Martha McCoy
I have had the honor of teaching in Elementary School since 1996. I received my BA from The Evergreen State College, a Master's in Health Sciences from Duke University and my teaching credential, and BCLAD from Dominican University, California. I completed second Master's in Education - Innovative Learning from Touro University in January 2013 and have joined the adjunct faculty at Tuoro University - Graduate School of Education. I bring my background in science and health into the classroom and am excited about using Project Based Learning, science, the arts, and technology to develop lifelong learning skills in our young students. I believe that education is the key to happiness and ultimately saving the world! We must empower our students and the community to follow their dreams by helping them access the resources and tools needed to accomplish this.
About My Classroom:
I believe the best learning happens when students are joyfully engaged in meaningful inquiries and projects. In my Kindergarten classroom we are focusing on learning about the environment and habitats of our Napa River. Through exciting projects we are building the foundational skills for reading, writing, math and learning how to work together. We learn about our own growth and how we learn as we develop the lifelong skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity - innovation, and ethics.
About My Classroom:
I believe the best learning happens when students are joyfully engaged in meaningful inquiries and projects. In my Kindergarten classroom we are focusing on learning about the environment and habitats of our Napa River. Through exciting projects we are building the foundational skills for reading, writing, math and learning how to work together. We learn about our own growth and how we learn as we develop the lifelong skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity - innovation, and ethics.
Reflections on the Project
It has been an exciting journey to become a learner in my own classroom and to learn about the power of my own professional development via the internet. How liberating and exciting to realize that passion, perplexity and projects can play alongside standards and goals for lifelong learning. It is all about finding support and tools for creating a dynamic student centered classroom where students are inspired to ask questions and push themselves while acquiring, language, skills and strategies needed for successful learning. iPads, for me, have provided a catalyst for digging deeply into the how and why of a good education. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to push my own limits and play my way into the 21st century of innovative learning. I am excited about sharing with others who are exploring innovative practices.
Lasting Learnings from the Program
PERPLEXITY, MASTERY & "A SAFE PLAYGROUND FOR LEARNING"
I found myself struggling with concepts, pedagogy and especially with using technology on many occasions during this program. In response to my frustration early in the course, the director of our program, Pamela Redmond, said; 'Don't worry, I expect mastery from everyone but we will create a 'safe playground for learning' in this class where you are free to make mistakes and take risks. We will guide and learn from each other, and we can have fun".
Ramsey Musallam also said something during one of his classes that changed my thinking. He said that he loves direct instruction. He loves giving lectures, blowing things up, and entertaining his students. He realized though, that while students loved his traditional lecture format classes, they weren't really learning at a higher level. Ramsey realized that children learn best when using many teaching strategies but first they need to develop a certain 'perplexity' about a topic so that they begin asking questions. Once they start to wonder, the real learning begins.
When he said this, I realized that I too was driven by 'perplexity'. Now I am on a mission to look for 'perplexity' at any moment in a child's question, as well as their expression (you can find out more about Ramsey's Cycles of Learning at www.cyclesoflearning.com).
My experience in Touro University's Master's of Education-Innovative Learning program has been life changing. The program is designed similar to a 'challenge-based' model for learning where the learning is directly related to understanding and solving the problem at hand. I would say that this Master's in Innovative Learning progam's Driving Question would be; How do we create equity and access for all in education while empowering students and teachers to become lifelong learners? Once you really start wondering about this question... the search for understanding the background and finding solutions begins.
The program is rigorous and exciting. We were well supported throughout the program and have developed our own professional learning community among our cohort and professors. I will leave this program with a greater understanding about how to push the limits of my own thinking and at the same time know that I can trust my passion and knowledge about how the brain learns for creating a 'safe playground for learning' among my students, colleagues and parents.
I found myself struggling with concepts, pedagogy and especially with using technology on many occasions during this program. In response to my frustration early in the course, the director of our program, Pamela Redmond, said; 'Don't worry, I expect mastery from everyone but we will create a 'safe playground for learning' in this class where you are free to make mistakes and take risks. We will guide and learn from each other, and we can have fun".
Ramsey Musallam also said something during one of his classes that changed my thinking. He said that he loves direct instruction. He loves giving lectures, blowing things up, and entertaining his students. He realized though, that while students loved his traditional lecture format classes, they weren't really learning at a higher level. Ramsey realized that children learn best when using many teaching strategies but first they need to develop a certain 'perplexity' about a topic so that they begin asking questions. Once they start to wonder, the real learning begins.
When he said this, I realized that I too was driven by 'perplexity'. Now I am on a mission to look for 'perplexity' at any moment in a child's question, as well as their expression (you can find out more about Ramsey's Cycles of Learning at www.cyclesoflearning.com).
My experience in Touro University's Master's of Education-Innovative Learning program has been life changing. The program is designed similar to a 'challenge-based' model for learning where the learning is directly related to understanding and solving the problem at hand. I would say that this Master's in Innovative Learning progam's Driving Question would be; How do we create equity and access for all in education while empowering students and teachers to become lifelong learners? Once you really start wondering about this question... the search for understanding the background and finding solutions begins.
The program is rigorous and exciting. We were well supported throughout the program and have developed our own professional learning community among our cohort and professors. I will leave this program with a greater understanding about how to push the limits of my own thinking and at the same time know that I can trust my passion and knowledge about how the brain learns for creating a 'safe playground for learning' among my students, colleagues and parents.