Looking Ahead
As I near the end of my Masters in Educational Technology at Michigan State University, I have been thinking about what comes next. This page shares an essay I wrote laying out three goals for my continued learning once the program is finished — the areas where I want to keep growing as an educator, a colleague, and a leader. You can read the full essay right here on the page below, or open it in Google Docs if you prefer.
As I prepare for the end of my masters program and look towards the future I have identified three areas for future growth based on my various experiences in the Master of Education Technology program at MSU. The first is continuing to refine my sandbox assessments through implementation in the classroom and continued use of the sandbox format, the second is deepening my content knowledge of history from the 1600’s to present through seeking out various forms of media from digital and physical media, and the third is expanding my understanding of inquiry-based and project-based learning. Through pursuing these goals, I will be better equipped to engage students in authentic historical thinking and help them develop the various skills needed for success both inside and outside of the classroom.
One of my primary future goals is to continue experimenting with and refining the sandbox assessment format for helping to generate new and unique forms of assessment. Over this summer, I have found the use of the sandbox assessment format where you are given restrictions on the technique, structure, technology, and other categories, has pushed me to develop types of assessment that I wouldn’t normally think of. An example of this was my creation of a historical tik tok feed assessment where students have to create a tik tok feed of different posts which incorporate the various philosophers, ideas, places, and events that we would learn about in our first unit for a new humanities class that I am teaching this next year. Having these different kinds of restrictions forced me to think outside of the box while also making sure to be mindful of the learning experience from the student side. I have already combined some of these sandbox assessments into a hybrid course centered around my first humanities unit which you can view here. My goal is to continue to use this sandbox assessment model to help build out future assessments for the other units for the course. Another goal which will further support me is deepening my content knowledge for the new content that I will be teaching this upcoming school year.
My second goal supports the first through deepening my understanding of world history from the 1600’s to today. This goal will be foundational to helping me expand upon my assessment sandbox goal because you can’t craft meaningful assessments without the knowledge of what you want students to take away from your assessments. While I have a strong foundation in history, I want to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the time period that I will be covering to ensure that my assessments capture an understanding of the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments which have shaped our modern world. To help accomplish this goal I have begun familiarizing myself with the Digital Inquiry Group. This is a group from Stanford University which has developed various history lessons, assessments, and professional development related to a wide range of historical subjects and time periods. Through using this resource and participating in their professional development I will be better equipped to support student instruction to deepen both their content knowledge and application of that knowledge in the classroom.
My third goal also builds upon my first two goals through expanding my understanding of inquiry-based and project-based learning. Inquiry-based learning encourages students to explore compelling questions, investigate evidence, and construct their own understanding of historical events. Project-based learning builds upon those practices through asking students to apply their learning to authentic tasks and real-world challenges. Since this approach aligns well in Social Studies it will be an effective way to build upon my sandbox assessment and content knowledge goals. To accomplish this I will need to learn and experiment with combining my sandbox assessments with project based learning to develop effective driving questions, structure investigations, facilitate student collaboration, and assess complex learning outcomes. Through combining these approaches, students will be able to engage in authentic historical investigations while demonstrating their learning through meaningful products and presentations. To help accomplish this goal I will be using PBL Works which provides extensive resources, examples, as well as professional development opportunities centered around project-based learning. Through engaging in professional development opportunities and experimenting with some of their examples to develop my own I will be able to accomplish this goal.
Like I tell my students, learning doesn’t stop when you leave the classroom. These three goals represent areas where focused growth will have a meaningful impact on my classroom practice. Through refining sandbox assessments, deepening my knowledge of history from the 1600’s to the present, and expanding my expertise in inquiry-based and project-based learning, I will strengthen both my content knowledge and instructional skills. These goals are interconnected and support my broader objective of creating engaging, authentic, and rigorous learning experiences for students. Through deliberate study, reflection, and the use of professional resources, I look forward to continuing my growth as an educator and improving the opportunities I provide for student learning.