Speak Learn Succeed Gysbers Home Learn More Standards Inspiration About the Author

In College, I took one of those quizzes designed to help you on a career path. According to that, I was to be a minister, lawyer, or teacher. Minister was out, a lawyer seemed daunting and with 3 out of my 4 grandparents’ teachers, I had a bit of knowledge about that path. Wow! That turned out to be a lucky choice for me. After 25 years as a teacher, I am still enthused with education. I am pleasantly surprised that it is still fascinating to me. Most likely because I continue to learn and grow as an educator. I started teaching during the class size reduction movement and my first classroom was the science closet with adult size tables and folding metal chairs for 7-year-olds, but if I had learned anything, it was to adapt. After three years of teaching, I became more and more interested in administration and joined a cohort at San Jose State for a master’s in administration. That led me to about half of my teaching years out of the classroom, supporting teachers and data and instruction was the perfect path for me. I didn’t have to deal with the negatives and heavy workload of a principal but was able to work closely with teachers and students. I have always enjoyed actually teaching students and returned this year to teach 3rd grade after a 6-year stint as an academic specialist. Last spring, with COVID anxiety and me losing my TOSA position where I felt I was finally making headway with my goals with teachers at my site I was very disheartened with education in addition to the pandemic stress. I spent the spring observing classes every day and knowing that our students were losing more and more ground. Once I knew I had to return to the classroom, I knew I needed to get up to speed on technology to be used in the classroom. I am fairly proficient with technology but that was for my job not directly with students. I also knew I needed to start to practice all that I had learned over the last few years, especially as a Project GLAD trainer. I was excited to put that into action, even if it was in distance learning.
When I think back to the change of my philosophy of education, I am quite honestly appalled and overjoyed. In my first few years of teaching, I honestly didn’t have a clue about many many things, teaching reading, being culturally relevant, and for much of my career having empathy for my students and families. I am pleased to discover that I am capable of change as a teacher and as a human being. I learned how to teach well and since having my children almost 12 years ago, I developed a deep sense of empathy and respect for others and their experiences.
When I think back to the change of my philosophy of education, I am quite honestly appalled and overjoyed. In my first few years of teaching, I honestly didn’t have a clue about many many things, teaching reading, being culturally relevant, and for much of my career having empathy for my students and families. I am pleased to discover that I am capable of change as a teacher and as a human being. I learned how to teach well and since having my children almost 12 years ago, I developed a deep sense of empathy and respect for others and their experiences.
TPACK Reflection
- Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) – “An understanding of how teaching and learning can change when particular technologies are used in particular ways. This includes knowing the pedagogical affordances and constraints of a range of technological tools as they relate to disciplinarily and developmentally appropriate pedagogical designs and strategies” (Koehler & Mishra, 2009).
This here is the part that I really find the most challenging. How do we use the tools available and blend with the methods of teaching over Zoom in a Pandemic? I joined this program after considering it for a few years because my position as a TOSA was eliminated and I was headed back to the classroom during distance learning after a six year absence. Plus, after observing all last spring everyday, I was concerned for the kids in my school. I am sure that was the case in many places with the start of Zoom school and the serious reduction in class time. I knew I needed to up my technology game. Also, the bonus of knowing that my family and I would not be off running around like we normally do was helpful, I simply had more time at home to do this work.
I realized quickly that I needed to teach my students technology, boy was this SLOW cumbersome work. Teaching an 8 year old how to login to Google Classroom, do an assignment AND turn it in while we were all in our respective homes was a huge challenge. Not to mention, Flipgrid, STAR tests, EPIC, Kahooot!, and more. I learned right away that I would only use technology when appropriate and needed. We did not have time to waste. I, of course, made some errors of sites that would not work as well for my purposes or were too cumbersome for us. I also learned really quickly to have my kids, even at 8 to teach their neighbors and me. If they were able to figure something out, then they would share. Some of those kiddos were a life saver! It is often the case that the teacher view vs the student view is different online so my students learned to screen share and helped us all out. I really am just navigating this by trial and error. I sometimes try some of these things on the fly and don't have as much time to check all things out beforehand, that is unfortunate but I can also chock this up to kids seeing me learning with them and we figure this out together. It is a different feel with the kids, we help each other and combined with them knowing my dog, hamsters and kids, we have formed a bond that has really surprised me, I didn't know we could be so connected when we haven't even met in person.
Learning for a Lifetime
My next steps in education are not solidified yet. I am excited to continue on my journey in education. Completing the work during this program has reminded me how much I love learning, especially about education. I am thrilled to acknowledge that education still fascinates me after 25 years. I feel lucky! I will utilize the many different strategies and the resilience learned in this program. I think one of the biggest lessons for me was to work collaboratively with others even though we all teach different grades, subjects and are at different schools and have a variety of personalities. It has been a pleasure to work with these professionals. |
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