to those students who are reluctant to participate in a classroom setting, and it is always my goal to encourage plenty of participation from my students. 

2.) Second, I would like my students to experience having “keypals,” or students from another school with whom they would interact through emails or other technology. While this may seem like a simple goal, my idea is somewhat intricate. I would like to collaborate with a teacher in a distant location to design a unit based on the reading of the same text and frequent communication between our students based on their reactions to the text. For example, our students can ask each other questions about the book through their emails and work together on an Internet project that they could build through the use of blogs, wikis, and other online settings.
While orchestrating this type of task would certainly take much time and effort on my part, I believe that the effects on my students’ learning would be tremendous and unforgettable.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the knowledge I have gained in this course. The learning theories, instructional strategies, and educational technologies I have encountered will absolutely make me a more effective teacher in the future.